Lots of good players getting second round tenders

[Rob0729]

Richard Marshall
Kirk Morrison
Leon Washington
Tony Scheffler
Pierre Thomas
Matt Roth (ok, he was in the Dolphins' dog house, but played strong for the Browns when cut)
LenDale White

I think may have missed several. I also think the Pats may pull the trigger and trade their 2nd round pick (they can only trade their second round pick) to get a RFA.

 

[JackBauer]

Kirk Morrison actually got a 3rd round tender, I believe, while they gave their nickel, Stanford Routt, a first round tender (LOL).

A bit short (6'2") and light in the pants (240) for our scheme, but definitely worth a look.

 

[JackBauer]

I would strongly consider trading a 2nd for Pierre Thomas.

Thomas + Maroney = win.

 

[VrabelMayeWin]

Pierre Thomas is interesting, admittedly the Saints have a better OL than we do but he only has 300 career carries (about 400 touches) and has a great career average and can catch the ball.

How he'd do with our OL and if he could hold up to more carries I don't know but in addition to the guys like Marshall and Morrison who have already been talked about, this guy is interesting.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Richard Marshall
Kirk Morrison
Leon Washington
Tony Scheffler
Pierre Thomas
Matt Roth (ok, he was in the Dolphins' dog house, but played strong for the Browns when cut)
LenDale White

I think may have missed several. I also think the Pats may pull the trigger and trade their 2nd round pick (they can only trade their second round pick) to get a RFA.

That's if they think that one of those tendered players is better than any player they could get in the draft with the pick.

They clearly felt that way with Welker (and were almost certainly right), but it's not at all clear they'll feel that way this year.

 

[Kontradiction]

I wanted the Pats to try to make a play for Roth last season when he got let go by the Dolphins. This season, I think we can get a better player in the second round for the OLB position, should we choose to swing that way.

Wouldn't mind giving up one of the second rounders for either Thomas or Washington. Say "no" to LenDale White.

 

[Sleeping King]

The Saints are not trading Thomas. They are just trying to up their odds of signing him to a reasonable contract. They would have tendered Bell if there was any interest in losing Thomas.

 

[JackBauer]

The Saints are not trading Thomas. They are just trying to up their odds of signing him to a reasonable contract. They would have tendered Bell if there was any interest in losing Thomas.

Can't we slip in a lil' poison pill action?

 

[Rob0729]

The Saints are not trading Thomas. They are just trying to up their odds of signing him to a reasonable contract. They would have tendered Bell if there was any interest in losing Thomas.

The Saints might not have a choice. If the Pats (or any other team) make Thomas a contract offer that the Saints can't afford to match, they can't block the trade. It isn't like the Pats have to make an offer to trade for Thomas. They sign him to an offer sheet and the Saints have a week to match or lose the player for a second rounder. The Saints don't have a lot of money and a lot of free agents to resign.

 

[Sleeping King]

The Saints might not have a choice. If the Pats (or any other team) make Thomas a contract offer that the Saints can't afford to match, they can't block the trade. It isn't like the Pats have to make an offer to trade for Thomas. They sign him to an offer sheet and the Saints have a week to match or lose the player for a second rounder. The Saints don't have a lot of money and a lot of free agents to resign.

And they have a massive hole at RB without Thomas. It would likely take a top 5 RB offer to get him and no one is doing that for Thomas. People have been playing too much Madden around here.

 

[Rob0729]

And they have a massive hole at RB without Thomas. It would likely take a top 5 RB offer to get him and no one is doing that for Thomas. People have been playing too much Madden around here.

What if the Pats put in a poison pill like he receives a $10 million bonus if he plays 5 games in 2010 in the state of Louisana. The league frowns on such deals, but they are not illegal. Must have an older version of Madden where that isn't allowed.

Again, the Saints are not a rich team. They gotta give Brees a new deal, try to resign Sharper who is looking for top dollar, try to resign Fujita who is looking to get paid, and resign a lot of other players. What if the Pats wait until the last week of the RFA period and the Saints spent all their money by then?

Stop making it sound like there is absolutely no way they let him go unless a team pays him stupid money. They will most likely fight like hell to keep him, but they might be in a position where they just can't. It isn't as cut and dry. I would say the percentage of him leaving being small, but not zero.

 

[KDPPatsfan85]

Time to jack the Raiders again? - Extra Points - Boston.com


Im sure there will be a lot of articles like this today. I love the speculation and looking forward to tomorrow at 12:01am!

 

[Sleeping King]

Look I don't want to come off as seeming I would not welcome Thomas because I would with open arms. The fact is you can talk poison pills or anything else you want till you are blue in the face. The fact is the Saints can match whatever is offered. I don't see any situation where the contract is so absurd that they don't. And one thing people will of course be overlooking since we are all homers here is this nugget. The Saints offer a better situation to sign with than the Patriots do.

 

[JackBauer]

Look I don't want to come off as seeming I would not welcome Thomas because I would with open arms. The fact is you can talk poison pills or anything else you want till you are blue in the face. The fact is the Saints can match whatever is offered. I don't see any situation where the contract is so absurd that they don't. And one thing people will of course be overlooking since we are all homers here is this nugget. The Saints offer a better situation to sign with than the Patriots do.

He, uh, just give you an example of a contract that the Saints would be unable to match.

Didn't the Vikings use a poison pill to snatch Hutchinson away from the Seahawks?

For example, in March 2006, the Minnesota Vikings offered Steve Hutchinson, an offensive guard with the Seattle Seahawks, a seven-year, $49 million contract of which $16 million was guaranteed. This contract offer had two poison pills in it. One was the salary structure, which would require the team to pay $13 million in the first year of the contract. That salary structure would apply to both teams equally, as the Seahawks would also have to pay $13 million in the first contract year, were they to match the offer. The second was a clause that required Hutchinson to be the highest paid player on the offensive line, or else the entire contract would be guaranteed. Since the Seahawks had another offensive lineman, Walter Jones, with a higher salary and the Vikings did not, this clause would have required the Seahawks to guarantee $49 million, and it effectively eliminated the Seahawks' opportunity to match the contract offer.

If the Patriots really want Thomas, it's not beyond reason to expect that they could draw up such a contract to exploit the Saints.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Richard Marshall
Kirk Morrison
Leon Washington
Tony Scheffler
Pierre Thomas
Matt Roth (ok, he was in the Dolphins' dog house, but played strong for the Browns when cut)
LenDale White

I think may have missed several. I also think the Pats may pull the trigger and trade their 2nd round pick (they can only trade their second round pick) to get a RFA.

That is not exactly true, they can trade their pick or any equivalent round pick they hold that is higher. The rule on tendering RFA's states a team wishing to sign a player to an offer sheet must have the requisite trade compensation (or better) available. So if you want to go after a RFA you have to have your picks or better in the prescribed round(s)... Ergo a team without the requisite picks could trade for the requisite pick or picks but they would have be better than the picks they were looking to replace (their original pick/s in those rounds they no longer have).

That said, as deep as this draft is purported to be I don't think BB will be terribly active in the RFA market. I don't think anyone will. Because you have to sign that player to a contract he'd be willing to accept, perhaps with unpalatable poison pill provisions (which Kraft chose to avoid in 2007 and likely would not choose to employ at this juncture), and with the looming lockout in 2011 I just don't see very many teams who are going to be willing to trade for the opportunity to hand out bonus money to guys who have never played for them and who may not play at all in another year...unless they see this situation or that player as a once in a lifetime oportunity.

 

[Sleeping King]

He, uh, just give you an example of a contract that the Saints would be unable to match.

Didn't the Vikings use a poison pill to snatch Hutchinson away from the Seahawks?



If the Patriots really want Thomas, it's not beyond reason to expect that they could draw up such a contract to exploit the Saints.

Once again the poison pill would only work with an insane total contract attached to it. Just for giggles let's pretend the Patriots extended a 5yr-35million deal with a clause saying he gets a double bonus if he plays more than 4 games in any season in Louisiana. Just because the Pats offer the contract doesn't mean he actually signs it before just going back to the Saints and saying 5-35 and I stay. The Saints are a better team, he lives there and his role is understood in the offense. I don't see any real reason for him to want to sign with the Pats.

 

[Sleeping King]

Also I don't think it is a coincidence that the Poison pill contracts stopped after the Burleson-Hutchinson fiasco. I guess from the NFLPA it could be viewed as collusion but I have to think those days have died.

 

[Rob0729]

That is not exactly true, they can trade their pick or any equivalent round pick they hold that is higher. The rule on tendering RFA's states a team wishing to sign a player to an offer sheet must have the requisite trade compensation (or better) available. So if you want to go after a RFA you have to have your picks or better in the prescribed round(s)... Ergo a team without the requisite picks could trade for the requisite pick or picks but they would have be better than the picks they were looking to replace (their original pick/s in those rounds they no longer have).

That said, as deep as this draft is purported to be I don't think BB will be terribly active in the RFA market. I don't think anyone will. Because you have to sign that player to a contract he'd be willing to accept, perhaps with unpalatable poison pill provisions (which Kraft chose to avoid in 2007 and likely would not choose to employ at this juncture), and with the looming lockout in 2011 I just don't see very many teams who are going to be willing to trade for the opportunity to hand out bonus money to guys who have never played for them and who may not play at all in another year...unless they see this situation or that player as a once in a lifetime oportunity.

Sorry, I guess I got the RFA rule wrong. I think there is a good possibility that Belichick uses the Pats' second to get a player. I doubt he will use two picks though. A solid veteran is still better than an unknown many of the times.

 

[Real World]

Didn't the Patriots put a position pill type clause in Welkers deal, or at least threaten to?

 

[Sleeping King]

Didn't the Patriots put a position pill type clause in Welkers deal, or at least threaten to?

The Pats didn't sign Welker to an offer sheet they outright traded for him. The rumor was that they were considering doing so but backed out. I don't view it as good business for the NFL on the whole to have those type of contracts. I would be beyond shocked if we see them come back.