2017 NE FA market & targets

[luuked]

While he didn't become a core D player or step in Collins' shoes he was a solid rotational player and core ST towards the end. Is that enough to justify his 2017 salary I don't know. Id be slightly surprised to see him flat out cut. Restructure with 1M pay cut may be a possibility?

If he lowers his cap hit via an extension/restructure then he is welcome to stay. He is just too expensive for the role he played last year. He has a higher cap hit than Ninkovich who plays substantial snaps on D. Or like Dussault said.. he has almost 3x the cap hit of KVN who arguably had more impact (including D calls).

What I would give to hear the full story of the Pats signing him. I wonder what role BB envisioned for him originally because the contract they were confident in giving him definitely suggests a bigger role than rotational D + ST player. It's all about value for me and at the current rate his value is pretty low.

 

[MSPatsFan28]

I have been doing a lot of reading and trying to understand the different opportunities that may be available.

Kendricks would be an ideal fit for all the reasons you mentioned. The cost would be within reason, and helps avoid overpaying in what is going to be the most overpaid free agent class in history. If it's a 2-4th round pick, there are a lot of reasons to get behind a trade like this.
It also keeps our Comp picks, which is a huge motivating factor this offseason. We could end up with a 2 3rds and 2 4ths next draft if we don't go shopping in free agency. That's the equivalent to a mid 2nd round pick, which would give BB plenty of ammunition to move around how he likes. I think we try and stay out of FA altogether this year, unless it's for a very serious piece (Hankins, Calais Campbell) or underrated guys that will come in below the comp pick level.

A few names that I think will be under appreciated but fit a nice role for us would be move LB Jelani Jenkins from Miami, inside/outside DE William Ghoston, and Edge DE Alex Okafor from Zona. None of them will be tremendously expensive, and Jenkins and Okafor seem quite likely to move on from their current roles.

I like Gholston; glad someone else noticed him too. I also like Jenkins as well as Butler and Paysinger from Miami. I am eyeing Mike Martin, Abry Jones or Cam Thomas at DT if Branch is not resigned. Chad Greenway, Sean Weatherspoon, Justin Durant, Philip Wheeler and Keenan Robinson round out the OLBs I like. I really like the LB group in FA. At ILB, Zachary Orr, Kiko Alonzo and Christian Jones are RFAs. Justin Durant, Perry Riley, Stephen Tulloch, Kelvin Sheppard and Zach Brown could also be had if the price is right. I would consider Antwon Blake, Leodis McKelvin, Johnathan Banks or Kayvon Webster, but would love to get Marcus Cooper at Corner. Safety options I would limit to those that can provide ST versatility like Don Jones or Raphael Bush.

Did not really research much on offense, did not see a need to spend big on that side of the ball. Probably shop the bargain bin for WR, RB, TE. Would rather offer Cameron Jordan $5-$7M/YR than Bennett. Jordan is younger and could be cheaper coming off a down year. I believe Bennett wants to get paid$$. Could also look to the draft to get younger on offense.

 

[luuked]

Rich Hill has a significantly different take on the Logan Ryan contract than I have:

Look for Ryan to get an contract in the $7 million per season range during free agency.

I said before that I think he wants to be paid somewhere between Alford and Jimmy Smith (~10m). I'd be happy if I really grossly overestimated that much because then there is at least a chance we could extend him.

 

[manxman2601]

I'd really like this guy as an RFA signing.

Eagles TE Trey Burton would be interesting free agent for the Patriots

 

[mihap]

I'd really like this guy as an RFA signing.

Eagles TE Trey Burton would be interesting free agent for the Patriots

They signed TE Rob Housler to future contract.
But this TE Trey Burton guy is similar size as Michael Floyd. So better to sign Floyd.

 

[manxman2601]

They signed TE Rob Housler to future contract.
But this TE Trey Burton guy is similar size as Michael Floyd. So better to sign Floyd.

Burton was a running QB at Florida. It looks like he's still only 235lbs so a little undersized but he has the wiggle ability of AHern with the ball in his hands. He's a key special teamer for the Eagles but he might be expendable as their 3rd TE. I liked him in his draft year because I thought he could add some of what Hernandez did here (the good stuff).

 

[manxman2601]

This might interest BB

 

[luuked]

And the Logan Ryan saga continues..

A contributor at Patspropaganda expects Ryan to get a contract north of 10m:

Some team will be desperate enough for secondary help to toss Ryan a deal worth 12-13 million a year, which would pay Ryan like one of the premier corners in the game (a contract worth 13.5 million a year would place him in the top 5 of highest paid corners).

Wbich amounts to crazy money and goes even farther than what I expected.

It's kinda interesting that there is no real consensus on the size of his contract between different outlets. PatsPulpit (Rich Hill) suggests around 7m, PatsPropaganda suggests 12-13m.. maybe my 10m projection is not that far off in the end.. I wonder what @Miguel thinks..

 

[luuked]

I'd really like this guy as an RFA signing.

Eagles TE Trey Burton would be interesting free agent for the Patriots

I remember crossing my fingers throughout the draft back in 2014 that we'd take him with one of the day 3 selections. God time passes quickly..

 

[jboston19]

And the Logan Ryan saga continues..

A contributor at Patspropaganda expects Ryan to get a contract north of 10m:



Wbich amounts to crazy money and goes even farther than what I expected.

It's kinda interesting that there is no real consensus on the size of his contract between different outlets. PatsPulpit (Rich Hill) suggests around 7m, PatsPropaganda suggests 12-13m.. maybe my 10m projection is not that far off in the end.. I wonder what @Miguel thinks..

@patscap: Am thinking that Logan Ryan will get more than that. Robert Alford just got 9.5M APY. Ryan is 2 yrs younger than Alford.

 

[captain stone]

I'd really like this guy as an RFA signing.

Eagles TE Trey Burton would be interesting free agent for the Patriots

I was really hoping that Trey Burton would be signed here as a UDFA. There were in fact a few intriguing UDFA TEs available that year, But I don't think that Bill signed even one of them.

 

[long distance]

If he lowers his cap hit via an extension/restructure then he is welcome to stay. He is just too expensive for the role he played last year. He has a higher cap hit than Ninkovich who plays substantial snaps on D. Or like Dussault said.. he has almost 3x the cap hit of KVN who arguably had more impact (including D calls).

What I would give to hear the full story of the Pats signing him. I wonder what role BB envisioned for him originally because the contract they were confident in giving him definitely suggests a bigger role than rotational D + ST player. It's all about value for me and at the current rate his value is pretty low.

You are probably right in BB envisioning bigger role for that contract. But BB is the last to overreact. All in all, McClellin was a part of LB rotation that stepped up after Collins was sent away and saw increased role and production at ST. The same could be said about Mingo: 5th rounder might seem like overpayment to most people for someone who is only playing ST. Some are also making cases for Sheard, Solder etc. Before the beginning of the season people were all over Cannon's contract etc., Ninko's & Freeny's extensions ...

But one should also look beyond money/stat production simply because BB does. By production Blount should be one of the highest paid in 2016. Yet he played for 1M and earned all his incentives (1M) (Bolden actually had higher base contract than Blount in 2016). Still many people are again hesitant to have LG back at (slightly) increased deal... You have guys that seem overpaid and quite a few that seem underpaid . but at the end they all contributed in their own way to winning the SBLI.

We know now we should've been more patient with Cannon, Blount, White .. so maybe now we could do so with McClellin, Mingo, Cyrus... I am not saying they will all come back, I have no clue of course, but Id certainly welcome them back for whatever money Pats give them..

 

[manxman2601]

We know now we should've been more patient with Cannon, Blount, White .. so maybe now we could do so with McClellin, Mingo, Cyrus... I am not saying they will all come back, I have no clue of course, but Id certainly welcome them back for whatever money Pats give them..

Agreed. Pats have a lot of potential holes just in terms of players hitting FA. I have zero problems with guys like you mentioned being here as some of the depth guys/back end starters on the roster.

 

[long distance]

Nice look from Hill at Pats UFAs and their possible in-house replacements.
Probably somewhat optimistic, but useful overview that can tame both fear and appetite coming closer to FA.

Patriots have possible in house replacements for their top 10 free agents

 

[long distance]

 

[long distance]

If one really wants to make a case against McClellin one has to look no further than this early SBLI play for big ATL gain.

McClellin (on the left side of picture) gets easily pushed away by Sanu (sic!) and that blows the whole line and opens a highway for Freeman. ATL played this whole year I guess, McC can feel the breath of Sanu yet completely ignores him and gets easily removed (blocking Flowers who is trying to get across). Its not only a question of football IQ but also concentration, awareness, responsibility, dependability...

No wonder he didn't play much on D after this.



Chung and Harmon overrun a little as well and Harmon then didn't have the angle for good tackle anymore. I am actually impressed by Ninko how he comes all the way from the other side and just misses the unlikely tackle..

Another great play by Butler as safety who prevents a TD (while going for the ball for TO like always) Its incredible how he overruns it as well but still manages to get back on such a fast play. He's getting paid in NE.

 

[Jimke]

Nice look from Hill at Pats UFAs and their possible in-house replacements.
Probably somewhat optimistic, but useful overview that can tame both fear and appetite coming closer to FA.

Patriots have possible in house replacements for their top 10 free agents

My impression of the in house replacements was that they were not very good.

 

[BelichickFan]

My impression of the in house replacements was that they were not very good.

I like Hill but that article was bad. Just throwing a name on the bottom of the roster at each spot.

 

[long distance]

I like Hill but that article was bad. Just throwing a name on the bottom of the roster at each spot.

Agreed. But to be fair that's how many times plays out with BB, regardless what fans think... next man up

 

[BobDigital]

If Ryan walks I was looking for some other CBs we could pick up in FA.

Leon Hall would be a great 1 year player while we see if a rookie steps up or Cyrus Jones does. If they want a longer term solution Ryan ****rell is young and could play 4-5 years