Zack Martin's New Deal and Shaq Mason

[IcyPatriot]

Cowboys guard Zack Martin just signed an enormous new deal that affects Shaq Mason and the Patriots

Don’t get me wrong- Martin deserves it as one of the best offensive linemen in the league and his position continues to be important as interior pass rushers like Aaron Donald and Geno Atkins rampage over offensive lines. But that’s a whole lot of cash for a guard.

And now the bar is pushed even higher for Patriots right guard Shaq Mason who has to be thrilled about the state of the offensive line market. Mason isn’t as good as Martin, but the difference is not enormous and barring any injury in 2018 Mason should be looking at $10 million or more per year easily once he becomes a free agent

 

[Uptown]

See ya Shaq

 

[Joey007]

I like Shaq but no way am I paying him 14 per year.

And I don’t think Mason will warrant the same type of money either. He’s been a very good player, but not to the level of Martin.

I want to see how well he performs this year before I make that judgement as to what I think he’s worth.

 

[WaterfallJumper]

Shaq was one of my favorite OL to ever scout. His tape in college is just incredible -- the mobility, the feistiness, the explosive power -- everything was top notch. He's improved as a pass blocker, and although he'll never be elite in that regard, his ability in the run game, particularly when pulling, is probably top 5 in the NFL. He has almost unparalleled range, and does a great job of finishing the block when he finds his target.

That said, the money is just too much. I'm going to miss him when he's gone.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Sayonara, Shaq.

 

[captain stone]

Disappointed that his replacement wasn't drafted this year, and not even One UDFA OLman signed to the 90.

 

[maust]

Gonna miss him

 

[Patriot Missile]

We have no idea what the negotiations will be like? Just because Martin gets that sum doesnt mean the market will be the same next offseason for Shaq. He’s a good player but its not like he is making gaping holes for the likes of Elliot and D Murray before that, Or Decastro for Bell. Great guards get paid like Hutchinson etc, because they are great.

 

[Uptown]

We have no idea what the negotiations will be like? Just because Martin gets that sum doesnt mean the market will be the same next offseason for Shaq. He’s a good player but its not like he is making gaping holes for the likes of Elliot and D Murray before that, Or Decastro for Bell. Great guards get paid like Hutchinson etc, because they are great.

Shaq Mason is a very very good/ great guard. Small sample size, but his play has been stellar. Also, he doesn’t have guys like Zeke, Murray (2016) & Bell running behind him. He had Dion Lewis & Blount and they did just fine. He’s actually been our best/ most consistent OL for a while now. Combine Martin’s recent contract with the annual salary cap increase; Shaq’s gonna get PIZZZAID.

 

[NG Pats Fan]

I guess we don't pay our stars anymore

 

[JayNM]

Mason is not even close to Martins....

Honestly, maybe with the risk of being too carefree, as long as we have Scar, we can always groom a decent at least guard.

I would go as far as 8M per year for any guard, and that includes Mason. I think he'll get a 10M per from someone, and that might be in the exact range, honestly

 

[Joey007]

I guess we don't pay our stars anymore

We sure haven’t paid many recently.

Hightower and that’s just about it.

 

[captain stone]

We sure haven’t paid many recently.

Hightower and that’s just about it.

And he's not even a...never mind.

 

[DarrylS]

Currently the Pats are about 20 million under the cap for 2019... do not see them breaking the bank for Mason. They can tweak some of the contracts and free up some money, but to pay him 14 million does not seem feasible at this juncture.

 

[oceansizer]

It is obvious that after this season keeping Flowers and Mason or either one of them is a pipe dream. I hope BB will do some magic tricks but it would be a very hard task convince them to stay at Foxborough. OL position contracts become more lucrative every year and Mason is aware of that. Taking Wynn and some FA is a signal to me that the management expecting Mason to be left.

 

[Triumph]

When you see Mason riding a moto cross bike youll know the end is near.

 

[farn]

Wynn might be the replacement with Brown sticking at LT... too early to worry about 2019 and too many factors can change plans in a hurry.

 

[lancerman]

We sure haven’t paid many recently.

Hightower and that’s just about it.

We paid McCourty. But ironically the safety market is down this year.

 

[maust]

We paid McCourty. But ironically the safety market is down this year.

McCourty was the beneficiary of fortunate timing, safety contracts were spiking but with few exceptions the position can't sustain that level of cap hit and now we are seeing a market correction at the position. Let's hope Martin's contract is the high water mark and isn't about to drive an unsustainable safety like spike at guard. Realistically unless you're talking about the second coming of Hog Hannah it's hard to justify paying anyone on the O-line that isn't a LT that high a % of the cap and not suffering elsewhere because of it. Take Oakland for example 3 of their 4 highest paid players are interior o-lineman. The amount they have tied up in guard & center may prevent them from re-upping Mack. As a part of their cap management approach the Pats have largely applied a churn n burn philosophy to their interior o-line. The 'we' don't pay talk is driven by the Pats not giving out top of the market contracts but the reality is New England pretty much spends to the cap each season. For the most part they just spread the wealth, avoiding crippling contracts and maintaining flexibility but it's fair to say the interior o-line is one place they believe they can get acceptable play out of less expensive 1st contract players.

 

[captain stone]

...Taking Wynn and some FA is a signal to me that the management expecting Mason to be left.

Perhaps, but drafting/signing a couple of OLmen every year should be standard operating procedure anyway.