Replacements for Givens.
 

I am of the belief that Givens will be gone. I see it as a Johnny Damon type thing. The Pats have placed a certain $ value on Givens and/or a #2 receiver, and that another team out there will come in offereing more that he will not pass up on. That being said, I think we should look into FA to replace him at the #2 spot as the draft class is not a strong this year. I would like to see the Pats re-sign Brown and Davis, but we still need a solid #2. Here are some names:

Joe Jurevicious
Antonio Bryant
Jabar Gaffney
Rod Gardner
Kevin Johnson

All of these guys have had success and are around, if not bigger then Givens. Plus most should be under 3 mil per year, which is the limit I think the Pats will offer Givens. But, more then anything I am a homer and is not very up to date on players outside of NE, expect for what I see on the stat sheet.

Thoughts and Suggestions?

One last thing, anyone think BB will go the route he has done in the previous years and trade a late first day draft pick for a veteren WR, alla Washington, Dillon and Starks. We do have 2 3rd rounder and 2 4th rounders. We can trade on of those and we will still get something back for the compensatory picks for the FA we lost last year. Maybe not a 3rd, but maybe a 4th. I know we can't trade those picks, but it might make up for a pick already traded.

My guesses :

1 - The longterm solution route atempt will be Antonio Bryant. We may not hear about it but I bet we make him a solid offer if he makes it to UFA.

2 - The shorterm solution route attempt will be Keenan McCardell. In this case we'll use one of our top three draft chocies on a WR.

I know that BB really respects McCardells game but isn't he like 34yrs old?

FWIW - If the Pats wanted Gardner, they could have signed him already as he is a street free agent since he was released by the Panthers before the end of their season.

I would like to see Jurevicius here. He played great for the Seahawks this season when both of their starters were injured.

I have a hard time seeing a guy like Bryant in New England. I can't see BB taking on a kid who throws punches at his coaches. The FA scene is lacking in WR talent this year, and that's the main reason it will be difficult to keep Givens.

I've never seen or heard anything good about Antonio Bryant - This guy is a headcase..

I know what you mean. I wonder if they might fill this need via trade?
I've heard that the draft doesn't have much to offer at WR either. I really hope that they bring Givens back.

McCardell would probably represent a fabulous short term solution since at age 36 he outperformed Givens by a wide margin and appears to be more durable. Unfortunately despite what some sources say he is not a FA. His contract with the Bucs when he was traded (which they were forced to do because he had held out all season) to the Chargers ran thru 2005 and was paying him around $2.5M. But in March of 2005 the Chargers signed him to a 2 year extension. I suppose they could cut him but that seems unlikely since he played in 16 games, had 70 receptions for over 900 yards, and scored 9 TD's in 2005. As BB would say, that's value.

From the Chargers official website:

"Keenan McCardell’s arrival in San Diego was a blessing for Chargers fans. When Reche Caldwell went down with a season-ending knee injury just days before the trade deadline, Chargers General Manager A.J. Smith cut a deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to bring McCardell to San Diego in exchange for third- and sixth-round choices in the 2005 NFL Draft. His experience as a Super Bowl Champion and a two-time Pro Bowler helped the Chargers make a late-season run and clinch their first division title since 1994. On March 9, McCardell signed a two-year contract extension with the Chargers to keep him in San Diego through 2007.

McCardell has a rather impressive NFL resume. With 755 career catches, he ranks 15th on the league’s all-time receptions list and his 9,763 career yards ranks 25th. Keenan is a five-time 1,000-yard receiver and has 26 career 100-yard receiving games. Not bad for a guy who was a 12th-round pick and was the 45th of 46 wide receivers chosen in the 1991 NFL Draft. "

My pick is Andre Davis. He's a much better outside receiver than inside. A full offseason to get back to 100%, study the playbook, and build chemistry with #12 and he'll be a totally different receiver than he was this past season.

Of course, we'd have to sign him.