The 2014 Mock draft Thread.

[ATippett56]

You don't think two top 45 picks could upgrade Wendell and Connolly?

Wendell has been the problem and not Connolly.

Your disdain for Connolly is totally unfounded, as is most posters on this message board.

 

[mayoclinic]

But there's already quite a few second year players to be added in: Armstead. Harrison, Moe, McGuffie etc. The depth on this team is great but this season also demonstrated the limits to so many rookies. Wilfork75 has three rookies playing the three interior line positions. That gives us the same problem there that we had at WR this year. It just isn't an upgrade in the short term and I certainly don't want Brady behind three rookies. I think both you and Wilfork75 are just going to struggle realistically fitting all those picks into a cogent final 53 man roster.

Like I said, in both your mocks, I don't have a problem with the picks, I just think you're both 3-4 over what is realistic. Doesn't mean I'm right though.

I've included a "cogent final 53 man roster" in my mock above.

The way I have the picks projected is something as follows:

33. Trent Murphy or StephonTuitt, DE. Used as part of a rotation with Jones and Ninkovich. If Murphy also gets some time standing up in base sets with a 3 man front. If Tuitt, also gets some time at DT in sub packages.
56. Lamarcus Joyner or Kyle Fuller, DB. Competes with Steve Gregory for the starting safety position opposite Devin McCourty. Either is a big upgrade talent-wise. If Gregory's experience wins out, they are part of a 4 man rotation with McCourty, Gregory and Harmon.
61. Marcus Smith, DE/OLB. Used as a 4th LB in rotation with Mayo, Hightower and Collins. Sees time at SAM, 3-4 OLB, and the Leo position. Depending on coverage skills, may see time in sub packages.
Early 3rd. Gabe Jackson, OG. Competes for the starting RG spot. If he's not ready, Marcus Cannon could start at RG.
93. Devonta Freeman, RB. Backs up Shane Vereen as the 3rd down back, and gets snaps as part of a RBBC package.
Early 4th. Billy Turner, OL. Gets time as a reserve at both tackle and guard position, with an opportunity to eventually take over LG from Logan Mankins down the road.
5a. Richard Rodgers, TE/Move TE. Competes with Mark Harrison for the Move TE position, and with Trey Millard for snaps, as well as with the in-line TEs.
5b. DeAndre Coleman, DT, Cal. Competes with Tommy Kelly and Armond Armstead for a roster spot. Could get the "Foxboro flu" if he needs time.
5c. Cody Hoffman, WR. Competes with the 2nd year WRs (including TJ Moe) for a roster spot, likely the 6th WR if he sticks. Could get a red shirt year depending on how things work out.
6 (comp). Jonathan Dowling, DB. Competes for the 5th CB spot and as a backup outside CB, as well as safety depth.
6 (comp). Trey Millard, FB/H-back, Oklahoma. Likely starts the year on PUP. If healthy, competes with James Develin for the FB spot, or with an extra TE, WR, RB or OL based on his versatility and overall value.
7. Larry Webster, DE/Move TE, Bloomsburg. A developmental and/or conversion project. Either PS material or gets IR'd for a red-shirt year to develop. Would likely eventually compete with Richard Rodgers, Mark Harrison and Trey Millard for a roster spot.

I see plenty of room for these guys to coherently fit into the roster, and I'm not critically counting on any of them stepping into a starting role. Jackson and Joyner would be the most likely to start early on, but that would depend on how the competition with the veterans sorts out. Competition is good - it builds a stronger and deeper roster. If rookies happen to earn more playing time and/or starting jobs, it will be because they've earned it, not because they are pigeonholed for those roles.

 

[BradyToAmendola]

Is there any way we can get Jace Amaro AND Jordan Matthews? Those are my 2 favorite players. We need to get Brady some weapons.

 

[captain stone]

Amaro might be available at 30; Matthews might not be available at 62, but I'm not on board
with drafting another WR with a top-100 pick, anyway. Too many needs elsewhere.

 

[JerseyShore99]

Is there any way we can get Jace Amaro AND Jordan Matthews? Those are my 2 favorite players. We need to get Brady some weapons.

Absolutely, I like them both too, but the need for WR isn't high, if we do take a late round WR I want it to be Jeremy Gallon from Michigan, I know that he's a slot but his hands, speed, and route running looked amazing at Michigan, could be a big time steal

 

[ATippett56]

2014 New England Patriots Mock Draft - 1/21/14

Straight Up - No Screwing Around

Round 1 - Austin Seferian-Jenkins, TE - Washington (43)

Round 2 - To Be Determined

Round 3 - Westin Richburg, OC - Colorado State (89) or Bryan Stork, OC - Florida State (111)

Round 4 - Justin Ellis, DT - Louisiana Tech (140)

Round 6 - Rajion Neal, RB - Tennessee (195) or Tyler Gaffney, RB - Stanford (208)

Round 6 - Jacob Pedersen, TE - Wisconsin (217)

Round 6 Compensatory - Trey Millard, FB - Oklahoma (239)

Round 6 Compensatory - Spencer Long, OG - Nebraska (240)

Round 7 - Brandon Dixon, CB - Northwest Missouri State (246)

Parenthesis - NFLDraftScout Overall Rankings

NFL Draft - 2014 NFL Draft Prospects - CBSSports.com - NFLDraftScout.com

Caveat: NFLDraftScout Overall Rankings dated 1/20/2014

Note: Multiple selections depends on availability

Collegiate UDFAs (potential diamonds in the rough):

Keith Price, QB - Washington (376)
Corey Linsley, OC - Ohio State (264)
Chris Burnette, OG - Georgia (370)
Matt Patchan, OT - Boston College (261)
Gator Hoskins, FB - Marshall (265)
George Atkinson III, RB - Notre Dame (304)
Ted Bolser, TE - Indiana (293)
Gabe Holmes, TE - Purdue (379)
Quincy Enunwa, WR - Nebraska (280)
Ken Bishop, DT - Northern Illinois (286)
Beau Allen, DT - Wisconsin (466)
Jamil Merrell, DE - Rutgers (365)
Kenny Anunike, DE - Duke (396)
Chris Young, ILB - Arizona State (344)
Khairi Fortt, OLB - California (417)
Nickoe Whitley, FS - Mississippi State (268)
Jonathan Dowling, FS - Western Kentucky (284)
Brock Vereen, SS - Minnesota (307)
Dezmen Southward, SS - Wisconsin (341)
Dexter McDougle, CB - Maryland (279)

Unrestricted Free Agent Acquisitions:

Julian Edelman
Michael Hoomanawanui
Will Svitek
Dane Fletcher
Aqib Talib

Salary Cap Casualties:

Adrian Wilson
Tommy Kelly
Isaac Sopoaga

NFI List (to be "redshirted" for the 2014 NFL Season):

Trey Millard
Spencer Long

 

[dryheat44]

REQUEST: Is it really necessary to post pictures of every player with the mock drafts? I enjoy following them, but it just makes each post ridiculously long. Especially when people respond to/quote the original, and then more pictures get added.

Just a suggestion.

 

[dryheat44]

Okay, here goes nothing:

Assumptions -
Resigns = Talib, Fletcher, Blount, Aiken (or FA LS), Collie, Hooman, Wendell*
Adios = Spikes, Edelman, Carter

Key Questions-
Does Belichick like Emmanuel Sanders enough to entice him here?
With both Solder and Cannon up for Free Agency in 2014, does Belichick plan on extending one or both?
How much does Belichick like Wendell? Does he prefer Connolly at center?

On to the draft:

1. David Yankey OG Stanford - I like Wendell better than most, but he does struggle against bigger and stronger DTs. With the focus on the running game to take pressure off of Brady, kicking Connolly to center and drafting Yankey as a Day-one starter makes some sense.

Also considered - Stephon Tuitt, Jace Amaro, Jason Verrett (possibility if Talib goes elsewhere)

2. DaQuan Jones DT Penn State - Again, I'm assuming Talib returns, otherwise Fuller and Purifoy are looking good. It seems to me though that the priority on defense needs to be some athletic wide bodies in the middle of the D-Line. I like what Jones and Siliga brought to the table, but I'd like to add another rare body-type to the talent pool.

Also considered - Dee Ford, Michael Sam, Kyle Fuller, Louchiez Purifoy

3. Billy Turner OT North Dakota St - I wish Dante hung around until at least the draft. Anyway, as I mentioned earlier, Solder and Cannon are free agents after 2014, and Solder and Vollmer each missed some time with injuries, that bear watching for becoming repetitive. I've never watched Turner, but he looks mean, and seems to fit our OT profile, plus I assume any lineman from the Dakotas is one tough hombre.

Also considered - Stanley Jean-Baptiste, Daniel McCullers

4. Crockett Gilmore TE Colorado St - He's rated here for now, so let's do it. To me, the choice of Amaro in the first vs. Gilmore in the fourth is a no-brainer.

6. Max Bullough ILB Michigan St - Hopefully, his suspension from the Rose Bowl will cause him to fall to this range. He is everything you could want in a middle linebacker. Great bloodlines, leadership, and production.

6. Jeff Mathews QB Cornell - Mallett seems destined to move on. I don't necessarily think Mathews is Brady's successor, but he seems perfectly capable of becoming Mallett's.

7. Isaiah Crowell RB Alabama St - His problems are well documented. So is his talent. We have zero running backs under contract past 2014. For a 7th round pick, I'll take a chance on Crowell's having matured.

Okay, be gentle. Draft season, for me, is just getting started, so I have lots to learn.

 

[Henroc]

Amaro might be available at 30; Matthews might not be available at 62, but I'm not on board
with drafting another WR with a top-100 pick, anyway. Too many needs elsewhere.

Plus we have mark Harrison and tj moe.... I'm excited to see harrison kill it

 

[mayoclinic]

Post-Senior Bowl (except for the game) bump:

I. Cuts / Restructures:

1. Cut Vince Wilfork. Painful, but smart. 33 years old in December, coming off an Achilles' tear, overweight $7.5M cap savings.
2. Cut Dan Connolly. 32 years old this year, mediocre, $4M cap hit, $2.5M cap savings.
3. Cut Adrian Wilson. 34 year old this year, coming off of IR, $1.8M cap hit, $1M cap savings.
4. Restructure/extend/cut Stephen Gostkowski ($4M cap hit), Matt Slater ($2.3M cap hit), Steve Gregory ($3.5M cap hit) and Tommy Kelly ($2.5M cap hit). All are in a contract year in 2014.

#1-3 saves about $11M in cap space. #4 could save another $4-5M or so. Call it $15M of additional cap space for now.

II. Off-Season Trades:

1. Trade Ryan Mallett for a high 2nd round pick. I know, someone has to be willing to do it. But there are definitely possibilities (Houston, Cleveland and Minnesota are the top 3, and all have 2nd round picks in the 33-40 range). Call it #33 from Houston for now.
2. Trade a 6th round pick to Minnesota for Matt Cassel or to Cleveland for Brian Hoyer. Both are going into contract years. Cassel has an option to void it within 5 days of the start of free agency. He will likely be no better than #3 on the depth chart, and has a $3M cap hit. He restructures, a la LeGarrette Blount last year. Hoyer is coming off an ACL injury.

III. Internal FA Signings:

1. Aqib Talib, CB. A priority.
2. Julian Edelman, WR. If Edelman wants too much money then Jeremy Maclin, Emmanuel Sanders, Eric Decker (unlikely, will want too much $$$) and Hakeem Nicks (unlikely) are possibilities.
3. LeGarrette Blount, RB. If Blount wants too much money, Minnesota RB Toby Gerhart could be an option. He has more receiving ability than Blount.
4. Dane Fletcher, LB. Low cost depth re-signing.

All these guys love being with the team and want to be back, depending on the $$$.

- Let walk: LB Brandon Spikes, OC Ryan Wendell, OL Will Svitek.
- LS Danny Aiken could be brought back on a minimum 2-3 year deal, but I wouldn't tender him. A long snapper can be found as a UDFA.

IV. External FA Signings:

1. Alex Mack, OC, Cleveland (6'4" 311#) or Jon Asamoah, OG, Kansas City (6'4" 305#). Either would be a significant upgrade.
2. Linval Joseph, DT, NY Giants. 6'4" 323#. Underrated DT who is very strong against the run but can also push the pocket. Comparison: Brandon Mebane.
3. Brandon Pettigrew, TE, Detroit. 6'5" 265#. Scott Chandler could also be an option.

See also the external options listed above if Edelman and Blount price themselves out of the Pats' range.

V. 2013 Red-Shirt Additions:

1. Armond Armstead (6'5" 305#) returns and plays a hybrid DT/DE role.
2. Mark Harrison (6'3" 240#, 35" arms, 4.37 40 time) returns and is converted to a hybrid WR/Move TE role.

VI. The 2014 Draft:

I'm assuming the Pats will get 6th round comp picks for Danny Woodhead and Donald Thomas.

29. DL: Trent Murphy, Stanford (6'6" 261#), Stephon Tuitt (6'5" 303#) or Ra'Shede Hageman (6'6" 312#).
- Trade #33 to Jacksonville for #39 and 102.
39. LB: Marcus Smith, Arkansas (6' 3 1/2" 258#) or Kyle Van Noy, BYU (6'3" 245#)
- Trade #62 for a high 3rd and a 5th round pick (similar to the 2011 trade back from 60 for 73 and 138).
3a. OG: Gabe Jackson, Mississippi St (6'3" 340#), Weston Richburg, Colorado St. (6'4" 300#), Joel Bitonio, Nevada (6'4" 310#) or Anthony Steen, Alabama (6'2" 310#). Preference depends on availability and whether the Pats sign a C or G in FA.
93. RB: Devonta Freeman, Florida St. 5'8" 203#. Ray Rice clone who has played in a RBBC system. Will allow us to not be dependent on Shane Vereen.
102. OL: Billy Turner, North Carolina St. 6'6" 316#. Can play both tackle and guard. Plays with a Mankins-like mean streak.
- Trade 4B and 6th round picks for 2 5th round picks.
5a. TE/Move TE: Richard Rodgers, Cal (6'4" 245#) or Crockett Gillmore, Colorado St. (6'6" 253#).
5b. DL: DeAndre Coleman, Cal (6'5" 315#), Brent Urban, Virginia (6'7" 295#), Taylor Hart, Oregon (6'6" 287#), Ben Gardner, Stanford (6'4" 276#) or Will Allen, West Virginia (6'6" 271#). Preference depends on availability and who the Pats take at #29.
5c. WR: Cody Hoffman, BYU. 6' 3 7/8" 217#. Poor man's Jordy Nelson. Not a burner, but very underrated, in a very deep draft.
6 (comp). DB: Jonathan Dowling, Western Kentucky (6' 2 1/2" 198#) or Aaron Colvin, Oklahoma (5' 11 1/2" 194#). Either can play safety or outside CB.
6 (comp). FB/H-back: Trey Millard, Oklahoma. 6'3" 253#. Coming of an ACL injury which drops him. A jack of all trades who can play the H-back position as well.
7. Moon Shot: Larry Webster, DE/TE conversion, Bloomsburg (6'6" 259#) or Colt Lyerla, move TE, Oregon (6'5" 250#).

 

[JMC00]

I'll take Gil Brandt's bait. Mallet for the 33rd


1st Stephon Tutitt, DT/DE, Notre Dame
2nd DaQuan Jones, DT, Penn State
2nd Yawin Smallwood, LB, UConn
3rd Stanley-Jean Baptiste, CB, Nebraska
4th Arthur Lynch, TE, Georgia
(Trade two of the four 6th round picks for a 5th)
5th Gabe Ikard, C/G, Oklahoma
6th DeAndre Coleman DT/DE, California
6th Aaron Murray, QB, Georgia
7th Daniel Sorensen, SS, BYU
7th Kevin Norwood, WR, Alabama

 

[mayoclinic]

I'll take Gil Brandt's bait. Mallet for the 33rd


1st Stephon Tutitt, DT/DE, Notre Dame
2nd DaQuan Jones, DT, Penn State
2nd Yawin Smallwood, LB, UConn
3rd Stanley-Jean Baptiste, CB, Nebraska
4th Arthur Lynch, TE, Georgia
(Trade two of the four 6th round picks for a 5th)
5th Gabe Ikard, C/G, Oklahoma
6th DeAndre Coleman DT/DE, California
6th Aaron Murray, QB, Georgia
7th Daniel Sorensen, SS, BYU
7th Kevin Norwood, WR, Alabama

Very Freudian first pick there.

 

[patsinthesnow]

I'll take Gil Brandt's bait. Mallet for the 33rd


1st Stephon Tutitt, DT/DE, Notre Dame
2nd DaQuan Jones, DT, Penn State
2nd Yawin Smallwood, LB, UConn
3rd Stanley-Jean Baptiste, CB, Nebraska
4th Arthur Lynch, TE, Georgia
(Trade two of the four 6th round picks for a 5th)
5th Gabe Ikard, C/G, Oklahoma
6th DeAndre Coleman DT/DE, California
6th Aaron Murray, QB, Georgia
7th Daniel Sorensen, SS, BYU
7th Kevin Norwood, WR, Alabama

Wow, the defense would have depth galore with this mock. As long as we got a solid TE2 and a better center in free agency I'd be happy with this.

Just curious, are you a big fan of Smallwood or have seen him play? Only 2 LBs see the field most of the game in today's NFL and the three LB spots are set to be using a 2nd on an ILB.

 

[mayoclinic]

Wow, the defense would have depth galore with this mock. As long as we got a solid TE2 and a better center in free agency I'd be happy with this.

Just curious, are you a big fan of Smallwood or have seen him play? Only 2 LBs see the field most of the game in today's NFL and the three LB spots are set to be using a 2nd on an ILB.

If we're going to spend our top 4 picks on defense (assuming a Mallett trade), I'd personally go with:

1. DE Trent Murphy (NFL DraftScout #36) or Stephon Tuitt (37).
2a. DT/DE Stephon Tuitt (37) or DT Timmy Jernigan (46).
2b. OLB Marcus Smith (72).
3. DB Jean-Baptiste (86) or Keith McGill (95).

That would be one heck of a defense.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

- Trade #29 (640 points) to San Francisco for #56 and 61 (632 points)
29. DL: Trent Murphy, Stanford (6'6" 261#), Stephon Tuitt (6'5" 303#) or Ra'Shede Hageman (6'6" 312#).

 

[stelfans]

I will slightly update my last mock based on what happened this week.
Trade Mallet for a 2nd and move up from the 6th round to the 5th.

2a-Troy Nicklas,TE,Notre Dame
2b-Weston Richburg,OL,Colorado St.
2c-Joel Bitonio,OL,Nevada
3a-Aaron Lynch,DE,South Florida
3b-Devonta Freeman,RB,Florida St.
4-Richard Rodgers,TE,Cal
5-Brent Urban,DL,Virginia
6-Ronald Powell,LB,Florida
7-Johnathan Dowling,DB,WKU

Doubt anyone trades for Mallett and i can see those last 4 guys rising up boards but for now that's what i'do and be very very happy with it. Obviously

 

[mayoclinic]

The trade was from the previous iteration, and I forgot to delete it. Sorry. I've fixed it.

 

[JMC00]

Wow, the defense would have depth galore with this mock. As long as we got a solid TE2 and a better center in free agency I'd be happy with this.

Just curious, are you a big fan of Smallwood or have seen him play? Only 2 LBs see the field most of the game in today's NFL and the three LB spots are set to be using a 2nd on an ILB.

I am a fan. Although keep in mind this is with that hypothetical Mallett trade. If I was to do a straight up mock with what their picks are now I wouldn't mock him in that spot. Not sure who'd i'd go with there in a straight up.

But my reasoning if that hypothetical trade were to happen is that Spikes is out of here. There is also guarantee Fletcher will be back. Which definitely weakens the LB corps.

Ya 1-3 is very good in Mayo, Collins and Hightower then you have Beauharnais, White and Davis. That doesn't really inspire me. Smallwood helps the depth especially if Fletcher leaves. It also helps that he can play ST.

Just think Bill should use this draft to get quality depth on defense. He can use free agency to get better on offense.

 

[JMC00]

I'll take Gil Brandt's bait. Mallet for the 33rd


1st Stephon Tuitt, DT/DE, Notre Dame
2nd DaQuan Jones, DT, Penn State
2nd Yawin Smallwood, LB, UConn
3rd Stanley-Jean Baptiste, CB, Nebraska
4th Arthur Lynch, TE, Georgia
(Trade two of the four 6th round picks for a 5th)
5th Gabe Ikard, C/G, Oklahoma
6th DeAndre Coleman DT/DE, California
6th Aaron Murray, QB, Georgia
7th Daniel Sorensen, SS, BYU
7th Kevin Norwood, WR, Alabama

2014 NFL Cap is $126.3. As of Right now the Pats 2014 numbers is $117.9. Pats Rollover the $5.6 million from 2013 making their cap number $131.9

$14 million available in cap room


Cut Wilfork $7.5m savings ($21.5m cap room)
Cut Connolly $2.5m ($24m)
Cut Sopoaga $2m ($26m)
Cut Kelly $1.5m ($27.5m)
Cut A.Wilson $600k ($28m)


Restructures/Extensions
Gostkowski- Lowers his '14 cap hit by $1.5m ($29.5m)
McCourty- Lowers his $1m ($30.5m)
Slater- Lowers his $1m ($31.5m)
(Restructuring Mankins could probably free up $3-6 million more but I'll leave that possibility out of this)

Re-Sign
Talib 4yrs/$28m ($16m guar., '14 cap hit- $5m) ($26.5m)
Edelman 4yrs/$16m ($12m guar. '14 cap hit $3m) ($23.5)
Blount 2yrs/$5m ($3m guar., '14 cap hit- $1.5m) ($22m)


FA Signings
Jon Asamoah 4yrs/$25m ($20 guar., '14 cap hit $4m) ($14.5)
Brian De La Puente 4yrs/$22m ($16m guar., '14 cap hit- $3.5m) ($18.5)
Scott Chandler 3yrs/$12m ($9m guar., '14 cap hit- $3m) ($11.5m)
Arthur Jones 3yrs/$11m ($9m guar., '14 cap hit $2.5m) ($9m)
Clay Harbor 2yrs/$3m ($1.5m guar., '14 cap hit $1.5m) ($7.5m)


2014 53 Man Roster

Offense
QB Brady, Murray (or PUP him and sign a Veteran FA)
RB Blount, Ridley, Vereen, Bolden
WR Edelman, Dobson, Amendola, Boyce, Harrison, Thompkins/Norwood
TE Gronk, Chandler, Harbor, Lynch
G Mankins, Asaoamah, Ikard, (Cannon)
T Solder, Vollmer, Cannon
C De La Puente, (Ikard)
(23)


Defense
DT D.Jones, Siliga, Chr. Jones
DE Cha. Jones, Ninkovich, Buchanan
DT/DE A. Jones, Tuitt, Armstead, Coleman
LB Mayo, Hightower, Collins, Smallwood, Beauharnais
CB Talib, Dennard, Ryan, Arrington, Baptiste
S McCourty, Gregory, Harmon, Sorensen
(25)

ST
K Gostkowski
P Allen
LS ?Aiken?
Slater
(4)

Total: 52
Camp battle between some UDFA, Ebner, and T. Wilson for the 53rd spot

 

[mayoclinic]

2014 NFL Cap is $126.3. As of Right now the Pats 2014 numbers is $117.9. Pats Rollover the $5.6 million from 2013 making their cap number $131.9

$14 million available in cap room

I'm afraid your numbers are off:

1. The projected cap is $126.3M. That's a number that the NFL gave to teams in December, but it's not official. Last year's final cap was over the original projection. Some project that it will be more like $128M. Some teams are still using $123M for their calculations until they see a number set in stone. Until the league announces the official number, we don't know for certain what it will be.

2. The Pats will roll $4.1M over from 2013 (NOT $5.6M), which will increase their adjusted cap from whatever it is. If it's $126.3M then the Pats' adjusted cap will be $130.4M. If it's $128M then the Pats' adjusted cap will be $132.1M. Again, since the NFL hasn't announced the league-wide cap, it's just a guess.

3. The Pats have $117.9 in salaries and bonuses that counts against the 2014 cap. They also have $5.6M in dead money (NOT rollover) which also counts against the 2014 cap, for a total of $123.5M currently counting against the cap. This is clearly stated on Miguel's cap page.

4. How much the Pats have to "spend" will be the difference from the team-adjusted cap number and $123.5M. That number is $6.9M if you use the reported projection of $126.3M. It's $8.6M if you use the $128M number.

5. Whatever number ends up being left over in #4 above needs to cover draft picks (determined by the NFL based on rough draft position and number of picks), the practice squad, and contingency funds to sign players during the season. Those needs will probably total something like $6M, which will chew up the vast majority of the money from #4 above.

Your numbers have 3 errors:

- You list the rollover as $5.6M, when it is only $4.1M (net: -$1.5M)
- You don't include the $5.6M dead money (net: -$5.6M, subtotal net difference -$7.1M).
- You don't address the money needed to sign the rookies, PS or contingency funds (net: roughly -$6M, total net difference about -$13.1M); you do leave $7.5M left over in your plan, so this last one could be covered from those funds).

The bottom line is that the Pats may possibly have a couple of $M left over to sign free agents - their own or external - once the cap is announced, after subtracting the money needed to sign rookies/PS and some contingency funds, depending on the final cap number. That's it - nowhere close to the $14M figure that you list. The rest needs to come from cuts, extensions or restructurings. Your projected cuts/restructurings total $17.6M, and with a couple of $M left over we might have around $20M in 2014 cap space to spend. Your FA signings currently total $24M in 2014 cap space.