Pats possibly looking at Courtney Upshaw

I would want absolutely nothing to do with Aldon Smith.

This dude reminds me of Jermaine Cunningham. No thanks, especially in a 4-3.

I certainly wouldn't mind it. Remember when Hightower went down the run defense suffered. He's only good at one thing but does that thing really well.

PatriotReign said:

I certainly wouldn't mind it. Remember when Hightower went down the run defense has gone to hell. He's only good at one thing but does that thing really well.

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No. He's a beast on the blitz too.

robertweathers said:

I'm really not sure why they are looking at bringing him in. Hes so-so.

You have Shea Mcclellin signing yesterday to help with ILB and a little of OLB.

I am openly wondering if the team is doubting that it can sign High AND Collins AND Butler.

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I believe they will but given the market conditions I don't think there will be a home town discount or something like that, Hightower will break the bank and he is going to command a top 3 salary because he is a top 3 LB in the NFL.

robertweathers said:

By then Logan Airport and MassPort will have made the appropriate security preparations.

No charges for 49ers' Aldon Smith over airport bomb threat

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My have times have changed.
They are football players. DL's have been crazy for years. Earnie Holmes shot at helicopters chasing him.

I agree on cracking down on domestic violence, but they are football players, not rocket scientists.

His airport threat was nothing more than a knucklehead running his mouth.

Sign the beast !

varjao said:

I believe they will but given the market conditions I don't think there will be a home town discount or something like that, Hightower will break the bank and he is going to command a top 3 salary because he is a top 3 LB in the NFL.

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Collins as well. Even if he is paid as the 21st CB, Malcolm is making $10m aav

cupofjoe1962 said:

My have times have changed.
They are football players. DL's have been crazy for years. Earnie Holmes shot at helicopters chasing him.

I agree on cracking down on domestic violence, but they are football players, not rocket scientists.

His airport threat was nothing more than a knucklehead running his mouth.

Sign the beast !

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Yea it was a half joke...

Ernie Holmes was nuts!

We need to sign upshaw. In our defense, he will be much better. Plus if he can spot Hightower, then maybe Hightower can be healthier throughout the season.

varjao said:

I believe they will but given the market conditions I don't think there will be a home town discount or something like that, Hightower will break the bank and he is going to command a top 3 salary because he is a top 3 LB in the NFL.

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While I agree fir the most part, there was an article written last year (maybe late offseason?) about Collins and Hightower basically being BFFs off the field.

*Putting on Homer Shades*

Said article gave me some hope these two would want to stay in the same locker room. I think the earlier we can sign either to an extension the better. Obviously we have no clue about the the locker room dynamics of Jones being traded, but bringing in a well paid vet like Long in exchange does make me think optimistically given said relationship. Butler is the wild card. The earlier he can be tied up, the better. Roberts be damned, and he looked damn good last year (ps, I know. But ffs, he looked just as good, if not better than butler) before he broke his arm.

Long story short, I hope we sign collins first, ~10 mil AAV for 4 or 5 seems reasonable given this offseason. Hope Hightower follows suit. Pray Butler signs a team friendly deal that negates the rfa tender, etc.

Sign them now as the cap will only go up so a big deal today doesn't mean a big deal 4 years from now.

Elijah said:

This dude reminds me of Jermaine Cunningham. No thanks, especially in a 4-3.

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What makes you think of Cunningham?

VectorPrime said:

Sign them now as the cap will only go up so a big deal today doesn't mean a big deal 4 years from now.

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One of the things about finances is, you need to keep an eye on them both now and in the future. The Patriots do this better than everyone else.

Elijah said:

This dude reminds me of Jermaine Cunningham. No thanks, especially in a 4-3.

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So that's another way of saying that the guy sucks?

meatface said:

What makes you think of Cunningham?

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Edge player who is better suited for a 3-4 and can't pass rush worth ****.

Maybe Upshaw has eaten his way to DE size by now, because he can never be a LB under the current general scheme here. He's slightly less athletic and measurables-impressive than Hightower, but those differences are dwarfed by the difference between the cost to sign Upshaw now and the cost of re-signing Hightower next year.