Patriots Release Dominique Easley

I'm pretty shocked like everyone is. I'm in the camp that thinks Easley was a rare physical talent with a great first step. Obviously they rolled the dice on his injuries, and maybe some indesirable personality characteristics aa well if you believe the whispering campaign. I never really heard a lot about that side of him. Overall, color me shocked.

Also, the timing and lack of compensation feels off. How could they not get anything for a pretty decent player? Why would they do this now instead of after they got to see him in TC? He was productive in limited duty and you could make the case that someone is getting a fairly good player with potential for just $1M. Picking him up is actually the kind of move BB might himself make. So, maybe another shoe is about to drop which would lower his perceived value in the eyes of the other teams. Or maybe it's just fear in the other teams of trading with BB.

manxman2601 said:

Not a binky, just think he fits what the Pats look for in a linebacker and character.

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yes and no....I think his awareness is pretty bad.....otherwise, the dude should dominate

Richard Camembert said:

I'm pretty shocked like everyone is. I'm in the camp that thinks Easley was a rare physical talent with a great first step. Obviously they rolled the dice on his injuries, and maybe some indesirable personality characteristics aa well if you believe the whispering campaign. I never really heard a lot about that side of him. Overall, color me shocked.

Also, the timing and lack of compensation feels off. How could they not get anything for a pretty decent player? Why would they do this now instead of after they got to see him in TC? He was productive in limited duty and you could make the case that someone is getting a fairly good player with potential for just $1M. Picking him up is actually the kind of move BB might himself make. So, maybe another shoe is about to drop which would lower his perceived value in the eyes of the other teams. Or maybe it's just fear in the other teams of trading with BB.

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he needs to go to carolina or seattle where they let idiots thrive

Todd Bradley said:

Yeah I mean even if he's a "locker room cancer", or so the mediots say..., I find it VERY, VERY HARD to believe you couldn't get a team like Dallas to give up at least 6th round pick for this guy.

He was a 1st rounder just two short years ago, who's shown a ton of ability. Injuries or not, he's a very talented DT. Just cutting him because "he didn't fit in" makes no sense at all....

Not sure I get Belichick's rational on this, but obviously Bill deserves the benefit of the doubt.

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It reminds me of failing to get anything in return for 2x pro bowler and former first round pick, Meriweather. One can assume that he would've brought a late round pick as well.

As odd as this may sound, there's a part of me that wonders if Belichick doesn't enjoy sending a bit of a message with the outright cut. I think it's safe to assume that he'll always do what's best for the team, but I highly doubt that he was up all night working the phones in either cases.

IllegalContact said:

he needs to go to carolina or seattle where they let idiots thrive

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Hopefully not. That will just piss us off even more.

As selfish as it is, part of me wants him to go to a team like Tennessee or Cleveland.

Bill Lee said:

To simply say he's a bust given all of this to me is far too simplistic. If he never showed anything on the field I'd have a different opinion but the opposite is true, he was one of the best players at his position when he was able to be on the field.

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I agree that Easley wasn't a bust based on the occasional skill level he showed, but he wasn't "one of the best players at his position" either. He has the potential to be a good player, but 3 sacks and 25 tackles in 2 years is modest production by any standard. (Rookie Malcolm Brown had 48 tackles and 3 sacks in 2015.)

On the 2015 team, Easley was the fourth best interior lineman on the Patriots behind Alan Branch, Malcolm Brown, and Akiem Hicks. Maybe 5th best since Sealver Silinga was more productive.

The signing of Terrance "Pot Roast" Knighton made Easley expendable. At least for the short-term, Easley's release is not a big deal.

Longer term, the issue is that you look at 1st rounders as contributors and core guys for 8 to 12 years. That ain't happening. So we now have the 2014 #1 and the 2016 #1 unavailable to lead the team down the road.

But, don't get me wrong, from what we've read so far, this is a good move by Belichick and Patricia. Teams, in sports or at work, cannot perform well if everybody's not pulling their weight and rowing in the same direction.

goheels22002 said:

I agree that Easley wasn't a bust based on the occasional skill level he showed, but he wasn't "one of the best players at his position" either.

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He was, on a per-snap basis. I heard a quote stating that he was 2nd in the league for interior pass rushers last year if you measure it on a per-snap basis. Of course this shows he didn't have enough snaps to get much better overall stats, which means he was being managed due to his injury history and status.

goheels22002 said:

Longer term, the issue is that you look at 1st rounders as contributors and core guys for 8 to 12 years. That ain't happening. So we now have the 2014 #1 and the 2016 #1 unavailable to lead the team down the road.

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Not sure why that's the thing that matters. Do you rank all your co-workers on how high up they were on their high school and/or college class standings? Isn't it more about what you do once you hit the streets? Should we cut Butler because he can't possibly be a 'core guy'?

IllegalContact said:

it was a rhetorical question....just this whole notion of needing to know why is pretty silly....the guy is gone and at this point makes no difference why unless you are planning on changing your status as a fan of the team because of it

don't sweat it

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just this whole notion of needing to know why is pretty silly

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I never said I needed anything. The report generated additional questions that came to mind because I follow the Patriots closely and like to think about them as a recreation.

the guy is gone and at this point makes no difference why unless you are planning on changing your status as a fan of the team because of it

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The logical extension of this attitude is that we ought not discuss a team's games, transactions, mistakes, victories, or anything else because we have no control, so it therefore makes no difference. So, do you come on here to just make inane arguments?

don't sweat it

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This seems patronizing. I'd offer the same to you. If you don't think questions I've posed 25 pages into a thread are worthwhile, just ignore them. If you don't think my posts are worthwhile at all, just ignore me. I'll, again, offer the same to you.

goheels22002 said:

I agree that Easley wasn't a bust based on the occasional skill level he showed, but he wasn't "one of the best players at his position" either. He has the potential to be a good player, but 3 sacks and 25 tackles in 2 years is modest production by any standard. (Rookie Malcolm Brown had 48 tackles and 3 sacks in 2015.)

On the 2015 team, Easley was the fourth best interior lineman on the Patriots behind Alan Branch, Malcolm Brown, and Akiem Hicks. Maybe 5th best since Sealver Silinga was more productive.

The signing of Terrance "Pot Roast" Knighton made Easley expendable. At least for the short-term, Easley's release is not a big deal.

Longer term, the issue is that you look at 1st rounders as contributors and core guys for 8 to 12 years. That ain't happening. So we now have the 2014 #1 and the 2016 #1 unavailable to lead the team down the road.

But, don't get me wrong, from what we've read so far, this is a good move by Belichick and Patricia. Teams, in sports or at work, cannot perform well if everybody's not pulling their weight and rowing in the same direction.

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Knighton and Easley might be listed as DT's but they're 2 completely different players.

BB took a chance on Easley that early because finding a guy that can destroy gaps like that is gold in the NFL. It didnt pan out the way he thought, but quite honestly it was a chance worth taking.

I know it's easy to say now but, in retrospect, I'm glad this guy's gone :

Michael Giardi ‏@MikeGiardi 3m3 minutes ago
One Patriot player telling me "Easley never fit. Never tried to fit." Then he made a noise. Good riddance? "Yep."

Michael Giardi ‏@MikeGiardi 1m1 minute ago
Another Patriot said simply of Easley, "strange dude."


Sucks that we blew a pick on him but best to move on. The Locker Room is bigger than this guy.

BelichickFan said:

I know it's easy to say now but, in retrospect, I'm glad this guy's gone :

Michael Giardi ‏@MikeGiardi 3m3 minutes ago
One Patriot player telling me "Easley never fit. Never tried to fit." Then he made a noise. Good riddance? "Yep."

Michael Giardi ‏@MikeGiardi 1m1 minute ago
Another Patriot said simply of Easley, "strange dude."


Sucks that we blew a pick on him but best to move on. The Locker Room is bigger than this guy.

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That's at least 2-3 players who have privately given negative takes on Easley to the media. This seems to never happen with this team to have players speaking out against a teammate (or ex-teammate) anonymously.

Kdo5 said:

That's at least 2-3 players who have privately given negative takes on Easley to the media. This seems to never happen with this team to have players speaking out against a teammate (or ex-teammate) anonymously.

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I remember the Sound FX part with Jones mic'd up against the Redskins. Easley there seemed like a guy who cooked his own stuff at the sidelines while Jones was the madman who was running his mouth all game. In hindsight it seems that it was a bigger sign than what could've been expected by that small clip.

'Sound FX': Chandler Jones

supafly said:

It reminds me of failing to get anything in return for 2x pro bowler and former first round pick, Meriweather. One can assume that he would've brought a late round pick as well.

As odd as this may sound, there's a part of me that wonders if Belichick doesn't enjoy sending a bit of a message with the outright cut. I think it's safe to assume that he'll always do what's best for the team, but I highly doubt that he was up all night working the phones in either cases.

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It could absolutely be that Bill feels like the message that he sends by outright cutting guys that doesn't try to fit the team is worth more than getting a late round draft pick. And I can see that point.

Yikes, if that's true...

PF_SU said:

I remember the Sound FX part with Jones mic'd up against the Redskins. Easley there seemed like a guy who cooked his own stuff at the sidelines while Jones was the madman who was running his mouth all game. In hindsight it seems that it was a bigger sign than what could've been expected by that small clip.

'Sound FX': Chandler Jones

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I remember several people that said that it looked like Easley didn't fit in and didn't care based on that clip. I just saw that as Easley not beeing a high energy guy on the sideline. But it seems like they where right on-

BelichickFan said:

I know it's easy to say now but, in retrospect, I'm glad this guy's gone :

Michael Giardi ‏@MikeGiardi 3m3 minutes ago
One Patriot player telling me "Easley never fit. Never tried to fit." Then he made a noise. Good riddance? "Yep."

Michael Giardi ‏@MikeGiardi 1m1 minute ago
Another Patriot said simply of Easley, "strange dude."


Sucks that we blew a pick on him but best to move on. The Locker Room is bigger than this guy.

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The first head scratcher was in the playoffs. He was ´´injured`` but he stayed doing some kind of workout and laughing on the sidelines... Few days later he was on IR.

Did not seem to be nothing really serious , they just needed to cut someone in the team because blount got hurt and they need to fill the void.

He was the first choice and they kind of used his problem during the game as an excuse IMO.

Marinlik said:

I remember several people that said that it looked like Easley didn't fit in and didn't care based on that clip. I just saw that as Easley not beeing a high energy guy on the sideline. But it seems like they where right on-

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It was definitely bothersome but was just one clip so I just shrugged.

Bill . . . for the love of God, man, you always say you want guys for whom football is important . . . REMEMBER THAT IN THREE WEEKS.

Marinlik said:

It could absolutely be that Bill feels like the message that he sends by outright cutting guys that doesn't try to fit the team is worth more than getting a late round draft pick. And I can see that point.

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I tend to agree. Trying to trade the player could send the message that, "We thing you have value and we'll try to accommodate you".

Just outright cutting the guy screams, "You're fired. You have no value to us. Leave now."

PF_SU said:

Yikes, if that's true...

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Thats disgusting.

1960Pats said:

Questioning Belichick's draft decisions is not quitting on the team.

-In spite of picking 30 more players than the Jests during the Belichick era there are only 3 or 4 more Pats' drafted players currently playing in the NFL, and one of those is Tom Brady who was drafted 16 years ago.
-The Pats have picked 20 more players than the Bills during the Belichick era but there are 10 more Bills drafted players still in the NFL.

And in the case of Easley, Belichick deserves some criticism. It was a bad pick.

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Questioning Belichick is fine, claiming you would be a better GM isn't and that's what triumph once claimed. There is a contingent of trolls on this site who only show up to take sh.ts on Belichick and the team and who believe they could do better and they are completely full of sh.t, triumph is one of those trolls. As far as the Easely pick goes it was a bust pick and Belichick gets the blame just as he should get the credit for putting teams together every season that are asking the best in football. And as far as Bradys window goes it has been open for fifteen years and will remain open for the rest of his career, Belichick gets the credit for that as well.

As far as the trolls go they can drop f.cking dead, I'm sick of their crap and will make sure they know that whenever they pop up to take a sh.t.