Are we going to lose Wilfork in his prime?

[mayoclinic]

I love Big Vince but I don't like this extension business coming out in the press.
He needs to get extended. There is no doubt about it!!!!!
But, with Cassel tying up a huge chunk of change until he is traded, there is no point in the Pats trying to do anything in terms of extanding him.
Vince needs to shut his mouth and really analyze the situation. Speaking in the press about your contract status, when you still have a year on your deal should be left to the likes of TO and Ocho Cinco
The team needs to pick up the phone and explain it to Vince if he and his agent can't read the tea leaves. If the front office has not done this, (pick up the phone and call him) they have made a mistake by not doing so.
I don't want to hear about bringing in a sexy new free agent for the D. I want our best paid first! And that means a new deal for Vince.
This needs to get done and the team needs to tell him it will get done as soon as the Cassel situation has been settled.

I agree with you I'm not particularly happy to see Wilfork airing things in the press - it's not a great sign. As I mentioned before, I doubt he is eager to sign a deal until Haynesworth sets the DT market. Also, with the CBA issue for 2010, there are a lot of contracts hanging. I'm not sure what is to be gained by going public making it look like the Pats are blowing him off, when they clearly understand that keeping him is one of our highest priorities.

 

[AzPatsFan]

under the current system, the pats are 67M under the cap for 2010, so there is no reason they can't keep all 3

I didn't relaize that was the case. It also provides the possible reason that Belichick could keep Cassel until he is absolutely and positively knows the situation at QB for 2009 amd then trade a QB in 2100 as he signs all the important guys coming up in 2010, CAP or UnCAPed.

 

[tanked_as_usual]

I didn't relaize that was the case. It also provides the possible reason that Belichick could keep Cassel until he is absolutely and positively knows the situation at QB for 2009 amd then trade a QB in 2100 as he signs all the important guys coming up in 2010, CAP or UnCAPed.

I believe cassel will be traded..............beyond the money thing, the last thing the pats need is to have cassel sitting on the bench when brady has a bad game..........to me, cassel is very expendable due to the $$ he would save plus the draft picks he will yield in return.......

I mostly believe this simply because as long as cassel is on this roster, the pats cannot do much business with the rest of the team..........giving him 14M plus for next year is just downright ridiculous, almost as ridiculous as any idea that he might take 5M per year for the next 3 or so.......he might like it here, but not that much.....as much of a pats fan that I am, I would not wait 3 years for the $$ I can get now, and it would be totally ludicrous for the pats to keep him at 14M..........it will prevent them from doing what they have to in order to contend, so what's the point?????

 

[Leave No Doubt]

I love Wilfork, he's one of my favorite Patriots, and hope he's re-signed. That said I resent the media (mostly Mike Reiss) leading the Wilfork campaign for a new deal when he has a year left on his contract.

In my mind, the question should be: What can we do to improve the defense in 2009?

Until that question is answered, I don't see why a player who is a free agent after 2009 should be such a priority. Absolute worst case scenario is that the Patriots have to Franchise Tag Wilfork after 2009, so I see a two year window to get a deal done before they have to come to terms on a long term deal.

I'd love to see the media focus on how we fix the pass defense that allowed the 2nd most passing TD's in the NFL, the putrid 3rd down defense, and the atrocious red zone defense. Re-signing a current player who's not even a free agent yet doesn't address the immediate concerns of this franchise.

I agree. I wish we'd see less speculation and more actual analysis from our media. These are the times I really miss Al Breer.

I wish we had this guy doing our Pats analysis: Smart Football: Coaching Preview: Alabama's Nick Saban vs. Clemson's Rob Spence