2021 NFL Free Agency/Trade News & Discussion: March Edition

[Ring 6]

They're #1 next year by a good margin too, though. Like $30m more effective cap space than the fourth-highest team. So they can be "spenders" this year and still be at or near the top in cap space next year. They are also #1 in effective space 2 years from now, though not by as much.

That’s because of the players not on the roster. For example if we sign a free agent taking up 7 mill this year he will probably take up 12-15 mill next year.
Next years cap number won’t be meaningful until you consider the cap numbers of players added this year.
We only have 26 players under contract in 2022 and 16 are young guys under 1.5 mill some of whom won’t make the 2021 roster.

 

[long distance]

The cuts keep coming:

I'll be honest, I would love a move for John Brown... especially since he doesn't "count" against the comp formula... you could sign TY Hilton, John Brown, Emmanuel Sanders and Kyle Rudolph, and only Hilton's contract would count.

As the massacre continues . maybe speculations on BB forgoing comp pick formula this FA were premature

 

[slifersd]

It is going to be interesting how BB plays the free agent market this year. There seems to be a ton of veteran players who are still capable of producing available and wouldn't count against the comp formula since they got cut by their teams. I wonder if BB would focus his $$ on those types of guys and end up signing half a dozen of veterans while still get a comp pick for losing Thuney.

 

[gobesmug]

Voids still qualify. They're different from options in that the team doesn't have the ability to accept or decline the continuation of the contract. It just automatically ends whether they want it to or not.

Thanks for the clarification

 

[Rob0729]

Everyone wants to be a player next week - at least to some extent





...

Teams are going to need cap room whether they are big players in free agency or not. You need a buffer and you need money to sign the draft picks. Even though there is plenty of time to do it, you gotta do it now.

And this year is going to have a lot more one year deals or two or three year deals with fake second and/or third year. So teams will need more cap space. There are going to a lot of younger players who will opt to take one year deals and test the free agent market next year because the cap will limit a lot of them on maximizing a long term deal.

And when did Kyle Von Noy become the must have player of free agency? He was really good here, but let's be real. He isn't a top LB in the NFL.

 

[patsinthesnow]

 

[mgteich]

Next years cap space will be affected by this years signings. The first year hits this year become 2nd year hits next year.
This is a one shot deal to get it right. The cap space is here today, you have to get it right today.

and right next year
Belichick will choose how much to carry over

 

[mgteich]

Next years cap space will be affected by this years signings. The first year hits this year become 2nd year hits next year.
This is a one shot deal to get it right. The cap space is here today, you have to get it right today.

Yes indeed, We have only $127M available for 2022, assuming minimal salaries for the 28 not yet signed.

 

[Rob0729]

Yes indeed, We have only $127M available for 2022, assuming minimal salaries for the 28 not yet signed.

That can change significantly if the Pats just add a QB. Say the Pats trade for Garoppolo, that will eat up like $25 million of that money barring an extension or restructure.

 

[Hyped]

I am starting to warm up to the idea of brining in 6-7 mid-tier FA's rather than 1-2 big ticket guys. I mean Chris Samuels, Nelson Algohor, Gerald Everett, Jurell Casey, Kyle Rudolph, Marvin Jones, Marcus Mariota, etc...etc.... we would be sooo much better and mitigate the injury risk as well.

 

[Ring 6]

Yes indeed, We have only $127M available for 2022, assuming minimal salaries for the 28 not yet signed.

That’s a fake number.

 

[Ross12]

That’s because of the players not on the roster. For example if we sign a free agent taking up 7 mill this year he will probably take up 12-15 mill next year.
Next years cap number won’t be meaningful until you consider the cap numbers of players added this year.
We only have 26 players under contract in 2022 and 16 are young guys under 1.5 mill some of whom won’t make the 2021 roster.

Yes, certainly, though that will hold true for other teams also. The two teams ahead of NE in cap space this year (Jax and NYJ) have $40m and $30m less cap space than NE next year.

 

[Ring 6]

Yes, certainly, though that will hold true for other teams also. The two teams ahead of NE in cap space this year (Jax and NYJ) have $40m and $30m less cap space than NE next year.

Because they have players signed.

 

[Uptown]

TE Kyle Pitts will NOT be available @ 15. No chance.

 

[Ross12]

Because they have players signed.

I mean... yeah... but the Jets have all of 5 more players signed... it's not like NE somehow has almost no players signed in '22 while every other team has heaps more... Your point is valid, but my point is that they don't just have lots of space this year but are only middle-of-the pack next year - they have room to make longer term commitments or push hits into the future if they want to be very aggressive.

 

[Ochmed Jones]

if we made one free agent signing this offseason, I would like it to be Samuel!

all the rest of our signings should be from the cut player list.

 

[DaBruinz]

Yes indeed, We have only $127M available for 2022, assuming minimal salaries for the 28 not yet signed.

Not sure where you got $127M from but OTC had the Pats at 145M with the cap at $203M. Granted, that's with only 25 people signed and it will drop to about 80M after the signings this year.

 

[DaBruinz]

That can change significantly if the Pats just add a QB. Say the Pats trade for Garoppolo, that will eat up like $25 million of that money barring an extension or restructure.

OTC has the cap projected at 203M for next year.. They project the Patriots at 145M free currently. That will probably change to about 80M with after the Patriots signings and draft this year.

You keep harping on Garappolo, but ignore the numbers none the less. The money is there. Stop pretending it's not.

 

[Ross12]

Not sure where you got $127M from but OTC had the Pats at 145M with the cap at $203M. Granted, that's with only 25 people signed and it will drop to about 80M after the signings this year.

I was looking at OTC earlier and they were at around $127M free in ‘22 with a $203M projected cap.

 

[patfanken]

It could go both ways but i don't think BB is making this a strategy. As mentioned many times Pats are in very good cap position this yr but they are by far #1 in effective cap space next year. So i don't think BB will think about the carryover or artificial concepts like “playoff contender“ “superbowl contender“. As always it should be about making the most of situation, opportunities. If this ends up being spending most of the cap or having a bulk left is secondary. As i see it he goes by a value perspective (all aspects included like comp picks formula etc) not too worried about (but very aware of) cap perspective.

From opportunities standpoint this will be the best market he will ever see. Like you mentioned this will be buyers market, almost garage sale after top FAs are grabbed. So it makes sense to make the most of this opportunity.

The big Q is how will players/managers play this situation. GMs would love to sign players on long term deals in this market but many managers will push for shorter or even 1y deals to wait for better market coming.

One reason teams are willing to unload big chunks of cap to 2023 and after is bc they have some insider informations/estimations re how much the cap will grow after new tv deals and the expectation for 2023 is significantly. In this situation pushing cap forward is both necessity and opportunity, always a bit of a gamble but obviously one most feel ok about. GMs that prided themselves in cap discipline to the point they did not even use prorated signing bonuses are now doing it. So GMs will easily do it as long as owners will be signing the extra checks - bc pushing cap forward costs a lot of real $..

Good tho, ught and discussion points.

It will be interesting to see how the leagues GM's act. I guts it all depends on just how hot they are on the "hot seat" AND how much EFFECTIVE cap space they have. Those with short leashes and space will likely try to move in early because they need immediate impact players and if they act quickly they could pick up impact players at reasonable prices because agents know that the longer their player is out there the lower the contract they are likely to get.

So I'm going to look at 3 levels of FA. Level one will be the 7 days of FA's. I can reasonably guess that BEFORE that date, every team will know what the top FA's contract wants are. So those that will go will go. I doubt Bill makes a move during this time. Level 2 starts on the 8th day of FA and goes to the draft. I think during this time frame players will start to sweat more than a little. They will know that being out there AFTER the draft will be a disaster for them. So I think this is when a great majority of the top 100 FA's get signed. After the hype of the first week is done reasonable deals can be done. No overpaying. No creating a new market deals, Of course even great sounding deals can be crap for a player after you get a look at the structure. I mean how does KVN think about his long term deal with the Phins? :rollleyes: the 3rd level will be after the draft. And BB has been very good at finding gems at that late date even in sellers markets.

Thanks for the info no the new media deal. For some reason I though it would go into effect next year. So it would be that without that new money, next years cap will likely not exceed $200MM

So what is your guess of who the Pats will sign from our own FA's and how much off our cap that will take