At LB, there is no reason not to keep 4 backup LBs, two vets, two younger guys. What's so tricky about that?
AD, Bruschi, Colvin, Vrabel, Willie, Izzo, Woods and Alexander? Who plays the WILL or are you suggesting Vrabel or Thomas moves there permanently?
Look, the sentimental side of my being a longtime Pats fan says I want Willie back in a heartbeat because of all the guys who are no longer with this franchise, I miss him the most. Hell, I'm still a bit pissed off he's no longer with the team. However, the rational side of me says we really need an ILB to work and help Tedy more than we need Willie especially after the AD signing.
Then there's the question of why the Browns, who doled out a fair chunk of change for Willie not only for his play, but to instill a winning culture and attitude on a young, inexperienced team would cut the guy and take a cap hit one year into his service when he's still making enough plays.
Besides, in this entire thread, people are completely ignoring BB's extremely well-documented preference for veterans at the LB position. He has never drafted one LB that he has groomed to become a starter. The closest he came was TBC who he let walk.
OK, Tully was a seventh round pick. If that's the standard for grooming starters, I think we can also add Claridge to the list given he was a fifth rounder. Also, Turner and Tisdale were both seventh round picks. And that's just BB drafting LBs or a DE conversion project like Tully with the Pats organization. If we were to go back to his drafts with the Browns, he did draft LBs Gerard Dixon and Mike Caldwell in the third round. Hell, he even drafted LB Craig Powell in the first round in his last draft with the Browns. BB's probably learned a thing or two about the value of 34 LBs in the draft since his days with the Browns, but something tells me he'd have no problem drafting a LB with a first round pick if he thought that prospect was as good a player as say Vilma.
