Options To Spend $30M In Cap (after Amendola adjustment)

I presume that the #5 WR will be paid $3M or less. We need about $6M (or less) for rookies, replacements and an injury reserve. That leaves about $24M. Of course, Belichick could simply roll over $20M after $4M of minor signings.

MANY OPTIONS (AFTER $4M minor signings)
1) more money for starting CB
2) ???

any serviceable edge guys out there?

someone to fill the sheard, long, nink type role

also a little concerned about CB if butler is gone

We still may sign Floyd, giving us six WRs after game four (or so). I haven't heard anything definitively ruling Floyd out. How much would he cost, I have no idea.

The remaining money is affected by BB true intentions on franchising either Butler or Garappolo (I think neither). I'd like to see us lower Brady's future cap hit and resign Solder. I also would love to acquire Mangold.

Too many variables, after the Draft we'll have a better idea.

I think some of the cap now will be saved and used for our own fa next year. Solder needs to be extended. Edleman is up. Who knows what the plan with Butler is, but if they plan on keeping Jimmy G, they'll need to tag him or offer him a big deal.

I would use some of the space to extend Cooks before he gets too expensive. I dont think a Butler extension is completely ruled out until hes gone.

A Solder extension would actually lower this years cap hit assuming they structure it like all their other deals (except hogan but thats because he was a RFA).

Hopefully Belichick can explore the trade market and find a defensive end or a corner if we trade Butler. We could probably get Jason McCourty for a low round pick, he has a 7M cap hit this year then is a FA next year.

- Restructure Amendola's contract.
- Find a happy median to extend Butler.
- Set aside cap dollars to roll over to 2018 for Brady and Gronk's 2018 numbers.

- Somewhere along the line the Patriots also need to make a decision on Nate Solder. They will either need to allocate part of their cap dollars towards an extension, or roll the dice on finding a replacement in the draft. For the latter to happen the Patriots will have to trade Garoppolo, with the express intention of drafting Solder's 2018 replacement and grooming him for a year with the top draft pick received in return. Linebacker and other positions would have to be pushed down the list of priorities.

As good as Dante Scarnecchia is, you can't expect the 96th player selected in a draft to be a quality starting left tackle. If not then you are drafting a LT a year from now and counting on that rookie to protect your quarterback's blind side.

It seems that folks are quite happy with the patriots plannining to spend $20M less than the cap.

That's fine, but for years most of here have agreed that the patriots spend the cap, or close to it.

In every year, there will be the ability to put the money aside for the future, acknowledging the yearly increase in the cap.

mgteich said:

I presume that the #5 WR will be paid $3M or less. We need about $6M (or less) for rookies, replacements and an injury reserve. That leaves about $24M. Of course, Belichick could simply roll over $20M after $4M of minor signings.

MANY OPTIONS (AFTER $4M minor signings)
1) more money for starting CB
2) ???

Click to expand...

Amendola made around 1.5m last year. No need to double the salary here. That actually raises the number, no? Isn't it currently on the books for around 6m?

Also, Miguel has stated that currently, it would take a very minimal amount to sign our rookie class. I believe he has stated less than a million, without having a first or second round pick, of course. We likely expect that to change, but it isn't going to equal "6 million dollars."

Not meaning to nitpick your projections here, but those two situations should not account for a reduction of 6m dollars against our cap. I do agree with you that a good portion of this 30m will be carried over to next year, and I've stated such since day one. There's no reason why 15-20m can't be carried over in my opinion.

mgteich said:

It seems that folks are quite happy with the patriots spending $20M less than the cap.

Click to expand...

A desire to carry over 20m will happen when you only have around 30 players under contract and another 30 hitting free agency. I've been harping on this for the past month.

This isn't even taking any potential Garoppolo situation into account.

Two names to sign:

Zach Brown, LB.
Revis, CB.

Revis will cost you nothing. Brown? Not sure how much but he'd really be a big help on defense.

supafly said:

A desire to carry over 20m will happen when you only have around 30 players under contract and another 30 hitting free agency. I've been harping on this for the past month.

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We have $53M in cap space for 2018 (before carry over) and most of the FA are journeymen. $30M could go for Cooks' option and JG franchise. Other than that Solder is the only big $$$ guy unless you count Butler. Edelman the only other big name but at his age he won't cost a lot. Even if we franchise JG, we have lots of cap space (unless we spend a lot of the current carry over on someone I can't name right now).

BelichickFan said:

We have $53M in cap space for 2018 (before carry over) and most of the FA are journeymen. $30M could go for Cooks' option and JG franchise. Other than that Solder is the only big $$$ guy unless you count Butler. Edelman the only other big name but at his age he won't cost a lot. Even if we franchise JG, we have lots of cap space (unless we spend a lot of the current carry over on someone I can't name right now).

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So, we'll only have approx. 30 players under contract, and you're trying to dedicate 30/53 million to two players? That would leave the team in a very tight situation.

They'd have 30+ free agents (and there are indeed some important names, despite your feeling that Edelman will be "cheap") and 23 million dollars available. Most importantly, they'd still only have 32 players under contract. This would be virtually impossible to pull off, in my opinion.

mgteich said:

It seems that folks are quite happy with the patriots planning to spend $20M less than the cap.

That's fine, but for years most of here have agreed that the patriots spend the cap, or close to it.

In every year, there will be the ability to put the money aside for the future, acknowledging the yearly increase in the cap.

Click to expand...

Based on what is currently available on the free agent market, where is the value? Who out there should the Patriots sign to a realistic contract (ie, not demand/expect he sign for the vet minimum)?

Agreed that many - including myself - have wanted the Patriots to spend more in previous seasons. I do think 2018 should not be an ignored afterthought though.

Perhaps there is a valuable free agent out there that I missed? Maybe Nick Mangold, but can he be counted on health-wise? And how much would it realistically cost for him to play another year? John Sullivan might be a better option if you want to upgrade the center position.

Brandon Flowers (or Sam Shields) are worth consideration, but their concussions are a concern. If Butler is retained then they are not necessary.

There isn't much at linebacker either. Perry Riley, Gerald Hodges, Zach Brown are possibilities, but are any of them improvements over Van Noy?

I am all for upgrading the roster. Sometimes the best return on investment is found internally rather than externally. The grass is not always greener on the other side.

mgteich said:

It seems that folks are quite happy with the patriots plannining to spend $20M less than the cap.

That's fine, but for years most of here have agreed that the patriots spend the cap, or close to it.

In every year, there will be the ability to put the money aside for the future, acknowledging the yearly increase in the cap.

Click to expand...

But it's the first year of the cap cycle.

If there's someone worth bringing in , go to, but don't spend for spending's sake.

supafly said:

Amendola made around 1.5m last year. No need to double the salary here. That actually raises the number, no? Isn't it currently on the books for around 6m?

Also, Miguel has stated that currently, it would take a very minimal amount to sign our rookie class. I believe he has stated less than a million, without having a first or second round pick, of course. We likely expect that to change, but it isn't going to equal "6 million dollars."

Not meaning to nitpick your projections here, but those two situations should not account for a reduction of 6m dollars against our cap. I do agree with you that a good portion of this 30m will be carried over to next year, and I've stated such since day one. There's no reason why 15-20m can't be carried over in my opinion.

Click to expand...

As a clarification, Miguel is referring to new cap dollars. (A good rule of thumb is that the new cap dollars roughly equal the signing bonus prorations for rookies in the first four rounds.)

supafly said:

So, we'll only have approx. 30 players under contract, and you're trying to dedicate 30/53 million to two players? That would leave the team in a very tight situation.

They'd have 30+ free agents (and there are indeed some important names, despite your feeling that Edelman will be "cheap") and 23 million dollars available. Most importantly, they'd still only have 32 players under contract. This would be virtually impossible to pull off, in my opinion.

Click to expand...

Let's start with some roster number arithmetic. We currently have 33 under contract, with an estimated cap availability of $55M.

33 Under Contract
5 2017 Draftees and UDFA's
5 2017 ERFA's and 2016 PS players
5 2018 draftees and UDFA's
---
48

I submit that the cost of these will leave a net $40-$45M available for the signing of free agents.

ctpatsfan77 said:

As a clarification, Miguel is referring to new cap dollars. (A good rule of thumb is that the new cap dollars roughly equal the signing bonus prorations for rookies in the first four rounds.)

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Yes, I didn't mean to suggest that there was money included for rookies in the 30m available, only that it isn't going to cost "6 million dollars."

If I worded myself poorly, I apologize. Thanks for the clarification, and also for keeping us all well informed with these matters.

mgteich said:

Let's start with some roster number arithmetic. We currently have 33 under contract, with an estimated cap availability of $55M.

33 Under Contract
5 2017 Draftees and UDFA's
5 2017 ERFA's and 2016 PS players
5 2018 draftees and UDFA's
---
48

I submit that the cost of these will leave a net $40-$45M available for the signing of free agents.

Click to expand...

Not if the poster whom I responded to is willing to part with 30m dollars for Garoppolo and Cooks!

Like I said, I would find that to be virtually impossible.

Any way you look at it, Belichick is going to need to carry some money over. No matter what anyone's plan is, carrying money over will go a long way towards building a better team.

PatriotDynasty99 said:

Two names to sign:

Zach Brown, LB.
Revis, CB.

Revis will cost you nothing. Brown? Not sure how much but he'd really be a big help on defense.

Click to expand...

I thought Brown looked good the times I saw Buffalo this year. BB has a
great eye for vet lb's. I'd rather have one who can read his keys than one
who relies on athleticism.

I'd love to extend Malcolm. But, it seems the horse is about to leave the barn.
On a side note. A crappy team like the Saints is foolish to give up a 1st round
pick for a free agent instead of just signing a UFA.

If we lose Malcolm and trade Jimmy G, we can prob fill the needs at edge and
cb with 12 and 32nd picks. Can trade up too if necessary. Throw in Brown and
Revis. I think our defense would be pretty good.

patsfaninpa said:

I thought Brown looked good the times I saw Buffalo this year. BB has a
great eye for vet lb's. I'd rather have one who can read his keys than one
who relies on athleticism.

I'd love to extend Malcolm. But, it seems the horse is about to leave the barn.
On a side note. A crappy team like the Saints is foolish to give up a 1st round
pick for a free agent instead of just signing a UFA.

If we lose Malcolm and trade Jimmy G, we can prob fill the needs at edge and
cb with 12 and 32nd picks. Can trade up too if necessary. Throw in Brown and
Revis. I think our defense would be pretty good.

Click to expand...

You'd have to think that Belichick would lean more towards trading down and accumulating more picks, unless there was someone at #11 or #32 who blew their socks off. Still, I'd expect at least one of these picks to be traded. Just my opinion, of course.