Contract for Ninko
 

what would you think ninko will get , i will start with anderson who got 4 yr 27.5 million from the bills.

ninko - can drop in covereage , rush the passer and set the edge. anderson cannot do 2 of the above. He might be a better or even pass rusher.

or do you think ninko has more value. some team might step up give him a bigger contract this offseason.

he is 28 btw and coming off his best season .8 sacks , 5 FF . Even last year he had 6.5 sacks

Re: Contract for Ninko
 

Anderson didn't get 27.5 million. It was actually around 20 million over that span. I'd say 4-5 million a year would be good for Nink.

Re: Contract for Ninko
 

You are right !. 27.5 was intially reported by nfl .com and then later it was disclosed it was a 20 million contract.

Re: Contract for Ninko
 

Going by that, Its good news for us In resigning Ninkovich. I don't think he'll cost more than what that contracts worth.

Re: Contract for Ninko
 

Rob Ninkovich is under contract for 2013, at very reasonable cost. He will be 30 when his contract expires. The Pats will evaluate the DL position during training camp, including how Armond Armstead affects Ninkovich's positioning, and they will have a better handle on their cap situation for 2014 by then. If there is money and Ninkovich wants to sign a team-friend extension, I'm sure that will be an option. I personally doubt that the Pats will be giving out a 4 year deal to a 30 year old FA DE/OLB for anything close to what Buffalo gave Mark Anderson, but that's JMHO.

Re: Contract for Ninko
 

At the end of his current contract Nink will be offered a Team friendly, low offer for a player who is a sub DE/LB who also plays ST.

I only say this because no offense to Nink the player who i love for the pats but you don't win SB's paying JAG players large Salaries. Nink is a do it all swiss army knife but there is nothing (other than his terrific attitude) that would make him stand out on a championship D. I would hope by the end of next year that Hightower will be a better edge rusher and OLB than NINK and make his role not as valuable to this team.

I hope he gets that big offer his effort deserves but i also hope it's not by the pats as i think any large offer for Nink would be an over payment.

Re: Contract for Ninko
 

I agree that Hightower will probably take more of Ninkovich's playmaking role and make him less critical. I don't agree that Ninkovich is a JAG by any means. I think he's a valuable contributor, and the Pats would be happy to have him stay on - within limits. They'll probably have conversations with him at some point during the season, and if he wants to sign a team friendly deal it will get done sooner rather than later. But they won't go the limit, and he can probably get someone to overpay him on the open market. I suspect he will stay with the team, but it's just a guess.

Re: Contract for Ninko
 

Any thoughts on how Ninko's status here may link with the team's plans for 3-4/4-3 considerations?

I was thinking that if the team went 3-4 (Armstead-Wilfork-Deaderick?) Ninko would be an ideal fit back at his old OLB spot. He seems more comfortable at DE though.

If the team stays in the 4-3 and another edge rusher is found, you gotta think that Ninko would be relegated to backup duty.

Unless Armstead is the answer to interior passrush, or an interior DT rusher is found, the edge is where the upgrade is going to be done, and Ninko is just too much of an overachiever and too little of a brute force guy to make the every down difference.

Re: Contract for Ninko
 

In a 34 the OLBs would be Hightower and Jones and the ILBs would be Spikes and Mayo.
Ninko would be a reserve. He is a mediocre starter but would be excellent for a reserve.

Re: Contract for Ninko
 

I think the whole 4-3/3-4 thing is a red herring. The Pats have been and will be "multiple", and I certainly don't see going to a pure 3-4 base as the best fit for their personnel. And I think that any idea that Brandon Deaderick would be our starting DE in 2014 in ludicrous. He's a decent reserve, but no more. Chandler Jones is a great 4-3 RDE who has the athleticism to stand up at times, but I think it would be a misuse of his talents to try and convert him to a 3-4 OLB. Again, some of it is semantics, because the Pats are constantly mixing concepts and morphing between schemes.

My personal hope is that Armond Armstead will emerge as the player that BB was hoping he could get from Shaun Ellis in 2011: the 6'5" 290# end who can play in 4-3 and 3-4 schemes, stand up at times, move inside, and cause disruption all over the place. I think that's BB's model. Ellis was over the hill by the time he came here, and Red Bryant stayed in Seattle and Jonathan Fanene didn't work out, but BB generally keeps on trying until he finds someone who can fill a role that he envisions. So my model is Armstead-Wilfork-DT-Jones in the "base", with the idea being a DT who can also play 3-4 DE, so that Jones can either be a classic 4-3 LDE or stand up in an elephant role. In sub packages Armstead could move inside, with Ninkovich playing LDE. Ninkovich could also be used a fair amount at OLB, where he has played in the past - I think that between the two he would still get a fair amount of snaps and be an effective playmaker, just not a regular starter and every down player.

What I'd love to do is add a guy in the draft who can play that "DT" role next to Wilfork and be a beast inside in 4-3 schemes or play 3-4 DE. Johnathan Hankins, Jesse Williams and Brandon Williams call come to mind. Maybe a late round guy with elite athleticism and high upside like William Campbell.

Either way, I see Nink continuing to be a valuable contributor, but not a foundational player. He'll be 30 in the 2014 off-season. A 2-3 year deal for reasonable money makes sense, but not over-spending, regardless of scheme.