All quiet on Hightower front or Dont'a-do-it FA tour

Posters should simmer down with this "injury prone" nonsense. If Hightower is re-signed, then it is a major addition to a defense that with further fortifications to the front seven in FA/Draft may take another step forward from the great season they had in 2016.

upstater1 said:

It's not so much that they are oblivious to the cap, but that they could get this done a year earlier, and you take the unknown out of it. You can get hurt or have a bad year for instance.

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But that doesn't mean his agent didn't project he would get a lot more in FA than they were offering.
Your original point was the number would have been lower bevause everyone is shocked at what is being paid this year and I don't think that's true at all.
Who is to say the player is willing to sacrifice money to take away the unknown.
You are presenting this like it a stupid decision was made and you have nothing to back it up.

sevengables_2207 said:

Posters should simmer down with this "injury prone" nonsense. If Hightower is re-signed, then it is a major addition to a defense that with further fortifications to the front seven in FA/Draft may take another step forward from the great season they had in 2016.

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To those people, I'd just say try to find a top-tier LB (real LB, not an edge rusher in a two point stance) that isn't injury-prone by the same standard. Kuechly has missed 9 games in the last 2 years, and appears to have developed the kind of chronic concussion problems that can derail and prematurely end a career. Collins has the same miss-a-couple-games-per-year-with-nagging-injuries issue that Hightower does. Bobby Wagner is probably the healthiest of the bunch; been able to play through his injuries for the last couple years, but prior to that he was much like Hightower. Derrick Johnson's had a famously injury-plagued career, which was probably ended by injury for good this past season. CJ Mosley missed a couple games this past year. Ryan Shazier is off the field as often as he's on it. Brandon Marshall missed 5 games this year. Danny Trevathan missed half the season. We all remember what happened with Mayo. Navorro Bowman's career speaks for itself. I'm not sure whether to include Thomas Davis or leave him out since he's not at all the same type of LB, but he had to get his knee reconstructed three different times.

ILB is a very punishing position. The guys that play it will not consistently give you 16 games per season, every season. It's an unreasonable expectation. If they could, you'd see the best guys getting $17M per year in FA rather than $12M. It's unreasonable to say that a ILB shouldn't get top-tier ILB money because he misses a few games per year, when that tendency is already accounted for in how much ILB make. It's like saying a defensive tackle shouldn't get top-of-the-line money because he can't cover. If Hightower's trying to demand elite edge rusher money, then I'll agree, but as long as other elite ILBs are the comp then it's not a reasonable complaint.

patfanken said:

....or, he could take days negotiating with other teams.

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I don't think this will happen mainly because most teams would have someone else in mind in case they can't get a player they are targeting in FA and don't want to risk that player being gone.

If Hightower doesn't resign with the Pats at around the start of FA I think we will be out of the race for him and onto plan B.

luuked said:

I don't think this will happen mainly because most teams would have someone else in mind in case they can't get a player they are targeting in FA and don't want to risk that player being gone.

If Hightower doesn't resign with the Pats at around the start of FA I think we will be out of the race for him and onto plan B.

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Other teams don't sign guys they had thought they would and have extra money to spend too.

BradyFTW! said:

To those people, I'd just say try to find a top-tier LB (real LB, not an edge rusher in a two point stance) that isn't injury-prone by the same standard. Kuechly has missed 9 games in the last 2 years, and appears to have developed the kind of chronic concussion problems that can derail and prematurely end a career.

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A small tangent which bothers me when I read about Kuechly..

What people that bring up "Kuechly money" often forget to mention or simply don't know is that he actually extended his contract a year prematurely at a discount to what he would have gotten in FA/or if tagged because of the injury risk inherent to the position he is playing. Which is why the money that Kuechly receives shouldn't be the benchmark for a contract signed in an open FA market and at a point in time where the salary cap is considerably higher.

So people please stop comparing contracts in FA or extensions shortly before FA to what other players in totally different circumstances, years ago got.

AndyJohnson said:

Other teams don't sign guys they had thought they would and have extra money to spend too.

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And yet you see a historic correlation of contract size and how soon after FA opens that contract is signed. The rates drop off almost like a power law function.

luuked said:

And yet you see a historic correlation of contract size and how soon after FA opens that contract is signed. The rates drop off almost like a power law function.

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Sorry I forgot there are no such things as exceptions.

sevengables_2207 said:

Posters should simmer down with this "injury prone" nonsense. If Hightower is re-signed, then it is a major addition to a defense that with further fortifications to the front seven in FA/Draft may take another step forward from the great season they had in 2016.

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I think it's a valid topic to be broached during negotiations. High has "only" played ~75% of the snaps the last 5 years. With availability and production being the most important things to BB, when it comes to contracts the Patriots only pay for how much you play and how much you do.

I totally see them incorporating some kind of game/snap incentive into his deal- if he in fact, resigns.

F5
F5
F5
F5
F5

manxman2601 said:

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Make it so.......

manxman2601 said:

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Well, I like that, but haven't they been trying to strike a deal since last spring?..... hoping they can consummate it this time....

Hammer of Thor said:

Well, I like that, but haven't they been trying to strike a deal since last spring?..... hoping they can consummate it this time....

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Any news is...well...news

Come on Bill...

manxman2601 said:

Any news is...well...news

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I'll think of you next time I see one of TMZ's breaking updates on the latest Kardashian baby.

supafly said:

I'll think of you next time I see one of TMZ's breaking updates on the latest Kardashian baby.

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Kardashians are allowed to breed?

AndyJohnson said:

Chandler jones got 17 mill a year with 50 mill guaranteed. I don't think Hightower is taking 12-13 and 30.

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That's nuts. Jones is not worth that cash.

Hammer of Thor said:

Well, I like that, but haven't they been trying to strike a deal since last spring?..... hoping they can consummate it this time....

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True, but trying to strike a deal during the season compared to trying to strike a deal after Hightower has learned his value on the market is a positive thing for us.

Hammer of Thor said:

Well, I like that, but haven't they been trying to strike a deal since last spring?..... hoping they can consummate it this time....

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Well, now the "true" market value is not an estimate or a projection anymore but a fact. Now both sides have solid numbers they can built upon.