Heck, it started with Chad Eaton when he went to Seattle.
The Pats have let players go either because of age, or price tag. In both cases, almost every player has gone on to smaller and lesser things (as opposed to bigger and greater). The lone exception so far has been Vinatraitor... but, after all, he's "just a kicker". (And even he seems to have tailed off quickly in Colts-land.)
IF Wilfork's price is right, he'll stay. If not, he'll go. And Brace may not be as good as Vince, but I bet he'll be servicable.
The loss of Branch did probably hurt them that year but, as with the loss of Samuel last year, IMO it's not the loss of the player that hurt but the inability of the team to adequately replace him, which is a different thing. It's not like they NEEDED Deion Branch or Asante Samuel; they simply needed a decent WR or a decent CB. For whatever reason, in those seasons, the Pats thought they could make do with what they had at WR and DB respectively, and that wasn't borne out due to inefficiency and injury.
The Pats have let players go either because of age, or price tag. In both cases, almost every player has gone on to smaller and lesser things (as opposed to bigger and greater). The lone exception so far has been Vinatraitor... but, after all, he's "just a kicker". (And even he seems to have tailed off quickly in Colts-land.)
IF Wilfork's price is right, he'll stay. If not, he'll go. And Brace may not be as good as Vince, but I bet he'll be servicable.
The loss of Branch did probably hurt them that year but, as with the loss of Samuel last year, IMO it's not the loss of the player that hurt but the inability of the team to adequately replace him, which is a different thing. It's not like they NEEDED Deion Branch or Asante Samuel; they simply needed a decent WR or a decent CB. For whatever reason, in those seasons, the Pats thought they could make do with what they had at WR and DB respectively, and that wasn't borne out due to inefficiency and injury.