Asante...

[VrabelMayeWin]

I agree. Folks tend to forget that with the singular exception of the franchise tag option, he's not ours at the end of the season.

But we have that option. It's not like we have to flip a coin and if we lose we can't franchise him. That is OUR option. Samuel has no say in the matter. He is ours, via the franchise tag, until/unless we choose not to use it. Patriots' choice, Patriots' option, Patriots' player.

And our knowing The Jest would love to get him makes it more likely we'll use that option IMO.

 

[Kasmir]

But we have that option. It's not like we have to flip a coin and if we lose we can't franchise him. That is OUR option. Samuel has no say in the matter. He is ours, via the franchise tag, until/unless we choose not to use it. Patriots' choice, Patriots' option, Patriots' player.

And our knowing The Jest would love to get him makes it more likely we'll use that option IMO.

You would actually expect that Mangini's assessment of Asante's value would be similar to Belioli's: both team's run similar defensive systems, and Mangini was his freakin position coach two years ago. Unless Tannebaum is an over spender, the teams should come to a similar valuation for him. If we don't think he's worth franchising, Mangini probably won't spend franchise tag money for him either...

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

You would actually expect that Mangini's assessment of Asante's value would be similar to Belioli's: both team's run similar defensive systems, and Mangini was his freakin position coach two years ago. Unless Tannebaum is an over spender, the teams should come to a similar valuation for him. If we don't think he's worth franchising, Mangini probably won't spend franchise tag money for him either...

A reasonable argument; where I think the Pats and Jets might differ in valuation is the relative strength of their rosters. Tangini is trying to build a consistent playoff team in the mould of Belioli, they reportedly have money to spend, and went through a mess at DB this season.

The Jets actually look good on the roster, they have four OL who get good grades - that RT whom they need to re-sign kept Warren quiet (according to media accounts anyway) - that front seven was playing quite well for them - they could use another RB to challenge inside the tackles - maybe another TE - S is looking good for them, which leaves CB.

The interesting thing to watch is who else bids for Samuel and how that contest fits into the Jets financial maneuvers.

 

[VrabelMayeWin]

You would actually expect that Mangini's assessment of Asante's value would be similar to Belioli's: both team's run similar defensive systems, and Mangini was his freakin position coach two years ago. Unless Tannebaum is an over spender, the teams should come to a similar valuation for him. If we don't think he's worth franchising, Mangini probably won't spend franchise tag money for him either...

Good quality FA are tough to come by - as are good quality CB. Yes, I think The Jest would make Samuel a very strong offer and we should control him so that he can't go where he wants. The Jest would probably consider any overpayment simply an investment in making their competition worse.

 

[TomBrady'sGoat]

Forget the Jets. Some team like the Redskins would be more than happy to trade a pick or two and then give Asante his payday. Even if you can't get a 1 for him you can get a 2 and a 5 or something. Heck, even if you only get a 3 it's one more 3rd round pick than you'd otherwise have.

And even if there weren't any takers I'd happily pay him $7-8M for one year while grooming his replacement. A one-year commitment has a lot of value, and the team will have plenty of cap room available. It would also give another year to judge whether he can be consistent or not, and assuming Asante's INTs go down he might even be cheaper to sign the following year.

 

[jbb9s]

Forget the Jets. Some team like the Redskins would be more than happy to trade a pick or two and then give Asante his payday. Even if you can't get a 1 for him you can get a 2 and a 5 or something. Heck, even if you only get a 3 it's one more 3rd round pick than you'd otherwise have.

And even if there weren't any takers I'd happily pay him $7-8M for one year while grooming his replacement. A one-year commitment has a lot of value, and the team will have plenty of cap room available. It would also give another year to judge whether he can be consistent or not, and assuming Asante's INTs go down he might even be cheaper to sign the following year.

The Patriots could have signed him during the season ala Koppen if they wanted to hedge their bets about Asante's cost rising too much with late season stats. Hell, those pick in Tenn and then the INT/TD last week probably bumped him up 300k a season. My read is that they are going to let him go one way or another - Hobbs is probably a starter if his hand is out a cast and the Dieon pick (#22?) can go towards someone else. Gay, if ever healthy again, last played as a starter in the SB.

BB has never, ever payed for a top notch cornerback as long as i can remember. The Law extension was dished out from his predecessor.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

I agree. Folks tend to forget that with the singular exception of the franchise tag option, he's not ours at the end of the season. Unless he likes it here enough to give us a discount, he's no more likely to be here next year than any other free agent in the league. Same observation for TBC and Graham.

I'm most hopeful with Graham, as he's cheaper to franchise, and also has been making some pro-Patriots noises since being elected a captain.

I think they will get Graham done before the FA period, and if they want to hedge their bets they could transition tag him. That gives us a week to mull any offer he gets that he's willing to accept, and match it. That week puts some clubs off because they don't want to be tied up for 7 days and perhaps miss out on their next best option. And I don't think the new commissioner is gonna put up with much in the way of poison pill clauses this season.

 

[The Dude]

Based upon past front office decisions regarding high priced contracts for players that can be replaced, I say Asante is not in a pats uniform next year

 

[MoLewisrocks]

The Patriots could have signed him during the season ala Koppen if they wanted to hedge their bets about Asante's cost rising too much with late season stats. Hell, those pick in Tenn and then the INT/TD last week probably bumped him up 300k a season. My read is that they are going to let him go one way or another - Hobbs is probably a starter if his hand is out a cast and the Dieon pick (#22?) can go towards someone else. Gay, if ever healthy again, last played as a starter in the SB.

BB has never, ever payed for a top notch cornerback as long as i can remember. The Law extension was dished out from his predecessor.

It wasn't Ty's salary ($6.5M) that put BB off, it was his double digit cap hit which was due in part to a HUGE signing bonus and backloading salary - the two things Belioli are now steering away from. He offered Ty 2 years at $9M that could have been $11M with incentives. If he believes Asante can be as good as Ty Law was at 32 then paying him $5M per won't be a problem because that was just about what he expected to pay for an aging Ty Law. Thing is Asante seems to want a little more than that which his demand for a double digit bonus vs. their offer to date of $7.5M (reportedly) would indicate. Most of these guys are looking to see the first two years basically guaranteed between bonus and salary. If Asante wants $10M+ then he sees himself as a $6M per year CB. And I'm not sure how much incentivizing you would want to do in a ballhawks contract. He needs to play within the system lest he devotes too much effort to trying to pick passes he could have defensed that end up instead as big plays for the opposition.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

The Patriots could have signed him during the season ala Koppen if they wanted to hedge their bets about Asante's cost rising too much with late season stats.

Odd, that story early in the season, indicating Samuel's camp was looking to wait until after the season before renewing negotiations, must have been leaked as disinformation.

Lots of folks around here seem to assume the Patriots can re-sign a player at will and any delay is Patriots' procrastination - I frankly can't connect with the mindset.

 

[MrBigglesWorth]

Finally an Asante Samuel thread. I've been itching to tallk about him and have been waiting for a thread about him to get started along with a Chad Jackson one.