Will We Sign Anyone In This Market?
 

I don't see us signing anyone soon..maybe in 3-4 weeks if at all. The price of Wilson, Seymour, Branch etc... has skyrocketed and we need to save or re-up them now. I'm okay with it though. Signing big name FA's ruins your teams salary structure and can possibly ruin chemistry.

My predicition is we sign 2-4 backup type FA's at the most. We'll probably use most of our picks as opposed to trading them and we'll be stronger for it all.

I'm a bit biased of course....I've always hated signing FA's anyways except for backup....most get injured or become lazy. The only time you get any benefit is when you can sign an old school guy like Dillon. BB's FA track record is not so hot....I hope he's in Israel also...come back in 3 weeks Bill.

I think they can start re-signing/extending some of their own players soon, but still bring in at least one high-ish profile FA.

Not sure how you are coming to your conclusions F.B.N. for guys like Branch and Wilson.

1) Manuel - signed a 5 year/10 million deal with a $2 million signing bonus. That is CHUMP CHANGE for a free safety. And Manuel isn't too much of a chump. I don't think this impacts Wilson much at all. Especially since he's 2 years away from free agency.

2) Branch - Consideirng that Jurevicius signed a 4 year/10 million deal, again, I don't see how this would cause Branch's stock to skyrocket.

3) Seymour - I agree that Seymour's contract is going to go up. Probably have to be in the 8 mill a year range to get him signed.

4) Samuel - Not sure if the Pats are going to hang onto him. Yes, he hits occasionally and makes some plays, but he disappears way too often.

Not until it cools down but there's still a lot of guys out there I like. A lot. FA, like most things, is a marathon not a sprint.

I think the Patriots are most concerned with keeping Seymour and Branch, extending their contracts, and for good reason. Beyond that, they clearly don't want to lose Vinateri, or Givens and Mcginest, but will not give them rediculous contracts (except perhaps Vinateri). I think the Patriots will do what they normally do, go after players willing to sign for the mininum that COULD make a difference on the team, and try to find talent through the draft. One player I would like to see the Patriots pursue is MLB Bart Scott from Baltimore, but everything with the Patriots depends on what the player's asking price is.