Patriots release WR Anthony Gonzalez and sign Kentucky UDFA TE Nick Melillo

[jason423]

He got a $15K workout bonus, so the cap hit would only be whatever portion of that he may have earned. The rest of his deal was just $701K in unguaranteed salary, so that is the cap savings at the least.

Usually the contracted workout bonuses are earned after participating in a certain percentage of the workouts (usually between 50 and 75%). If I had to guess by cutting him now he will not earn his bonus which would mean no cap charge.

 

[WhiZa]

I really don't think he was hurt. If he was hurt then the Patriots wouldn't have signed him. If he got hurt then they would have come to an injury settlement.

The only explanation I could think of is that he probably didn't expect the Patriots to sign 4 more starting caliber WRs after him (Branch, Lloyd, Stallworth, Gaffney) and he has a better chance to make another team before training camp starts. Rather then getting cut right before the season when all the teams are usually set.

He probably did show up to OTAs which gave the Patriots a clear sign he wasn't happy and then they cut him. The interesting part of this is that he probably was the 2nd best slot receiver on the team and had a legitimate shot of making it based on that fact.

 

[pdangle]

I'm not quite clear on this, but if the Pats were just interested in TE and other fresh bodies for OTAs and the next few weeks, then what's to stop them from making a handshake deal with Gonzalez to cut him now for a bit and sign him back up after they evaluate and cut a few rooks in a month or two? Basically, give him time to heal when he wouldn't be useful anyway. Especially if you think he could pick up the offense readily, as most here seem to think he could.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

Did we really expect him to last to the reg season? Kinda a waste of his time IMO

 

[Fencer]

Reiss has a somewhat similar breakdown.

It's interesting how much Gonzalez out of the way clears up the picture:

- Welker, Lloyd, Gaffney and Slater seem set
- Ebert is battling Edelman for the backup slot role, with Edelman having a big edge in experience and Ebert likely going to the PS if possible
- Branch, Ochocinco and Stallworth are battling for probably 1 position or at most 2, depending on whether the Pats keep 6 or 7 WRs. Like Edelman, Branch has an advantage in experience, familiarity, and rapport with Brady.

That's how I see it too.

I guess the old Hoyer/Gonzalez rapport isn't going to be recreated on the field.

I'd add that Edelman's experience advantage comes in all three phases of the game.

I'd further point out that the Branch/Johnson/Stallworth winner isn't a lock to be game-day active. Branch would probably take that best of the three -- and promptly catch 9 passes for 100 yards the first or second game he was actually activated.

 

[Joey007]

[FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][SIZE=-2] Melillo Pro Day


Dates:[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][SIZE=-2]03/07/12 [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][SIZE=-2]Height:[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][SIZE=-2]6017[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][SIZE=-2]Weight:[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][SIZE=-2]248[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][SIZE=-2]40 Yrd Dash:[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][SIZE=-2]4.62[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][SIZE=-2]20 Yrd Dash:[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][SIZE=-2]2.63[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][SIZE=-2]10 Yrd Dash:[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][SIZE=-2]1.60[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][SIZE=-2]Vertical Jump:[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][SIZE=-2]32 1/2[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][SIZE=-2]Broad Jump:[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][SIZE=-2]10'01"[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][SIZE=-2]20 Yrd Shuttle:[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][SIZE=-2]4.37[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][SIZE=-2]3-Cone Drill:[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][SIZE=-2]7.19[/SIZE][/FONT]

If this man is 6017 feet like you say, we will be unstoppable. If only we had him in the SB last year. It takes a giant to beat a giant. :bricks:

 

[pork3]

I'd add that Edelman's experience advantage comes in all three phases of the game.

The problem with Edelman is that, eventhough he's versatile, I'm not sure one can say he's really great at anything other than special teams.

It's strange, because in his rookie season, in that otherwise forgettable year, he showed promise, most notably in that cursed Ravens playoff game.

Cheers.

-Jamman