I did some research this morning on where the Patriots compensation picks should fall in the '09 draft.
Source for compensation formula is here:
Projecting the 2008 Compensatory NFL Draft Picks « AdamJT13
AdamJT has been projecting these picks forever, so I trust his info far more than a random Internet poster and/or blogger.
The Patriots lost 3 players who will qualify as compensatory free agents in Samuel, Stallworth, and Gay. Eugene Wilson would have qualified as well, but he didn't make the Tampa Bay squad.
The question is did the Patriots sign any compensatory free agents? Lewis Sanders is not a compensatory free agent because the Falcons released him in February. Sam Aiken is the one potential compensatory free agent signed by the Patriots and he is right on the boarder of qualifying. His contract size (about 785K/yr for 2 years) is right on the boarder for qualifying as a 7th round type and the fact that he rarely plays anything but special teams (offensive and defensive snaps are taken in to account in the formula) cloud his situation even further.
Bottom line: The Patriots receive 2 comp picks if Aiken is deemed to be a compensatory free agent and they receive 3 comp pick if Aiken is not deemed a compensatory free agent.
Asante Samuel will net the Patriots a 3rd round comp pick- His contract numbers fall well above the minimum per year (about 6 million where Samuel's contract avg's 9 mil) to qualify as a 3rd round pick for the Patriots.
Donte Stallworth's contract averages about 5 million a year, but it's backloaded so projecting where his comp pick status lies is more difficult. The Patriots should get a 4th or 5th round comp pick for Stallworth, but I don't know which.
Randall Gay's contract averages about 3 million a year which puts his contract on the boarder between the 5th and 6th round comp picks.
So the Patriots should end up with 3rd and 5th round compensatory picks at the very worst. At the very best they will end up with 3rd, 4th, and 5th round picks.
Source for compensation formula is here:
Projecting the 2008 Compensatory NFL Draft Picks « AdamJT13
AdamJT has been projecting these picks forever, so I trust his info far more than a random Internet poster and/or blogger.
The Patriots lost 3 players who will qualify as compensatory free agents in Samuel, Stallworth, and Gay. Eugene Wilson would have qualified as well, but he didn't make the Tampa Bay squad.
The question is did the Patriots sign any compensatory free agents? Lewis Sanders is not a compensatory free agent because the Falcons released him in February. Sam Aiken is the one potential compensatory free agent signed by the Patriots and he is right on the boarder of qualifying. His contract size (about 785K/yr for 2 years) is right on the boarder for qualifying as a 7th round type and the fact that he rarely plays anything but special teams (offensive and defensive snaps are taken in to account in the formula) cloud his situation even further.
Bottom line: The Patriots receive 2 comp picks if Aiken is deemed to be a compensatory free agent and they receive 3 comp pick if Aiken is not deemed a compensatory free agent.
Asante Samuel will net the Patriots a 3rd round comp pick- His contract numbers fall well above the minimum per year (about 6 million where Samuel's contract avg's 9 mil) to qualify as a 3rd round pick for the Patriots.
Donte Stallworth's contract averages about 5 million a year, but it's backloaded so projecting where his comp pick status lies is more difficult. The Patriots should get a 4th or 5th round comp pick for Stallworth, but I don't know which.
Randall Gay's contract averages about 3 million a year which puts his contract on the boarder between the 5th and 6th round comp picks.
So the Patriots should end up with 3rd and 5th round compensatory picks at the very worst. At the very best they will end up with 3rd, 4th, and 5th round picks.