REPORT: McGinest cut...

[patsox23]

for now. Hopefully we'll bring him back into the fold. Hate to see this, though. Yuck.

http://www.boston.com/sports/footba...03/09/patriots_cut_ties_with_mcginest?mode=PF

 

[italian pat patriot]

i agree. let's really hope to bring him back...

anyway: thks Willie !!!

 

[smg93]

He'd be nice to have back. It looks like it comes down to money again but at 34 years old, I wonder if the fact that he's played here his whole career and is comfortable with the system he's in will help play a bigger part on his decision to stay or go versus a younger free agent like Givens for example. I'm sure a reasonable deal will be offered by the PATS. Let's hope it's good enough.

 

[Mike the Brit]

You expect bad news, but when it comes it's still bad news!

I need a rant, so here it is:

I HATE stupid contracts with stupid, stupid inflated ridiculous numbers at the end of them. For a supposedly smart franchise, they are DUMB, DUMB, DUMB. You have uncertainty and bitterness and have to end up cutting the guy anyway and don't even get a compensation pick when he goes and signs with a division rival -- as is his perfect right and I have absolutely no problem with him for doing.

OK, rant over. Happy Thursday, everybody.

 

[smg93]

I HATE stupid contracts with stupid, stupid inflated ridiculous numbers at the end of them. For a supposedly smart franchise, they are DUMB, DUMB, DUMB.

I hope I don't get you into another "rant" mode with this question , but why is this practice done anyway? Is it more for a player/agent to "boast" that he got a lot of money from the team? It mystifies me too that this practice continues.

Happy Thursday to you too!

 

[DarrylS]

The only person reporting this so far this AM is Borges, have not seen it anyplace else except there and on the message boards. If you read the article it is based on second hand information, not saying it is wrong, maybe just don't want to believe it.

 

[BionicPatriot]

I don't think this is to serious yet. Not just yet. I think we're going to see a situation similar to Troy Brown last year.

Fingers crossed everyone!

 

[NEPatriot]

The team that worries me the most is SD. He's from Long Beach, lives in LA, and they've got the cap room to overspend. Let's hope he's back, although at a more reasonable price.

 

[dhamz]

I HATE stupid contracts with stupid, stupid inflated ridiculous numbers at the end of them. For a supposedly smart franchise, they are DUMB, DUMB, DUMB. You have uncertainty and bitterness and have to end up cutting the guy anyway and don't even get a compensation pick when he goes and signs with a division rival -- as is his perfect right and I have absolutely no problem with him for doing.

OK, rant over. Happy Thursday, everybody.

Without that last year added to spread out cap hits, Willie would have had to have been cut long before this year. There is no bitterness. Willie himself last week called it a ghost year that he always knew would never get paid.

The reason it is always such a ridiculous # is because if it wasn't, the team might suddenly enforce the ghost year that the player didn't want. If Willie was only going to make 2 million per the last year, the Pats keep him and his gesture of extending the deal for the sole purpose of giving the team cap relief has now cost him a year of free agency and a chance for a signing bonus. So they make the number prohibitive and the player is covered.

 

[stinkypete]

I haven't seen this anywhere else; ESPN, profootballtalk, patriots.com, only Borges seems to be reporting this.

 

[edzo44]

I haven't seen this anywhere else; ESPN, profootballtalk, patriots.com, only Borges seems to be reporting this.

Remember, we call him "wrong" Borges for a reason!!!

 

[JR4]

They may have had to cut him. If a new deal was not ready to go then
in order to prevent the 3.5M Roster Bonus they needed to cut him.

This very well may be a prelude to a new contract for Willie. I just can't
believe BB will let Willie go permanently unless some team offers him
an excessive contract that Willie just can't pass up and BB wont come
close to matching.

 

[patchick]

I HATE stupid contracts with stupid, stupid inflated ridiculous numbers at the end of them. For a supposedly smart franchise, they are DUMB, DUMB, DUMB. You have uncertainty and bitterness and have to end up cutting the guy anyway and don't even get a compensation pick when he goes and signs with a division rival -- as is his perfect right and I have absolutely no problem with him for doing.

As others mentioned, it was this stupid inflated ridiculous year that secured Willie for the Pats LAST year. Moreover, a similar dummy year bought them the time to extend Mike Vrabel before hit had a chance to test the FA waters.

 

[PATSNUTme]

This makes me sick. But, Willie has said this week that he wants to retire a Patriot and understands the business side of the game.

This does not mean that if he's given an offer he can't refuse from another team that he won't take it.

 

[smg93]

Without that last year added to spread out cap hits, Willie would have had to have been cut long before this year. There is no bitterness. Willie himself last week called it a ghost year that he always knew would never get paid.

The reason it is always such a ridiculous # is because if it wasn't, the team might suddenly enforce the ghost year that the player didn't want. If Willie was only going to make 2 million per the last year, the Pats keep him and his gesture of extending the deal for the sole purpose of giving the team cap relief has now cost him a year of free agency and a chance for a signing bonus. So they make the number prohibitive and the player is covered.

Is this about adding another year to spread signing bonuses and stuff like that? If it does, does it mean then that this year, even if Willie doesn't play for us anymore there is still a charge to the cap because they spread the signing bonus to include this year as well?

 

[mgteich]

The two who have liked Willie's contracts over the years, and the patriot contract structure are the patriots and Willie. Without this time of gimmick, Willie would have been gone to the Raiders three or four years ago.

There is NO animosity betweeen them.

I suspect that WIllie was offered an extension, as Vrabel was under similar circumstances, and Willie turned it down. He will likely go to San Diego or Cleveland.

I don't expect to see Willie back. He is not a player at the end of his string, at least he doesn't think he is. He is a top starting linebacker. The situation with regard to Troy Brown was and is quite different. The only real question for Troy is whether he will retire. Last year, the question is whether anyone would make him a starter.

 

[oldrover]

I can't find ANYONE out there who can confirm this. Man, I'd love Borges to be wrong.

 

[BelichickFan]

It's very possible Wille will be back. But we have to remember that he, Vrabel and Colvin can't all play outside other than rotating. And Colvin was a revelation last year but not until Vrabel moved inside.

It's entirely possible they're just going to bite the bullet, move Vrabel back outside and get a new ILB partner for Bruschi - possibly Beisel depending how they feel about him, remember he never got to start with Bruschi. But if they move Vrabel back to OLB, Willie's value to the team drops and we all know how the Patriots are with value.

 

[Pats726]

It was repoerted on ESPN a few minutes ago Mike and Mike....I think all expected WIllie to be cut...and possibly resigned..I would love to see that!! Sometimes restructuring can be hard..not easy and there may have been a time for that..before the bonus kicked in. I would not say its a done deal he is gone..I do NOT believe that. It may not be a TBrown situation either..but hopefully he will be back. If not, it will be a sad moment in Patriot's history...and his loss may be felt more in the locker room than on the field.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Relax. Unlike all the ludicrous posts here about signing Givens and Adam, the Patriots have a legit shot at retaining Willie in a new contract. Yes, teams like SD could woo him away but it's not fiscally ridiculous for the Pats to retain Willie, unlike the Givens and Adam fantasies posted here time after time.