Projection of 2018 Roster

[slam]

I made an attempt to project the 2018 roster based on boring, conservative, and optimistic offseason assumptions. The team gets back all injured players at full health to choose from. We say goodbye to the veteran stopgaps like Harris, Britt, Bennett, and Harrison. We resign Solder but let some good FA players like Dion Lewis go (Just guessing). Of course Malcolm Butler is gone, Alan Branch too. I put Gillislee in the "gone" category, but who knows? We make no major trades involving draft picks or current players. Gronk doesn't retire.

I assigned 6 roster slots to "Draft Pick", but as we know rookie FA's might make the team as well, and some draft picks will not. I numbered the draft picks according to my perception of need. I assume the Pats will draft a QB to groom and keep Hoyer. Please note that there are some players I'd rather keep that I listed as gone rather than some players I've listed as on the roster, like Lewis and Amendola, but I'm just trying to think like Bill with regards to age and salary.

Given all that, here's what next season's opening day 53-Man roster might look like. 11 returning injured players in blue, 6 Draft Picks (or UDFA) in red.

QB, Tom Brady, Brian Hoyer, Draft Pick 2
HB, Rex Burkhead, James White, Brandon Bolden
FB, James Develin
WR, Brandin Cooks, Chris Hogan, Phillip Dorsett
WR, Julian Edelman, Malcolm Mitchell, Matthew Slater
LT, Nate Solder, Antonio Garcia
LG, Joe Thuney, Draft Pick 6
C, David Andrews, Ted Karras
RG, Shaq Mason
RT, Marcus Cannon, LaAdrian Waddle or Cameron Fleming
TE, Rob Gronkowski, Dwayne Allen, Jacob Hollister

LDE, Deatrich Wise, Derek Rivers
DT, Lawrence Guy, Draft Pick 1
DT, Malcom Brown, Vincent Valentine
RDE, Trey Flowers, Adam Butler
LB, Donta Hightower, Marquis Flowers
LB, Kyle Van Noy, Draft Pick 4
LB, Elandon Roberts, Harvey Langi
LCB, Cyrus Jones, Jonathan Jones, Draft Pick 3
SS, Pat Chung, Jordan Richards, Draft Pick 5
FS, Devin McCourty, Duron Harmon, Nate Ebner or Brandon King
RCB, Stephon Gilmore, Eric Rowe

P, Ryan Allen
K, Stephen Gostkowski
LS, Joe Cardona

Given that, these are the notable players we let go. Some might make it to the Practice Squad.

HB Dion Lewis, Mike Gillislee
WR Kenny Britt, Bernard Reedy
WR Danny Amendola
LT Andrew Jelks
LG Cole Croston
RT LaAdrian Waddle or Cameron Fleming
TE Martellus Bennett

LDE Geneo Grissom, Eric Lee
DT Alan Branch
DT Ricky Jean-Francois
RDE James Harrison
LB Shea McClellin
LB David Harris
LB Nicholas Grigsby
LCB Malcolm Butler
SS Nate Ebner or Brandon King
RCB Johnson Bademosi

(P.S. I have no idea whedther this would be Miguel approved or not. I don't think I make any cap shattering assumptions.)

Of course I don't expect the offseason to go like this, but it's an interesting exercise to set a baseline of how things would look if we went into autopilot.

 

[Soliel]

That’s a cool assessment. Throw in a wild card big defensive signing. Like say Richard Sherman or aqib talib. I think we’re going to get a few free agents in Defense hopefully.

 

[GorBelSer]

We need to retain either Lewis or Gillislee, preferably the former. Maybe to move on from Slater and have Brandon King replace him, thus freeing up an additional roster spot.

 

[Sciz]

We need to retain either Lewis or Gillislee, preferably the former. Maybe to move on from Slater and have Brandon King replace him, thus freeing up an additional roster spot.

How do you “replace” Slater with a guy that is already on the field with him?

 

[SHOWTIME15]

the defensive line got bullied by the eagles o_line, so hopefully add one or two big body DTs.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

That’s a cool assessment. Throw in a wild card big defensive signing. Like say Richard Sherman or aqib talib. I think we’re going to get a few free agents in Defense hopefully.

sherman is not a free agent and neither is talib. you’d have to hope one of them gets released or is available via trade.

 

[mgteich]

This is a good base case. A nitpick is that we need an additional RB, unless Bolden is going to have a much larger role.

I made an attempt to project the 2018 roster based on boring, conservative, and optimistic offseason assumptions. The team gets back all injured players at full health to choose from. We say goodbye to the veteran stopgaps like Harris, Britt, Bennett, and Harrison. We resign Solder but let some good FA players like Dion Lewis go (Just guessing). Of course Malcolm Butler is gone, Alan Branch too. I put Gillislee in the "gone" category, but who knows? We make no major trades involving draft picks or current players. Gronk doesn't retire.

I assigned 6 roster slots to "Draft Pick", but as we know rookie FA's might make the team as well, and some draft picks will not. I numbered the draft picks according to my perception of need. I assume the Pats will draft a QB to groom and keep Hoyer. Please note that there are some players I'd rather keep that I listed as gone rather than some players I've listed as on the roster, like Lewis and Amendola, but I'm just trying to think like Bill with regards to age and salary.

Given all that, here's what next season's opening day 53-Man roster might look like. 11 returning injured players in blue, 6 Draft Picks (or UDFA) in red.

QB, Tom Brady, Brian Hoyer, Draft Pick 2
HB, Rex Burkhead, James White, Brandon Bolden
FB, James Develin
WR, Brandin Cooks, Chris Hogan, Phillip Dorsett
WR, Julian Edelman, Malcolm Mitchell, Matthew Slater
LT, Nate Solder, Antonio Garcia
LG, Joe Thuney, Draft Pick 6
C, David Andrews, Ted Karras
RG, Shaq Mason
RT, Marcus Cannon, LaAdrian Waddle or Cameron Fleming
TE, Rob Gronkowski, Dwayne Allen, Jacob Hollister

LDE, Deatrich Wise, Derek Rivers
DT, Lawrence Guy, Draft Pick 1
DT, Malcom Brown, Vincent Valentine
RDE, Trey Flowers, Adam Butler
LB, Donta Hightower, Marquis Flowers
LB, Kyle Van Noy, Draft Pick 4
LB, Elandon Roberts, Harvey Langi
LCB, Cyrus Jones, Jonathan Jones, Draft Pick 3
SS, Pat Chung, Jordan Richards, Draft Pick 5
FS, Devin McCourty, Duron Harmon, Nate Ebner or Brandon King
RCB, Stephon Gilmore, Eric Rowe

P, Ryan Allen
K, Stephen Gostkowski
LS, Joe Cardona

Given that, these are the notable players we let go. Some might make it to the Practice Squad.

HB Dion Lewis, Mike Gillislee
WR Kenny Britt, Bernard Reedy
WR Danny Amendola
LT Andrew Jelks
LG Cole Croston
RT LaAdrian Waddle or Cameron Fleming
TE Martellus Bennett

LDE Geneo Grissom, Eric Lee
DT Alan Branch
DT Ricky Jean-Francois
RDE James Harrison
LB Shea McClellin
LB David Harris
LB Nicholas Grigsby
LCB Malcolm Butler
SS Nate Ebner or Brandon King
RCB Johnson Bademosi

(P.S. I have no idea whedther this would be Miguel approved or not. I don't think I make any cap shattering assumptions.)

Of course I don't expect the offseason to go like this, but it's an interesting exercise to set a baseline of how things would look if we went into autopilot.

 

[GorBelSer]

How do you “replace” Slater with a guy that is already on the field with him?

Replace in a sense "take his assignment as the front guy".

 

[Soliel]

sherman is not a free agent and neither is talib. you’d have to hope one of them gets released or is available via trade.

That’s right, I was thinking the rumors about them perhaps being off their teams meant they were Ufa this year.

 

[GorBelSer]

sherman is not a free agent and neither is talib. you’d have to hope one of them gets released or is available via trade.

Too expensive. We already have one CB with a huge paycheck. I am more inclined to believe we will try to trade for solid #2.

 

[slam]

It's true that I shorted RBs by one. I'd think the most expendable slots in the projection are the 9th OL or Philip Dorsett.

I do wonder if Slater is nearing the end. He's still effective but getting dinged up a lot.

Does anyone know about how Harvey Langi is doing? His injuries in that car crash sounded severe.

It's interesting to note that 7 defensive contributors would be back. Only one starter but the depth that they represent sure might have helped in the Super Bowl.

 

[FlyboyPatsFan]

I made an attempt to project the 2018 roster based on boring, conservative, and optimistic offseason assumptions. The team gets back all injured players at full health to choose from. We say goodbye to the veteran stopgaps like Harris, Britt, Bennett, and Harrison. We resign Solder but let some good FA players like Dion Lewis go (Just guessing). Of course Malcolm Butler is gone, Alan Branch too. I put Gillislee in the "gone" category, but who knows? We make no major trades involving draft picks or current players. Gronk doesn't retire.

I assigned 6 roster slots to "Draft Pick", but as we know rookie FA's might make the team as well, and some draft picks will not. I numbered the draft picks according to my perception of need. I assume the Pats will draft a QB to groom and keep Hoyer. Please note that there are some players I'd rather keep that I listed as gone rather than some players I've listed as on the roster, like Lewis and Amendola, but I'm just trying to think like Bill with regards to age and salary.

Given all that, here's what next season's opening day 53-Man roster might look like. 11 returning injured players in blue, 6 Draft Picks (or UDFA) in red.

QB, Tom Brady, Brian Hoyer, Draft Pick 2
HB, Rex Burkhead, James White, Brandon Bolden
FB, James Develin
WR, Brandin Cooks, Chris Hogan, Phillip Dorsett
WR, Julian Edelman, Malcolm Mitchell, Matthew Slater
LT, Nate Solder, Antonio Garcia
LG, Joe Thuney, Draft Pick 6
C, David Andrews, Ted Karras
RG, Shaq Mason
RT, Marcus Cannon, LaAdrian Waddle or Cameron Fleming
TE, Rob Gronkowski, Dwayne Allen, Jacob Hollister

LDE, Deatrich Wise, Derek Rivers
DT, Lawrence Guy, Draft Pick 1
DT, Malcom Brown, Vincent Valentine
RDE, Trey Flowers, Adam Butler
LB, Donta Hightower, Marquis Flowers
LB, Kyle Van Noy, Draft Pick 4
LB, Elandon Roberts, Harvey Langi
LCB, Cyrus Jones, Jonathan Jones, Draft Pick 3
SS, Pat Chung, Jordan Richards, Draft Pick 5
FS, Devin McCourty, Duron Harmon, Nate Ebner or Brandon King
RCB, Stephon Gilmore, Eric Rowe

P, Ryan Allen
K, Stephen Gostkowski
LS, Joe Cardona

Given that, these are the notable players we let go. Some might make it to the Practice Squad.

HB Dion Lewis, Mike Gillislee
WR Kenny Britt, Bernard Reedy
WR Danny Amendola
LT Andrew Jelks
LG Cole Croston
RT LaAdrian Waddle or Cameron Fleming
TE Martellus Bennett

LDE Geneo Grissom, Eric Lee
DT Alan Branch
DT Ricky Jean-Francois
RDE James Harrison
LB Shea McClellin
LB David Harris
LB Nicholas Grigsby
LCB Malcolm Butler
SS Nate Ebner or Brandon King
RCB Johnson Bademosi

(P.S. I have no idea whedther this would be Miguel approved or not. I don't think I make any cap shattering assumptions.)

Of course I don't expect the offseason to go like this, but it's an interesting exercise to set a baseline of how things would look if we went into autopilot.

Isn't TE Martellus Bennett under contract for the next two years?

Martellus Bennett

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Pats are only 13 million under the cap as of now. Cutting Branch, bennett, harris, and gillislee should give an additional 13 million.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Too expensive. We already have one CB with a huge paycheck. I am more inclined to believe we will try to trade for solid #2.

Maybe sherman wants to win and would be willing to take less. No to talib because he quit on us a number of times.

 

[GorBelSer]

If we c

Maybe sherman wants to win and would be willing to take less. No to talib because he quit on us a number of times.

Didnt he already win it all? Anyway, he is 30 this spring and coming off a major injury. Maybe we will take a gamble on him, who knows.
Agree on Talib, he burned his bridges here.

 

[slam]

Isn't TE Martellus Bennett under contract for the next two years?

Martellus Bennett

Yes. But there seems to be no dead cap hit if he's cut.

 

[Soliel]

This is all true. I wish they’d get some defensive line guys and linebacker. The offense is all set really.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

This is all true. I wish they’d get some defensive line guys and linebacker. The offense is all set really.

I still think the interior offensive line needs work. An upgrade at center, for starters.

 

[maineman209]

Replace in a sense "take his assignment as the front guy".

Not sure what you mean by "front guy". Slater, when healthy, is probably the top ST gunner in the league - always drawing double-teams, and often triple teams, in an effort to block him. That's not easy to replace. I'm not certain that there's another player on the roster who's quite that good.

He's also the ST Captain/signal-caller, duties that seem likely to fall to Ebner if Salter is gone.

That said, Slater turns 33 on Sept. 9th. His snaps counts on ST have declined for two consecutive seasons and he missed seven games this season with a hamstring injury that's been an issue for him since Camp. There's at least some possibility that he retires. He's also UFA, so the "moving on" thing is pretty much moot.

 

[maineman209]

Way too early for me.

Annual roster-purges/cap cuts have barely begun (BTW, Sherman and Talib could both fall into the latter category).

Then there's free agency and the draft for building the 90-man roster, which always yields a couple of surprise inclusions on the final 53.