Patriots Rumor OT: Maxx Crosby wants to play for Mike Vrabel UPDATE: Breer expects him to be traded this week with the Pats a favorite

[UGAPatsfan]

Everyone is interested because they don't know what the real price tag is yet.

I’d be fine with #31. You aren’t finding a better player there than Crosby.

But wouldn’t do more than that.

 

[Hugepatsfan]

Crazy idea but what if they traded for Crosby AND splurged in free agency on Hendrickson.

If we traded for Crosby we'd assume his $30M salary and $690K in per game roster bonus incentives for a cap number of $30.69. However, should be able to convert most of that salary to signing bonus and spread out over 4 years through 2030. For round numbers, let's say they converted $28M of it, so then only $7M of it would count this year. His cap number would be $9.69M.

We're at about $40M in cap space now, so we'd be down to about $30.3M after Crosby. Milton Williams can be restructured to save $13.39M and he's obviously a core piece so that makes sense. Back up to $43.7M in cap space now.

Sign Hendrickson to a similar deal where he makes ton of money via signing bonus but cap hit is in the $10-15M range. Let's call it $15M, so down to $28.7M in cap space.

We'd still need to sign a stop gap LG (Joel Bitonio for 1 year?), re-sign or replace Hawkins at FS (probably re-sign since he's supposedly going to be fairly cheap and we splurged on double DEs in this scenario), and re-sign or hopefully upgrade Hooper at TE.

Diggs, Henry and Onwenu all have contracts ripe for restructurings or extensions that lower the cap hit to accommodate making those moves above and still having cap left over for in-season moved. Obviously it would be ideal to keep Bradbury to go to camp against Wilson for the C spot, but they could cut him to save $5.7M and just roll with Brown as Wilson's competition (since Wilson is being replaced at LG by my hypothetical stop gap signing above).

The key for me really is that IF they trade picks for Crosby, you have to make other win now moves around it. You don't trade that type of draft capital for a player without further capitalizing on the current window. It just doesn't make sense. That's a "go for it" move so you have to "go for it" on the rest of the roster.

 

[Ring 6]

I 100% believe Russini on this, but highly doubt the Raiders would trade Crosby to the Pats. Brady will probably never send anyone of Crosby's caliber to NE to avoid cries of aiding his former team. If, in a hypothetical scenario, the Pats were offering the best return for Crosby then LV would be dumb not to take it, but... I just don't see it.

Brady isn’t running the franchise.

 

[Ring 6]

Crazy idea but what if they traded for Crosby AND splurged in free agency on Hendrickson.

If we traded for Crosby we'd assume his $30M salary and $690K in per game roster bonus incentives for a cap number of $30.69. However, should be able to convert most of that salary to signing bonus and spread out over 4 years through 2030. For round numbers, let's say they converted $28M of it, so then only $7M of it would count this year. His cap number would be $9.69M.

We're at about $40M in cap space now, so we'd be down to about $30.3M after Crosby. Milton Williams can be restructured to save $13.39M and he's obviously a core piece so that makes sense. Back up to $43.7M in cap space now.

Sign Hendrickson to a similar deal where he makes ton of money via signing bonus but cap hit is in the $10-15M range. Let's call it $15M, so down to $28.7M in cap space.

We'd still need to sign a stop gap LG (Joel Bitonio for 1 year?), re-sign or replace Hawkins at FS (probably re-sign since he's supposedly going to be fairly cheap and we splurged on double DEs in this scenario), and re-sign or hopefully upgrade Hooper at TE.

Diggs, Henry and Onwenu all have contracts ripe for restructurings or extensions that lower the cap hit to accommodate making those moves above and still having cap left over for in-season moved. Obviously it would be ideal to keep Bradbury to go to camp against Wilson for the C spot, but they could cut him to save $5.7M and just roll with Brown as Wilson's competition (since Wilson is being replaced at LG by my hypothetical stop gap signing above).

The key for me really is that IF they trade picks for Crosby, you have to make other win now moves around it. You don't trade that type of draft capital for a player without further capitalizing on the current window. It just doesn't make sense. That's a "go for it" move so you have to "go for it" on the rest of the roster.

March 13 his base salary vests to fully guaranteed. So he will want more money to give that up.
As is you’d be increasing his future cap numbers to 35 mill-ish a year.

 

[Steve102]

Brady isn’t running the franchise.

 

[Family]

I don't like giving up the #1.

It means we pick towards the end of the second round.

I think you address it in the draft, and sign a mid contract guy like the FAs they signed last year

 

[Ring 6]

Yes

 

[Ring 6]

I don’t remember a lot of trades for guys earning at or near the top of their positions working out. Maybe I’m forgetting some.

 

[Hugepatsfan]

March 13 his base salary vests to fully guaranteed. So he will want more money to give that up.
As is you’d be increasing his future cap numbers to 35 mill-ish a year.

My understanding is that his $30M salary this year is already guaranteed. It's his $29M salary next year that becomes fully guaranteed if he's on the team March 13th.

Let's just ignore the per game incentives since they're under $1M each year.

The way I see it is you'd add him his year and convert his $30M salary to signing bonus that gets spread through 2029 (4 years). So you pay him $30M, he counts on the cap for $7.5M.

In 2027, you convert his $29M salary to signing bonus that gets spread out through 2029 (3 years) again. So he counts $17.2M on the cap ($7.5M of his 2026 comp pro ration + $9.7M for this new 2027 pro ration).

In 2028, he'd have no more guarantees left but due for $26.5M salary. The cap hit would be that plus $7.5M of pro ration for 2026 comp and $9.7M of his 2027 comp... so $43.7M total. That's obviously high but not insane. You can convert some of that $26.5M salary to bonus too.

In 2029, you can trade/cut him with palatable dead money of $7.5M from 2026 pro ration plus $9.7M of 2027 pro ration ($17.2M total) plus anything you pushed back in 2028.

So all in all, I see it as us acquiring him for 3 years (2026-2028) and $85.5M with $17.2M of that cap hit being deferred to 2029. And then add in the <$1M per year in incentives and possibly pushing more money into 2029 depending on how they approach 2028.

Obviously you have to make the right go for it moves around it because that is definitely building with some degree of short term window, but I think it's palatable.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

On the thread title: Breer's Xeet says he leans toward trade, and maybe this week.

 

[Steve102]

Yes

How are you so sure?

 

[PatsFan2]

So this thread has picked up some steam *intrigued*.

 

[mike_usagisan]

I think you address it in the draft, and sign a mid contract guy like the FAs they signed last year

I think that's the fallback plan if the Crosby trade doesn't materialize (which it probably won't).

 

[Pape]

So this thread has picked up some steam *intrigued*.

steam? more like hot air.

This is the same "rumor about Player X" that fly around every off season...

Its funny how "keeping tabs of a situation" or "have expressed interest" becomes "are front runners in the trade for player X"

would it be nice to have a player of his caliber? Yes it would.
Is it realistic that this team trades for Maxx Crosby? No it is not.

I do not believe Brady/Raiders will do anything to help the Patriots especially for a late round 1st... the value is too easily outstripped by other teams picking higher... and imo I think he will deliberately avoid dealing with the Patriots, though ymmv on that one...

 

[Toofy]

steam? more like hot air.

This is the same "rumor about Player X" that fly around every off season...

Its funny how "keeping tabs of a situation" or "have expressed interest" becomes "are front runners in the trade for player X"

would it be nice to have a player of his caliber? Yes it would.
Is it realistic that this team trades for Maxx Crosby? No it is not.

I do not believe Brady/Raiders will do anything to help the Patriots especially for a late round 1st... the value is too easily outstripped by other teams picking higher... and imo I think he will deliberately avoid dealing with the Patriots, though ymmv on that one...

The risk is too high considering he is coming from injury and we need to pay gonzo and maye in 2 years . Considering that this draft is deep in edge , don't think it makes sense to trade away any of our assets when we have a cost controlled contributor for 4+1 5 years .

Last season was a mirage. Expecting that to be replicated this season is gonna be wishful thinking unless we have rookies taking a gigantic 2nd year leap and we again hit the ball outta park in draft this year. The holes in team are one too many.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Everyone should want to play for coach Verbal

 

[Fuzz]

On the thread title: Breer's Xeet says he leans toward trade, and maybe this week.

Breer should lean toward maybe admitting he doesn't actually know anything.

 

[Family]

I saw on the screen at the gym that Jerry Jones wants to go/spend big on defense this year.

Seriously we're going to be able to compete against that?

 

[WhatJustHappened]

I saw on the screen at the gym that Jerry Jones wants to go/spend big on defense this year.

Seriously we're going to be able to compete against that?

Against what?
Pretty sure they are in the RED

 

[Rob0729]

I don’t remember a lot of trades for guys earning at or near the top of their positions working out. Maybe I’m forgetting some.

Khalil Mack, AJ Brown, Tyreek Hill, Micah Parsons, Stefon Diggs to Buffalo, D'Andre Hopkins (at least for one year)

Some of them didn't get their money until they got to their new team and/or were only elite for a couple of years (or less with Hopkins)