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Free Agency - What's Left


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If you hope to get a lot for Mallett, it has to be on a contingent pick. Even if Lombardi loves Mallett as much as some people hope, something like a 3rd this year and a contingent 2014 pick that an go up to a 2nd is probably the ceiling.

Any hope you have for a 1st would have to be wildly contingent for it to have the slightest realism.
 
Now that the Patriots have recently signed a free agent and after reading Tony and Brady2Moss regurgitate over themselves, here is a look at what is left for free agent talents and depth chart needs that have been discussed, particularly at wide receiver, cornerback, defensive end and linebacker:

WR - Danario Alexander (RFA), Laurent Robinson, Julian Edelman, Emmanuel Sanders (RFA), Brandon Lloyd, Ramses Barden, Devery Henderson

Best Possible Patriot Option: A combination of Robinson or Edelman or both

Cornerback (in case Dennard is sentenced to prison time during the season): Antoine Winfield, Sheldon Brown, Quentin Jammer, Rashean Mathis, Jacob Lacey.

Best Possible Patriot Option: I have always been a fan of Jammer because he has been solid in run support and has been a starter for what seems like a decade. Lets hope that Dennard only faces probation, suspended sentence, fines and community service through the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation. If he faces prison time that disrupts his ability to start, then you could do worse than someone like Jammer.


Defensive End: John Abraham, Dwight Freeney, Ray Edwards, Lawrence Jackson

Best Possible Patriot Option: Ideally it would be either Abraham or Freeney but they are possibly going to wait it out and are still asking for big dollars.

Linebacker: Shaun Phillips, Brian Urlacher, Nick Barnett, Michael Boley

Best Possible Patriot Option: The Pats are going to need a 4th linebacker that can provide support in pass defense as well as provide an option in either taking a responsibility on the field to free up someone like Dont'a Hightower for pass rushing responsibility. Urlacher, if healthy, still showed last year that he is an asset in pass defense and Phillips still has plenty left. Let the Dane Fletcher comments commence.
 
Back to "free agency - what's left?"; a quick look at what is currently available for veteran free agents

Wide Receivers with ties to the Pats
Brandon Lloyd
Julian Edelman
Donte' Stallworth
Randy Moss
Jabar Gaffney
Deion Branch


Other Wide Receivers
Ramses Barden
Steve Breaston
Devery Henderson
Earley Doucet
Chaz Schillens
Brandon Stokely
Braylon Edwards
Brian Robiskie
Sammy Stroughter
Derek Hagan
Ben Obomanu
Titus Young
Michael Spurlock
Ruvell Martin
Laurent Robinson
Joshua Cribbs
Roscoe Parrish
Matt Willis
Devin Aromashodu
Austin Collie


Defensive Ends
John Abraham
Dwight Freeney
Ray Edwards
Israel Idonije
Lawrence Jackson
Trevor Scott
Kyle Vanden Bosch
Jarvis Moss
Juqua Parker-Thomas
Kyle Moore
Antwan Applewhite
Dave Tollefson
Dave Ball
Keyunta Dawson
Shawne Merriman


Cornerbacks
Sheldon Brown
Marcus Trufant
Antoine Winfield
Quentin Jammer
Rashean Mathis
Terrence McGee
William Middleton
Jacob Lacey
Joselio Hansen
Stanford Routt
Shawntae Spencer
Cedric Griffin
Elbert Mack
Ryan Mouton
Brandon McDonald
Michael Adams
Chris Carr
Pat Lee
Justin King
Justin Tryon
Michael Coe
DJ Johnson
Will Allen
 
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I really question the wisdom in targeting a one year wonder (and that one year wasn't even particularly notable) who sustained four concussions last year.

Think I'd rather go for E. Sanders or draft a WR high. I like Alexander but his knees are like linguine.
 
Obviously, the Pats or any team for that matter would have to do a medical background and workup on Alexander but it is safe to say that if Alexander could do what he did last year with noodle arm Phillip Rivers considering that he had a 16-game equivalent of 70 catches, 1,170 yards and 13 TD's, he has to be worth a look at this point in the off-season.

I would rather sign a wide receiver that did not cost a draft pick considering that Robinson and Alexander are available. I think that you understand why.
 
I think you've been taken up by the Ryan Mallett propaganda machine regarding him being a first round talent, if he was someone would have taken him he plays the most sought after position in football. Also you are putting too much into the mentorship of Brady.

Mallett has shown absolutely nothing in the NFL, his best game was probably that first preseason game he had against the Jags I believe.

I would be more than happy with a 3rd round pick in this draft to recoup what we used to get Mallett and a conditional 2nd or 3rd if he ends up being a decent starter for the team we trade him to.

I think I'm about to give up the English language. I did not say Mallet is better - anywhere. Did you, and the others responding, bother to read my posts??

Once more - I said that for AJ to say it's "silly" to believe Mallet is now better was one of the silliest things I've read on the website. Of course he could be better, it's absurd to insist that it's not possible. And I pointed out the FACT that hundreds and hundreds of times we've heard coaches/GMs wax on how useful it is for a young QB to sit a while before playing. Obviously, brighter minds than mine think not only is it possible but even likely that a QB who doesn't play right away in the NFL will be a better player than when he was drafted.

And because of this FACT ( that wise NFL minds think a QB is often better off if they sit a while before playing in the NFL, and thus sitting next to two of the best ever - TB and BB - must accentuate the possibility that Mallet's sitting COULD have led to improvement over a dude who was either a first round talent or very close to it) I speculated that at least one GM is out there mulling over these frustrating possibilities.

Is that clear enough? Man......
 
WR - Danario Alexander (RFA), Laurent Robinson, Julian Edelman, Emmanuel Sanders (RFA), Brandon Lloyd, Ramses Barden, Devery Henderson

Best Possible Patriot Option: A combination of Robinson or Edelman or both

I would rather sign a wide receiver that did not cost a draft pick considering that Robinson and Alexander are available. I think that you understand why.

What on God's green earth possesses you to believe that Laurant Robinson would be a good fit here?

Laurent Robinson NFL Football Statistics - Pro-Football-Reference.com

Even Edelman is a strange option for actual WR's who we want to see catch passes....
 
if Robinson ever came to the pats..i may buy his jersey just to burn it in anger
 
And that tells me everything that I need to know. So seriously - is there really an ignore feature on Patsfans.com? Edit: That was easy. Thank you Patsfans.com!

:)

if Robinson ever came to the pats..i may buy his jersey just to burn it in anger
 
Would you care to explain why you think Laurent Robinson would be a good fit on the Patriots?
 
I think I'm about to give up the English language. I did not say Mallet is better - anywhere. Did you, and the others responding, bother to read my posts??

Once more - I said that for AJ to say it's "silly" to believe Mallet is now better was one of the silliest things I've read on the website.
You are criticizing other people for misreading your comments about a post of mine that YOU MISREAD?
I said it is silly to say that Malett has improved 70 draft slots.
 
Evidently you don't get the possibility Mallet could be better.
Possibility? What does that even mean? Players do not 'improve' their stock from 83 to 12 because there is a possibility players could get better.

This despite the thousands of times we've heard NFL coaches/GM's say a QB would be better off to sit for a while and learn the game before being forced to play. I never said Mallet was definitely better, only that for you to say there was no way of understanding why he could be better made no sense and thus was "silly" - a word I used because you brought up the term first.
The suggestion was the he would go #12 in a redraft. Of course that is silly.
Could he play like he deserved that? Maybe. Anything is possible, but he has not done anything that would change the overall opinion of him would change for the better, much less up to #12.

And exactly who are you to say Mallet "is not a first round player"?
Ummm, I'm a guy who noticed that no teams in the NFL felt he was a first round player.

Now if you mean that your opinion is that Mallet's not a 1st round talent, fine. But a definitive statement like yours on website for fans, is well, silly.

I'm saying the NFL decided he wasnt a first round player.
 
Finally, we still need another vet CB. Unless Boston's own Chris Gamble can be coaxed out of
retirement, then Bill should decide btwn Antoine Winfield, Sheldon Brown, Quentin Jammer,
Jacob Lacy or Mike Jenkins, in that order.

Scratch Mike Jenkins off the list, and WR David Nelson. But hey, we have Donald Jones.
 
I also think that there may be a fine line between preparing ourselves for a future need (assuming the loss of Talib, and/or injuries) by selecting a developmental CB, and potentially wasting a roster spot by going after a player who will cost a couple/few million dollars this season.

In other words--do we need another CB? Of course we do, but that CB may also be chosen via the usual routes of lower depth chart signings in a veteran or even a mid to late round pick.

We have starters at the moment in Talib, Dennard, Arrington, and possibly even Dowling--since we have to certainly include him in the mix and can't keep complaining about an injured player. That gives us 4 at the moment, with the possibility of having McCourty either move back permanently, or rotate back and forth like we saw in SB46. Either way you look at it, we definitely have at least 4-5 starters right now. I don't see anything more than some usual depth competition and or a developmental choice in the draft. It's my belief that a good argument could be made for wasting too much money and resources on this position, with other positions needing attending to.

However, no one can answer that question unless they knew what Belichick's personal thoughts were regarding a number of variables. He may surprise me and select someone in the top 2 rounds, but I'm expecting something in the mid/later round range myself.

A vet like Sheldon Brown or Antonine Winfield would be great, but probably wouldn't see much, if any playing time, and really wouldn't justify the cost. I'm assuming the same came into play when considering players such as Asomugah etc, who came relatively cheap. Grimes probably comes into a totally different category altogether, due to market cost and injury concen.

I disagree here. Claiming that we have 4-5 starters right now, and that Brown or Winfield wouldn't see much,
if any, playing time is unrealistic.
 
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