Patriots pick up option on DL Alan Branch

Hedging bets on Hicks, perhaps?

branch was a monster against the run

hope he stays in shape

ctpatsfan77 said:

Hedging bets on Hicks, perhaps?

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It might be but he was only at $2.4m this year so thats not big money.

They have Kitchen under contract as well so they have plenty of fatties for 2016 and only Brown is better than Hicks in that group.

But glad he is in the fold just in case.

Good. He was solid last year and will be this year. I don't think it has anything to do with Hicks cause they still want him to.

Brown/Easley/Hicks/Branch and you are a solid 4 deep.

Good signing...I hope to hear Hicks...signed soon too...

Gronkowski123 said:

hope he stays in shape

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He will. Contract year.

Earlier moves made this likely, and I'm very happy with it. The team needs pluggers in the middle of that DL.

Unsung hero last year. He got off some fearsome pass rushes, even.

SONS_OF_BELICHICK said:

Good signing...I hope to hear Hicks...signed soon too...

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Don't hold your breath.

Can never have too many "big bodies" in the middle.

I was very happy when I heard of this earlier. This is an excellent example of the way the Pats value players. Good, solid player. Adequate/realistic compensation. Both sides win.

supafly said:

I didn't even think this was much of an issue, myself.

He had a 400k roster bonus due and was under contract for reasonable money. He started in 17/18 games last year, and is an experienced, big bodied vet. Was this decision a difficult one?

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Nope.

Now let us hope the market settles a bit and hicks ends up staying...I'm not holding my breath...

woolster22 said:

Nope.

Now let us hope the market settles a bit and hicks ends up staying...I'm not holding my breath...

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I am skeptical, as well. I'm hoping that he'll be signed to a reasonable deal in the 2.5--3m dollar range, but if it's any more than that I'd have to wonder if Belichick will see better value elsewhere.

If there are seriously 11 teams interested, per the report, he's already been long gone.

Good, hopefully they can bring back Hicks. Those two with a hopefully healthy Easley and a 2nd year Brown will be a deep and talented interior group.

Gwedd said:

I was very happy when I heard of this earlier. This is an excellent example of the way the Pats value players. Good, solid player. Adequate/realistic compensation. Both sides win.

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Many get distracted by the "shiny beads" and lose sight of this basic value..

People are overestimating what other teams think of Hicks. He didn't play that much. Outside of the Foxboro fishbowl, he's a guy that regressed in N.O. and played a marginal amount here.

There are hundreds of players to look at. Who, besides us, noticed Hicks?

i'm happy for my boy. i followed this guy since he was in high school. i think we are properly motivating him. his lack of drive was my big concern. but maybe he is matured and hungry. he really was one of the unsung hero we had last year. he is one of the big reason why we are not missing big vince that much

RayClay said:

People are overestimating what other teams think of Hicks. He didn't play that much. Outside of the Foxboro fishbowl, he's a guy that regressed in N.O. and played a marginal amount here.

There are hundreds of players to look at. Who, besides us, noticed Hicks?

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Well, I generally agree with you that people here are overrating Akiem Hicks, who, as you noted, only played in about 1/4 of the defensive reps last year.

That said, if you're seriously asking the question of "who, besides us, noticed Hicks," then you may be surprised to learn that 11 teams are in the hunt, so yeah....someone else outside of the Foxborough fishbowl obviously noticed him.

New England Patriots free agent rumors: Market heating up for DL Akiem Hicks

supafly said:

Well, I generally agree with you that people here are overrating Akiem Hicks, who, as you noted, only played in about 1/4 of the defensive reps last year.

That said, if you're seriously asking the question of "who, besides us, noticed Hicks," then you may be surprised to learn that 11 teams are in the hunt, so yeah....someone else outside of the Foxborough fishbowl obviously noticed him.

New England Patriots free agent rumors: Market heating up for DL Akiem Hicks

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Yeah, I heard that. Any decent DT will draw interest. I'm just saying, how many other guys draw interest at any given time? 31 other teams have free agents too.

RayClay said:

Unsung hero last year. He got off some fearsome pass rushes, even.

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Agreed. I can remember several times seeing a huge body racing after the quarterback, and, each time, being surprised it was Branch. In a well-rested rotation, it seemed like he consistently showed up as a very solid playmaker.