We're on to 2016. Think FA/Trades as in 2007 rather than the #60 Draft choice [sign the beast v 004]

[Wrath Mania]

Oh Mayo is gone no question. And after disappearing for the last third of a season, AGAIN, will anyone really miss Chandler? If we can get a solid guard or a high 2nd round pick I say pull the trigger with a trade.

Yep, I'm all for trading Chandler Jones. Though in his defense, Sheard and Ninko didn't really stand out yesterday either.

 

[Armchair Quarterback]

No to Fleener, he's just a more athletic Chandler, bad hands and can't block, I'd rather sign Dwayne Allen.

Marvin Jones and Kearse would be great. I'd like to see them go for both, neither should break the bank. Clear out all of the receivers not named Edelman.

Alfred Morris might come cheap.

 

[supafly]

Alfred Morris might come cheap.

That's exactly the type of FA signing we should consider, as he's a guy who can come here on a reasonable deal and contribute for relatively cheaper money.

I still think they're absolutely crazy if we go yet another year without addressing the RB position in the draft, though. Ultimately, we can get 2 halfway decent (or at least "serviceable" backs) players from this method, and both of those RBs can add talent/depth/competition/rotations behind Dion Lewis.

Add in Bolden as RB4 and one of Gaffney/Devlin as RB5, and our RB situation would improve tremendously.

 

[everlong]

An interesting double move I would consider is sign JPP to a Revis type of deal where you get him for one year where you get him at one year below market value but the second year options ensures for him that if he has a bounce back season you cannot franchise him. You then trade Chandler Jones for a pair of second rounders or a third this year and a first in 2017. JPP gives you a year with the Nink, Sheard rotation while Flowers and Grissom continue to develop. At the end you get a third for JPP and either two seconds or a first and a third for Jones and keep a lot of cap space open for Hightower, Collins and others.

 

[IllegalContact]

Alfred Morris has gotten steadily worse every year.........first, I no longer want RB's who don't catch passes......these guys like blount and ridley who don't get thrown to make the offense too predictable

get Lamar Miller

I would also rob the Bengals......Vincent Rey and George Iloka

 

[Jimke]

Too many young defensive players to extend before investing heavily in outside free agents.
However, the Patriots do need upgrades at running back (Blount), offensive tackle (Cannon & Fleming),
wide receiver (LaFell), and tight end (Chandler). Anything that is done is worthless if the
offensive line problem is not corrected.

 

[Simple Jack's Brother]

Alfred Morris has gotten steadily worse every year.........first, I no longer want RB's who don't catch passes......these guys like blount and ridley who don't get thrown to make the offense too predictable

get Lamar Miller

I would also rob the Bengals......Vincent Rey and George Iloka

Absolutely agree that I'm tired of BB signing RB's who can't catch the ball....offense is much too predictable with them in.

I'd love to get Lamar Miller, but he's going to break the bank. He's been criminally underused in Miami and every other team but Miami realizes it. He'll probably be the top RB this year.

All on board with robbing the Bengals...Sanu, Jones, Iloka, Rey, etc. Go get them all. haha

 

[DW Toys]

Can you please explain to me in which ways McCourty was mediocre this season and which ways Weddle is clearly vastly superior?

Did not use the words "vastly". Using 2911 because year 2010 MCourty was a CB, Weddle has more INTs, more passes defended and almost 15% more tackles. Can you honestly say McCourty was worth $9.5mm this year? I saw him take wrong angles and be late on coverage. I am not saying he was bad. Just mediocre. All I am saying is the pair in tandem would be great. Maybe McCourty had to cover the mistakes of the kid CBs. I don't know .....but he was not a $9.5mm saftey IMO.

This is not a negative slant on McCourty, it is based on fact and we do not know why he was less than he was in 2014......although Revis and Browner made McCourty a lot of money. McCourty's best year was 2012.

My point is what a great tandem they could be.
DW Toys

 

[danmateus]

That's exactly the type of FA signing we should consider, as he's a guy who can come here on a reasonable deal and contribute for relatively cheaper money.

I still think they're absolutely crazy if we go yet another year without addressing the RB position in the draft, though. Ultimately, we can get 2 halfway decent (or at least "serviceable" backs) players from this method, and both of those RBs can add talent/depth/competition/rotations behind Dion Lewis.

Add in Bolden as RB4 and one of Gaffney/Devlin as RB5, and our RB situation would improve tremendously.

I'm good with that. Morris would be a good fit here.

 

[IllegalContact]

Did not use the words "vastly". Using 2911 because year 2010 MCourty was a CB, Weddle has more INTs, more passes defended and almost 15% more tackles. Can you honestly say McCourty was worth $9.5mm this year? I saw him take wrong angles and be late on coverage. I am not saying he was bad. Just mediocre. All I am saying is the pair in tandem would be great. Maybe McCourty had to cover the mistakes of the kid CBs. I don't know .....but he was not a $9.5mm saftey IMO.

This is not a negative slant on McCourty, it is based on fact and we do not know why he was less than he was in 2014......although Revis and Browner made McCourty a lot of money. McCourty's best year was 2012.

My point is what a great tandem they could be.
DW Toys

Weddle has that beard........automatically qualifies him as awesome.....also he was in the gronk snow day commercial

 

[DW Toys]

I know some fans only look at INTs when evaluating DBs, but there really is a lot more to it than that.

I thought we had a pretty good year in the secondary despite losing a future first-ballot HOFer. Logan Ryan's emergence as a quality player wasn't by accident though; McCourty was a huge factor in that.

The 2014 Patriots pass D gave up 3,837 yards, 24 TDs vs. 16 INTs, and 6.2 YPA.

The 2015 Patriots pass D gave up 3,852 yards, 24 TDs vs. 12 INTs, and 6.0 YPA.

Subtract HOFer Revis, add in a former UDFA who had a hell of a year, an improved Chung, and a kid everyone wanted to run out of town at the beginning of the season.

McCourty did a hell of a lot more than roam center field like last season. With all the changes to the team, he ended up playing a lot more coverage than usual which allowed BB to use Harmon more and minimize Chung's weaknesses.

If people don't think McCourty was worth $9.5M though, fine, I understand. I can accept that. I just don't understand how in the same argument, you can argue for acquiring Weddle, who cost the Chargers $8M and did even worse. It's like someone telling me it's healthier to drink diet Coke, then ordering a double Big Mac and supersizing their fries and drink. I really don't know what to make of that.

Again, Missing my point here. I am saying those two would be a great tandem. You might have the best or near the best Safety Tandem in the NFL. I am not saying take Weddle over McCourty. I am saying I want both. Weddle has a slightly better stat sheet on a without a doubt weaker Team, I am saying make the defense better by adding him. Two very smart players.
DW Toys

 

[Ivan]

Zero chance they get Megatron. The Lions aren't going to cut him. The Pats won't trade for him, unless the Lions are willing to take like a 4th rounder for him (and then, some other team will offer more). If he retires, he's still Lions property and the Pats can't sign him.

Not having the 1st round pick this season sucks big time, but they can work around it. They need:

- Offensive tackle
- Wide receiver (I believe Amendola and LaFell get cut for cap purposes)
- Tight end (sad to say, Chandler just didn't cut it)
- Running back (a young guy with upside)
- Linebacker

All I want is Calvin Johnson, Joe Thomas, Mate Forte, Josh Norman, Jelani Jenkins, Muhammed Wilkerson, and a few others. I'll be pissed if Belichick can't get at least that much done.

 

[Ivan]

Zero chance they get Megatron. The Lions aren't going to cut him. The Pats won't trade for him, unless the Lions are willing to take like a 4th rounder for him (and then, some other team will offer more). If he retires, he's still Lions property and the Pats can't sign him.

Not having the 1st round pick this season sucks big time, but they can work around it. They need:

- Offensive tackle
- Wide receiver (I believe Amendola and LaFell get cut for cap purposes)
- Tight end (sad to say, Chandler just didn't cut it)
- Running back (a young guy with upside)
- Linebacker

I think they redo Amendola to keep him for another 3 years.

 

[Ivan]

Does anyone have a list of specifically OL FAs? I'll see if I can find one online.

Spotrac has complete lists

 

[PatsFan2]

Selection #60 is perfect for a swing Offensive Tackle...under no circumstance should this N.E. Patriots brass Draft a WR in the Second or Third Rounds. They might as well take a chance on a WR in the 6th or 7th Rounder the results would be the same but alot less painful. BB and Co also need to stop Reaching for $h!t Safeties in the 2nd Round Tavon Wilson and Jordon Richards come to mind. That said they are some good WR in the FA ie...Jermain Kearse - Marvin Jones - Travis Benjamin and Mohamed Sanu. Any of of the mentioned WR's could be added by the Patriots if they want them. When you know you suck at drafting and developing young WR's lets another Team do it for you then pony up the $$$$.

 

[Sciz]

Did not use the words "vastly". Using 2911 because year 2010 MCourty was a CB, Weddle has more INTs, more passes defended and almost 15% more tackles. Can you honestly say McCourty was worth $9.5mm this year? I saw him take wrong angles and be late on coverage. I am not saying he was bad. Just mediocre. All I am saying is the pair in tandem would be great. Maybe McCourty had to cover the mistakes of the kid CBs. I don't know .....but he was not a $9.5mm saftey IMO.

If it's not about Weddle vs McCourty, then don't start talking about Weddle vs McCourty. Like I specifically said, I don't see the value in "going from McCourty/Chung/Harmon to McCourty/Weddle/Chung." Chung was fantastic in his role. I don't know why anybody would see any need to try to change his role or turn him into a part time player, especially at the cost of a guy like Weddle. I don't know why anybody would try to turn Harmon from a perfectly acceptable deep zone specialist into a guy with no role on the team, especially at the cost of a guy like Weddle.

I introduced the word "vastly" because for however much a guy like Weddle would cost, he's either a "vast" upgrade or an absolute waste of resources. Weddle would be the latter.

 

[convertedpatsfan]

Again, Missing my point here. I am saying those two would be a great tandem. You might have the best or near the best Safety Tandem in the NFL. I am not saying take Weddle over McCourty. I am saying I want both. Weddle has a slightly better stat sheet on a without a doubt weaker Team, I am saying make the defense better by adding him. Two very smart players.
DW Toys

I'd rather get Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman. If we can swing the deal to include Russel Wilson, he'd be a definite upgrade over Jimmy G. Since we're in fantasy land, let's also get JJ Watt.

I'm not getting into whether they would complement each other on the field together or replace one or the other. I'm just saying, how do you complain that McCourty is overpaid at $9.5M, but lobby for Weddle who made $8M and did nothing even close to McCourty?

I'm not against Weddle. Every player has a price and a value. But if that price is $8M, you're insane. If it's $5M, I still don't bite. Is he a better complementary player than Chung? If so, will he sign for less than the $3.3M Chung's cap hit will be? How many more safeties do you think we need? It's one of our deepest areas right now with two quality starters, quality draft picks spent on depth in Harmon/Richards, and even Wilson I guess?

But if we're talking about a significant investment at a position of strength where there's a potential marginal upgrade, I just don't get it.

 

[IllegalContact]

Here's my first stab at a draft(assuming 3,5,6,7 for comp picks):

2 - TE Austin Hooper
3 - OT Kyle Murphy
3b - RB CJ Prosise
4 - LB Scooby Wright
5 - SS Miles Killebrew
5b - LB Tyler Matakevich

 

[wheresmosi]

Thoughts on any of these (O linemen)?


2016 NFL Free Agents Tracker

 

[DaBruinz]

When the last time BB had to give Roger his @1 pick, he lit up the FA market and trades that prior year. They picked up seven Free Agents and traded for Welker (kind of a trade) and Moss who were both Pro Bowlers. Although everyone that is at least partially intelligent believes this “penalty” is a rip off, we have to hope that this Draft does not become the worst Draft ever as in 2008.

SMH.. Only you could think that BB somehow knew he was going to be docked his 2008 1st round draft pick after spending money and draft picks 6 months prior to get Moss and Welker.

Thanks to Miguel's numbers we are about $6mm under. Cleaning out the roster I see Mayo, Amendola, Cannon, LaFell, Scott Chandler, Kline and Dobson as potential cuts or salary re-negotiations. That is almost $23 million. So you can go into FA with $30mm.. You don't have to keep a lot of money for Draft picks. You have maybe a third rounder comp. for Revis (you can trade this year) and three 6ths. Anyway, the Draft is not going to have a big impact on the 2016 Pats IMO.

Thoughts? Changes?
DW Toys

It's only $5.6M that is free. Your "roster cleaning" does not free up $23M. It only frees up $21.1M while leaving gaping holes at OT, WR, TE, OG, and ILB. So, that is 26.7M, not 30M. You need money for draft picks, the practice squad, players 52 and 53, as well as in season injuries. My guess, based on last years numbers and a 7.5% increase is that the Pats need nearly $5.6M in cap space for the 10 picks. Yes, that is likely to change, but it's a good ball-park number.

Furthermore, you don't account for the extensions to Collins, Ryan and Butler, which need to be done sooner rather than later.

Thinking that the Pats could get Jefferies, Sanu, Fleener, Beachum and Weddle for an average under $4M per year is wishful thinking Jeffries is looking at a 12-14M per year pay day. Weddle is probably going to be paid in $7-9M /year range. Fleener is going to be looking for a contract closer to 5M per year than 4M. Beachum is probably going to be franchised, despite his injury. They could probably get Sanu and Fleener, but the other 3? Nope. Not even close.. You can't backload every contract and think that the players will go for it..

Not to mention you'd leave yourself no money for injury signings..