Official Free Agency 2018

[PatriotsNumero1Fan]

This team needs a lot of help on the defensive side of the ball. 41 points to a backup QB's ridiculous. Need LBs that can cover. Need a DT. Need another corner after butler leaves.

 

[mosslost]

Admins feel free to remove or merge into the correct area, as no idea if this has been started or not yet.
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It’s pretty clear how we lost this years Super Bowl and that’s simply because we couldn’t stop an offensive or create any pressure.

So obviously i feel we will hit this draft hard and get a lot of our new defensive players through the draft this year.

Onto the free agents there are a couple of guys I am interested in.

TE - Tyler Eifert - project cap hit 3M.
Pros -
is a poor mans Gronkowski.
good hands.
solid blocking.

Cons-
The guy gets injured an awful lot and I don’t think he’s ever done a full season yet. Feel he is worth the risk.

Opinion - Will depend on if Marty is Cut and what Gronkowski will want to do this year. If Marty is cut I would like to see him here.


WR - Sammy Watkins

Pros -
Give him a one year prove it deal.
Has the ability to be a good redzone threat for us.
Hes a bigger target, allowing different mismatches for us.

Cons -
Could get franchised at LA.
Has had poor production in the league, could be down to having poor QB play. ( this year was a better year for him)

Opinion - this could be an interesting option for us this year, I cannot see the rams letting him go as Goff needs talent to help him. Cap Room may prevent us from getting him.


Defensive free agents

DT - Dontari Poe

Pros -
Big Size DT
Can stop the run for us.
Has experience which could help the young Dline
Could be Alan Branch replacement?


Cons -
Could be wanting more money than we are willing to part with.
Atlanta gave him an 8 mil prove it deal this year and looks like he wants more of a multi year contract.

Opinion - again this could be a cap issue and will depend on how much money he would want, if we have the cap room and he wants to play and can prove he can, I say we take a look at him.



DT/DE - Sheldon Richardson
3-4 DE
4-3 DT

Pros -
Can rush from the DT position and can give us an interior pass rush which we have lacked for a number of years.
Can stop the run as well.
Could be available for a good price 4 years 40 mil?

Cons -
He may want a lot more money than we are willing to offer him.
Can have discipline issues throughout his career

Opinion - out of Poe and Sheldon Richardson I’d rather have Richardson, feel he would offer us a lot more with regards to what we need. Again the biggest issue here is going to be creating the cap space.
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Obviously there are lots more out there but this was mainly just to get a feeler out there and opinions of everyone else. There’s potential for this years free agency to potentially get us a bit stronger.

Jimmy Graham?

Jimmy Graham To Patriots? NFL Analyst Explains Why Move Makes Sense

 

[TheFlyingWedge]

Giving up on Lee kinda early, aren't ya?

He had 19 total tackles, 3.5 sacks, 1 safety, 1 INT, 2 PDs for the Pats in 281 D-snaps beginning in wk-11.

He's 23. Those were his first snaps ever in a real NFL game.

If he'd been a rookie drafted by the Pats (instead of poached off the Bills PS) would you feel the same?

I'm not giving up on him or advocating that Eric Lee get cut - he proved that he can hold his own, and especially against his old team, he can even have a statement game. I’m still not sure that he, Marquis Flowers, and Harrison have the position locked down by a long shot. The edge should be an offseason priority as an infusion of talent is needed there.

On a side note, Maybe Patricia will deal Ezekiel Ansah to NE and help out his old team.

 

[DW Toys]

I doubt we will see the bigger name signings but I have total faith in Caserio when it comes to evaluating pro player’s. I think they will have a strong offseason and they will address the deficiencies they have on defense. OLB/DE is the position I want them to address the most.

I’ll be really interested to see if they can identify and sign a young back up QB that we may have overlooked. It may be the route they go in starting to create a competition to replace Brady. It will be the biggest challenge they have ever faced and imo they can’t simply hope the QB they want to be there in the draft for them. I want them to start by looking at QB’s drafted over the past 3-4 years who are hitting free agency and haven’t had the chance to show anything. I think they will have to sort through a number of prospects to find the successor, I seriously doubt they will just draft one and hit on it.

Ivan Cousin,
Have to disagree on Cesserio. He is as inconsistent as some of his pickups. He is great scarping the bottom of the talent pool, but misses target specific positional needs.

Cessario from 2017, Sheard was a piece we could have used this year. He has some good games for us like the Super Bowl. Yeh BB got on him and even benched him to wake him up. But still think he would have been a difference maker this past year. Bad decision.

Alshon Jefferies for that price? A steal Nick! Miss!

Allen for Bennett who could be had for a few dollars more? Yeh I know the story, but still. Bad decision.

Ealy? An expensive miss.

Could Poe have helped this year? How about the Pro Bowl LB Zach Brown they misdeed out on for cheap $? These two should be considered for 2018. Would anyone think our off season would be good even if we signed just these two in 2018?

Yes , he made some good pick ups as well in Gilmore and Burkhead. Resign of DA was great. The trade for Cooks was good. A sneaky good might still be Dorsett. But I do think Casserio can be replaced without a hiccup.

I do agree that the Pats will do a Draft talent search for a TB successor and trade those that are not quite right like Brissette. I think Parcells sold the Pats a bill of goods on him. He was one step up from Geno Smith.

They might Draft a QB the next three Drafts. I would not be surprised if they Draft two this draft (maybe a pick and an UDFA). Maybe Lauletta and a guy like Max Browne of Pitt (shoulder injury) or McGough from FI as an UDFA.

DW Toys

 

[patsfaninpa]

Ivan Cousin,
Have to disagree on Cesserio. He is as inconsistent as some of his pickups. He is great scarping the bottom of the talent pool, but misses target specific positional needs.

Cessario from 2017, Sheard was a piece we could have used this year. He has some good games for us like the Super Bowl. Yeh BB got on him and even benched him to wake him up. But still think he would have been a difference maker this past year. Bad decision.

Alshon Jefferies for that price? A steal Nick! Miss!

Allen for Bennett who could be had for a few dollars more? Yeh I know the story, but still. Bad decision.

Ealy? An expensive miss.

Could Poe have helped this year? How about the Pro Bowl LB Zach Brown they misdeed out on for cheap $? These two should be considered for 2018. Would anyone think our off season would be good even if we signed just these two in 2018?

Yes , he made some good pick ups as well in Gilmore and Burkhead. Resign of DA was great. The trade for Cooks was good. A sneaky good might still be Dorsett. But I do think Casserio can be replaced without a hiccup.

I do agree that the Pats will do a Draft talent search for a TB successor and trade those that are not quite right like Brissette. I think Parcells sold the Pats a bill of goods on him. He was one step up from Geno Smith.

They might Draft a QB the next three Drafts. I would not be surprised if they Draft two this draft (maybe a pick and an UDFA). Maybe Lauletta and a guy like Max Browne of Pitt (shoulder injury) or McGough from FI as an UDFA.

DW Toys

I’d guess Belichick’s opinion on veteran NFL players carries more weight than Cesario. Whether to pay and keep guys like; Jones, Hicks. Sheard. That’s on BB

 

[YOUGOTMOSSED]

I hope not

Me too, but if he can make the big money in the WWF (or whatever they call it these days) and not have to worry about concussions, why wouldn't he go? After Aaron Hernandez's stage 3 CTE dx, he and many other NFL players should probably be re-thinking their career choice.

 

[Deus Irae]

Fitzgerald gives Brady a big target at WR with Mitchell. At the end of his career, Fitzgerald is missing a ring. Reliable and still busting off 1000 yard season at 34.

 

[maineman209]

I'm not giving up on him or advocating that Eric Lee get cut - he proved that he can hold his own, and especially against his old team, he can even have a statement game. I’m still not sure that he, Marquis Flowers, and Harrison have the position locked down by a long shot. The edge should be an offseason priority as an infusion of talent is needed there.

On a side note, Maybe Patricia will deal Ezekiel Ansah to NE and help out his old team.

Marquis Flowers isn't re-signed yet, and he's spoken of Patricia in bro-crush terms, so he may end up in Detroit.

In terms of under-contract edge-players (OLB & DE), the Pats have:

Trey Flowers
Wise (1yr experience)
Lee (six games experience)
Rivers (ROOKIE, IR, ACL) - might be more OLB
Davis (ROOKIE, IR, DISK)
Kidder (ROOKIE, IR, ??)

Guy & Adam Butler sort qualify as DE/DT, or 3-4 DE types, but Butler has only a year's experience.

Van Noy (sorta ILB/OLB)
HT (IR, pec)
McClellin (IR, concussions?) - likely not returning
Langi (ROOKIE, NFI, back?)
...
Harrison (a little experience)
M. Flowers (1 season experience)

Seems to me that the edge lacks experience, more than anything. I'd like to see at least one NFL vet DE included on the 90-man roster. Given the Pats cap situation, that's unlikely to be a high-end guy in his prime, though.

Meaning that Patricia giving Ansah to the Pats is about as likely as Kim Jong-um suddenly tweeting, "Hey, America! That whole nuke thing? Just pullin' ya chain! No, really! Rodman put me up to it, I swear!"

 

[Triumph]

It has nothing to do with whether or not he wears a Patriots Jersey.

I saw Crowell's "public" apology. It was half-hearted at best and only done because of the negative PR it got.

Crowell's salary in 2017 was 2.47M according to OTC . That means a game check would have been over $160K. He donated $35K according to the Browns web site..

Furthermore, it was only after the Dallas Fallen Officers Association reached out to Crowell and agreed to bring him to Dallas that Crowell decided to go to the funeral.

If he's TRULY remorseful and can convince Belichick of that, great. Personally, I'd rather Belichick not waste his time on him.

According to you he was not remorseful, but the Dallas and Cleveland PD say otherwise.

Why are there not reports of Crowell scamming the police out of money. Because you dont know the specifics of his contract breakdown thats why.

Dont stop making excuses for Mcourty who is lauding Kapernick.

 

[maineman209]

Me too, but if he can make the big money in the WWF (or whatever they call it these days) and not have to worry about concussions, why wouldn't he go? After Aaron Hernandez's stage 3 CTE dx, he and many other NFL players should probably be re-thinking their career choice.

Gronk would probably make a couple buddy flicks with The Rock, and then end up in a bad re-make of Wayne's World.

 

[Triumph]

Fitzgerald isn't a UFA. He's still under contract with the Cardinals. Not sure why you think that he is.

You have these serious caviar dreams and they aren't close to plausible based on the Pats cap situation. Even with restructuring people to have $30M, they have to get a LT unless they are SOLD that Garcia is the answer. But that's unlikely considering that Garcia spent the entire season on NFI.

You're dreams also don't take into consideration people who have contracts ending after the 2018 season who need to be locked up long term (hopefully) .

How the F do you know what the cap really is. Youre guessing and spitting numbers out as fact. Every Tom, **** and Harry thinks that they have grasp on the cap including you.

The truth is somewhere in the middle.

New England Patriots 2018 salary cap analysis

Currently, the Patriots have a total of $158 million tied-up for 2018 (or $152 million based on the top 51 on the roster–which is how the cap is calculated in the offseason) per OvertheCap.com. That leaves the Patriots with about $23 to $28 million in cap space for 2018.

Fitzgerald has talked about leaving the game. Perhaps something could be worked out so he can win a ring.

 

[Triumph]

Gronk would probably make a couple buddy flicks with The Rock, and then end up in a bad re-make of Wayne's World.

He will be an after thought when his football aura wears off.

People want to be around him because he is a good football player. Not a good thespian.

 

[Sciz]

How the F do you know what the cap really is. Youre guessing and spitting numbers out as fact. Every Tom, **** and Harry thinks that they have grasp on the cap including you.

The truth is somewhere in the middle.

New England Patriots 2018 salary cap analysis

Currently, the Patriots have a total of $158 million tied-up for 2018 (or $152 million based on the top 51 on the roster–which is how the cap is calculated in the offseason) per OvertheCap.com. That leaves the Patriots with about $23 to $28 million in cap space for 2018.

Fitzgerald has talked about leaving the game. Perhaps something could be worked out so he can win a ring.

That article is 7 months old. The actual numbers are $171 million overall and $164 million top 51. That's basically half of your $23-28 million gone already.

 

[Uptown]

CJ Anderson?

Report: C.J. Anderson likely to be traded or released by Broncos

 

[maineman209]

CJ Anderson?

Report: C.J. Anderson likely to be traded or released by Broncos

That seems like an excessively stupid idea.

 

[Love The Drake]

Maybe they are targeting Levon Bell or Dion Lewis?
Or purging cap for Cousins.

 

[maineman209]

Maybe they are targeting Levon Bell or Dion Lewis?
Or purging cap for Cousins.

Anderson was their leading rusher in 2017 ... 700 more yards than either Booker or Charles ... 1007 yards on 245 carries (4.1 YPA), and 3 TDs. averages about 63 yards per game. He also kicked in 28 receptions on 40 tgts (70%) for 224 yards and a TD. It was his career season (5 years in the league) - after being IR'd for the last 9 games of 2016 with a knee injury.

His cap hits for 2018 & 2019 are $4.5M (likely cheaper than what Lewis will be).

He just turned 27 on Feb. 10th (same age as Lewis, Burkhead and Gillislee).

 

[DW Toys]

I’d guess Belichick’s opinion on veteran NFL players carries more weight than Cesario. Whether to pay and keep guys like; Jones, Hicks. Sheard. That’s on BB

True. But NC is still part.
DW Toys

 

[Satchboogie3]

They might Draft a QB the next three Drafts. I would not be surprised if they Draft two this draft (maybe a pick and an UDFA). Maybe Lauletta and a guy like Max Browne of Pitt (shoulder injury) or McGough from FI as an UDFA.

DW Toys

This would be my guess as well, but I'm honestly hoping they go for broke. If Brady gets hurt, there is simply no way the team can win a Superbowl, regardless of what QB they may draft/sign. I say screw the post BB/TB era, dont waste draft picks on his successor. I'll trade 10 years of post Brady to maximize this final run.

 

[Uptown]