Offseason player acquisition thread

[dliverey44]

I would rather get fewer starters of higher quality. They don’t have to accomplish the rebuild in one offseason, they just have to nail the players they get.

I respect it, I just lean toward raising the floor of the entire roster because of potential injuries. Just a difference in roster building philosophy and they both have been shown to work. The awesome thing is that we have enough money that we can bring in 4 high level guys and still get some lower tier level guys to improve depth. Without knowing who you want, I assume it would be doable.

 

[ErniesPinkStripes]

Sorry if it's been addressed.. does this Crosby rumor have any legs?

 

[Huckleberry1]

Sorry if it's been addressed.. does this Crosby rumor have any legs?

I hope not.

 

[Hugepatsfan]

Defensive acquisitions:

PHI EDGE Josh Sweat
KC LB Nick Bolton
DET CB Carlton Davis
MIN FS Camryn Bynum

Offensive acquisitions:

WR Tee Higgins
WR Deebo Samuel (trade & extend)
LT Dan Moore Jr.
RT Morgan Moses

We have $120M in cap space. If you signed each of those 8 players with a year 1 cap hit of $10M you'd still have $40M left over. And the cap hits won't all be that high. So still plenty of room to fill in with depth. You can probably create some more room by letting go Bourne and Bentley too, but not needed (especially for Bentley).

I think adding those players would elevate us in a huge way. A starting DL with Godchaux/Barmore inside and Sweat/White outside is respectable. Bolton/Bentley probably isn't the best complimentary skill set but it's two starting caliber LBs. Gonzo/Davis is a terrific outside duo and MJones is good in the slot. Bynum/Dugger/Peppers is a strong safety trio with someone who can actually play FS in Bynum.

An OL of Moore/Strange/DAndrews/Onwenu/Moses should stop the bleeding on the OL. We know Henry is a good TE and Rhamondre is ok at RB with Gibson a decent enough pass catcher. A top 4 at WR of Higgins/Deebo/Douglas/Boutte isn't perfect or a great value proposition with those top 2 being paid pretty well, but it's still likely in the top half of WR rooms in the NFL. Maye looked really good at QB last year.

That's a roster without any glaring, crippling holes on it and now we have capable offensive (McDaniels) and defensive (Vrabel) coaching too. And the key thing is, I didn't even get to the draft. With a roster like that with solid enough players at all spots, they don't have to be forced into anything. No need to reach for players, which puts you in position to get guys that you really, really like regardless of position.

 

[Huckleberry1]

According to Over The Cap the cap will go up 17-18 million. This means the Patriots should have over 150 million for free agency.

 

[PWRxWLF]

According to Over The Cap the cap will go up 17-18 million. This means the Patriots should have over 150 million for free agency.

Just means more money for other teams to retain their own talent. Increases the odds we have another barren fa pool.

 

[WhatJustHappened]

Just means more money for other teams to retain their own talent. Increases the odds we have another barren fa pool.

Happened last year.

 

[Love The Drake]

Vrabel will have to recruit extra hard.

 

[ErniesPinkStripes]

I hope not.

I would definitely be up for acquiring him but not for the #4

 

[JohnJH]

Vrabel will have to recruit extra hard.

I think that he's more than up to the task.

 

[Love The Drake]

I think that he's more than up to the task.

Hope he’s successful.

 

[hornetfb85]

Happened last year.

We as Pats fans need to be prepared to accept the overpay. We will have multiple deals where the dollar amount will be a bit uncomfortable, but that’s is our reality. Prepare accordingly.

 

[n1997y]

That’s not something I would prioritize in free agency. This team needs 6-8 high quality starters this offseason. I would get those then deal with any depth concerns. They aren’t going to the Super Bowl next year so they shouldn’t worry about how deep their bench is. They need guys who can really contribute.

Why not do both, get high quality starters and upgrade depth at the same time? Face it, there aren’t enough high quality starters to go around, and other teams are going to sign some of them. If you wait until that part of the dance card is filled before improving the bench depth you’re just wasting time.

I would rather get fewer starters of higher quality. They don’t have to accomplish the rebuild in one offseason, they just have to nail the players they get.

They’re not going to be able to finish the rebuild in a single offseason. And they’re not going to be able to get fewer starters. The rules say they will need to start eleven players on offense and eleven players on defense next season, regardless of how good they are. So they need to get the best players they can get, across the board. If they can get a guy who’s better than what they have and he’s the best they can get at that position they should get him. Don’t leave a hole this year just to wait until next year. If they sign a guy this year and next year can get an upgrade that’s great because now they’ve got better quality depth up and down the roster.

 

[n1997y]

We as Pats fans need to be prepared to accept the overpay. We will have multiple deals where the dollar amount will be a bit uncomfortable, but that’s is our reality. Prepare accordingly.

Don’t overpay!

That’s one of the reasons bad teams stay bad.

They overpay for some high profile splashes, ignore the rest of the roster, and leave too many holes for the big money guys to make up for.

 

[KCSVEN]

Don’t overpay!

That’s one of the reasons bad teams stay bad.

They overpay for some high profile splashes, ignore the rest of the roster, and leave too many holes for the big money guys to make up for.

I don't really see that historically, I couldn't really find any scenarios where bad teams overpaid for free agents and then didn't have money to fill out the roster. Considering the average team has only 5 free agents starting it seems hard to have a scenario where this happens.
Most contracts are structured so at some point you can cut them and have less cap used in dead cap space than keeping them.

The Patriots don't have to pay a QB top dollar for a few years, so they have plenty of space to be the clear highest bidder on a few free agents and still fill out the roster with no cap restrictions.

 

[Huckleberry1]

Why not do both, get high quality starters and upgrade depth at the same time? Face it, there aren’t enough high quality starters to go around, and other teams are going to sign some of them. If you wait until that part of the dance card is filled before improving the bench depth you’re just wasting time.

They’re not going to be able to finish the rebuild in a single offseason. And they’re not going to be able to get fewer starters. The rules say they will need to start eleven players on offense and eleven players on defense next season, regardless of how good they are. So they need to get the best players they can get, across the board. If they can get a guy who’s better than what they have and he’s the best they can get at that position they should get him. Don’t leave a hole this year just to wait until next year. If they sign a guy this year and next year can get an upgrade that’s great because now they’ve got better quality depth up and down the roster.

That depends on what they are paying them. They shouldn’t overpay to get a little better at a starting position, they should pay for guys who will really upgrade the starting position for 3-4 seasons, not guys who will make it a little better for a season, and then need to be upgraded again after next season.

 

[Huckleberry1]

We as Pats fans need to be prepared to accept the overpay. We will have multiple deals where the dollar amount will be a bit uncomfortable, but that’s is our reality. Prepare accordingly.

Disagree completely. That’s how you end up stuck in mediocrity. You ultimately have to build a team that’s better than the rest, as the Eagles have done, and you do that through managing the cap and roster properly, and by drafting really well, and developing the players you draft. And to develop the players you draft you have to completely ignore the fans who believe they can judge a draftee by their rookie season, and give them the time to actually develop.

 

[Huckleberry1]

I would definitely be up for acquiring him but not for the #4

They will want a high price for him, and the Patriots need those picks.

 

[hornetfb85]

nm

 

[Joey007]

I’d take Fuller as a CB piece if we don’t bring back Jones.