Not saying you are wrong but except for Brady any contract next year can be more backloaded. With smaller cap hits in the first 2 years. Once again don't think of the cap as we have 55 million to spend next year but use a 2-3 year window.
At some point we will see if BB starts backloading deals given that in 2-3 years there most probably won't be a Brady hit on the cap and Stidham (or whoever else will be starting at that point) won't have nearly as big of a salary.
It is almost the inverse of the advantage teams have with a rookie QB in terms of cap hits.
I don't disagree in principle, BUT the bill ALWAYS comes due in these situations. As it has during our last rather modest buying spree, (McCourty, Hightower, and Gilmore) are reaching "maturity" and is one of the reasons we already had to make a few modest adjustments just to keep our head above water.
Of course you can do it for a mad year or two, but as a model. it's simply not sustainable and just not smart. We are never going to sign all 20 FA's, but right now I find it hard to believe we could do more than 8, unless we let guys like Brady, Thuney, Collins, and McCourty go.
If we keep all of them we would be forced to divest ourselves of our middle class and be a 2 class team like most of the rest of the league, and have to hope our cheap guys are good enough because they will make up the vast majority of our team. Somehow that doesn't sound like the team we've been watching the last 20 years.
I honestly disagree with this. I am not saying get a top tier WR and plug him in Madden-style but getting someone who fits the system and can work inside well (like e.g. Sanders) would definitely improve our offense.
There is a reason why BB went out and despite the risk signed AB (or attempted to get Humphries). They are aware that with Gronk gone they needed someone else that Brady can reliably target in the middle of the field. Right now its only Edelman and White. This would also make life easier for Gordon and Dorsett who seem to be more comfortable on the outside.
Of course the wildcard here is Harry.
What this breaks down to for me is not that we need a WR1 but a reliable target for the MOF.
1. I'm not saying adding a quality WR to the team wouldn't improve the teams overall depth at the position. However the question is to what DEGREE and how urgent the need is. Is the percentage movement of the needle worth the cost for any realistic guy out there? I don't think so.
2. Here's were we disagree on AB - You think BB took the risk to bring him in because he didn't like the WR group. I think he brought AB in because he felt he was just too good a VALUE at the price.
I don't believe BB was expecting AB to break free, but when he did, getting him for a $5MM cap charge this year and $4MM more next in dead charges was well worth the chance to bring in one of the top 3 receivers in the league for a year.
I think Bill thought he was crazy, but not quite THAT crazy and when he had to, he didn't fight Kraft to keep him. Just think about just how much easier it is to follow and root for THIS team, than the one that played in Miami. And while the players might miss the talent, they DON'T miss the drama.
3. And then there is Harry. This IS the million dollar answer to the question.
Why has be been so utter discarded from the minds of Pats fans. He is a kid that was UNIVERSALLY thought of as a first round talent not only at the draft, but all through the first month of TC. Tell me who else would have the same depth of a WR group consisting of Gordon, Edelman Harry Dorsett, and Meyers. Harry might not be able to function in our system at full bore, but neither has any other rookie coming in.
Just look at some of the production that teams are getting under guys like McLaurin, Hardman, and HBrown (just off the top of my head). They might be faster than Harry, but might end up not as good a receiver than him. Personally I believe he completely healthy at this point and busy working on a specific program his coaches have given him. IIRC, he can start practicing next week.
You cannot invest your albeit low first round pick on a WR and not put him into the equation of your WR room, and simply discard him for the next shiny new toy who people seem to forget will ALSO have issues coming into this system and its demanding QB.
