Curran: "In my estimation... [Gonzo would like to] be treated as if he's at the table in 2027." [previous title: "say goodbye to gonzo"]

[mgteich]

Both sides are using the media now to make their case. Obviously Gonzo’s team talked to Shefter to get their side out. Pats do the same thing.

The role is called mediator.

 

[n1997y]

The role is called mediator mediot.

FIFY

 

[patfanken]

We will sign a deal before week 1, IMO.

It is that or trading him for a BOAT LOAD of picks.....like the haul Micah Parsons brought in....

I saw this trade speculation with the Lions.

The Lions get Gonzo

We get: Sam LaPorta, a 2027 first, a 2027 2nd, and a 2028 first.

Now I'm totally against trading Gonzo BUT, we would get an upgrade to Henry, so we now have 2 good threats at TE. PLUS, we get a #1 in 27 who would likely be in the 15-25 range depending on how their season goes. PLUS, we get back our #1 in 28 which COULD be a top 10 pick if the Lions' window closes

We can justify it by improving the DL with the cap space and picks and that our D is already 80% zone. I know my justification is partial BS, but that IS quite a haul

 

[DoubleDeluxe]

I saw this trade speculation with the Lions.

The Lions get Gonzo

We get: Sam LaPorta, a 2027 first, a 2027 2nd, and a 2028 first.

Now I'm totally against trading Gonzo BUT, we would get an upgrade to Henry, so we now have 2 good threats at TE. PLUS, we get a #1 in 27 who would likely be in the 15-25 range depending on how their season goes. PLUS, we get back our #1 in 28 which COULD be a top 10 pick if the Lions' window closes

We can justify it by improving the DL with the cap space and picks and that our D is already 80% zone. I know my justification is partial BS, but that IS quite a haul

It is haul...however.
Lions have a loaded roster, they aren't going to be picking anywhere near 15 in 2027. I would say more likely 24-32.
I know you said COULD, but the Lions window isn't closing to where they would be picking anywhere near 10 in 2028.
La Porta has gone steadily backwards since his rookie season.
He's missed 9 games the last 2 years and his numbers have dropped.
Was his rookie season who is, or was it an outlier?
And....this greatly hurts us in 2026.
Ultimately if a trade happens the one you mention would be ok, but I sincerely hope Gonzo stays for many more years.

 

[n1997y]

Any team trading for Gonzo is making a huge investment.

No team will do that unless they expect it will push them over the top as a contender.

Whatever picks we get are likely to be lower in the round than the Patriots’ own picks after trading Gonzo.

 

[Brady85-23]

Any team trading for Gonzo is making a huge investment.

No team will do that unless they expect it will push them over the top as a contender.

Whatever picks we get are likely to be lower in the round than the Patriots’ own picks after trading Gonzo.

49ers would make sense but they were not one of the possible teams mentioned. They have the most cap space by a wide margin and they play in a division with the rams and Hawks

 

[Real fan 02]

This.

Revis made more his rookie season than Gonzalez has for his entire contract. That's in non-adjusted-for-inflation money, by the way.

The reason the rookie slots exist, is so that when moron owners sign bad rookies, they're not hamstrung by the contract anymore, because they apparently need all the guardrails they can get. The TRADEOFF is, if your rookie ends up being an all-pro, he gets an extension after year 3, and gets paid.

That is the norm. You nailed it.

Revis was also a smart business man too! and marketed his contracts well. He came here as a mercenary got his ring and thus got another contract!

 

[DoubleDeluxe]

Revis was also a smart business man too! and marketed his contracts well. He came here as a mercenary got his ring and thus got another contract!

He bet on himself a lot.
Ended up smart in the end, but could’ve gone the other way if had a serious injury.
That’s always the trade off

 

[Real fan 02]

He bet on himself a lot.
Ended up smart in the end, but could’ve gone the other way if had a serious injury.
That’s always the trade off

Very true. Ty law was another smart businessman who knew how to market himself and even in a time when NFL contracts weren't anything close to what guys are seeing now.. wasn't ty the highest paid CB at one time before?

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

Very true. Ty law was another smart businessman who knew how to market himself and even in a time when NFL contracts weren't anything close to what guys are seeing now.. wasn't ty the highest paid CB at one time before?

He sells a vodka brand now.

 

[Real fan 02]

He sells a vodka brand now.

Corvus to be exact

 

[TommyD4207]

Huh. Turns out it's not just me.

 

[borg]

I rarely hesitate to point out Bob's shortcomings (pun intended), but linking franchise value to contract spending is nonsensical and lazy.

 

[patfanken]

Huh. Turns out it's not just me.

This is just another BS hot take from Callahan. He knows Kraft's $9B in net worth means NOTHING in this equation. He's just stirring up the fans to keep repeating another Felgerism. The Pats play under the SAME $300MM cap that EVERY other team in the NFL have. And part of building a strong roster is MORE than finding good players, you have to fit them all under that cap in order to build a championship roster, you have to build the quality depth behind them. You have to build that strong "middle class" and you cannot do that by paying all your top players whatever they want, whenever they want it.

Just think about our good rosters of the late 90's. We had several good rosters back then, ONE man deep, and we watched all those teams fail to meet expectations because they couldn't survive the injuries that inevitably happen. Not just us. NFL history is littered with supposedly "great" teams that were constructed with "one man deep" great rosters

 

[TommyD4207]

This is just another BS hot take from Callahan. He knows Kraft's $9B in net worth means NOTHING in this equation. He's just stirring up the fans to keep repeating another Felgerism. The Pats play under the SAME $300MM cap that EVERY other team in the NFL have. And part of building a strong roster is MORE than finding good players, you have to fit them all under that cap in order to build a championship roster, you have to build the quality depth behind them. You have to build that strong "middle class" and you cannot do that by paying all your top players whatever they want, whenever they want it.

Just think about our good rosters of the late 90's. We had several good rosters back then, ONE man deep, and we watched all those teams fail to meet expectations because they couldn't survive the injuries that inevitably happen. Not just us. NFL history is littered with supposedly "great" teams that were constructed with "one man deep" great rosters

They are 30 million under said cap.

They have been bottom 5 in real cash spending over the last 5 years, the last 10 years, the last 20 years. The 2nd-most valuable franchise in the league.

They can walk AND chew gum. Instead they nickel and dime over the relative price of an UberEats order.

You make great draft picks, you keep those players with the franchise. That's how you build a foundation.

 

[TheRainMaker]

Just think about our good rosters of the late 90's. We had several good rosters back then, ONE man deep, and we watched all those teams fail to meet expectations because they couldn't survive the injuries that inevitably happen. Not just us. NFL history is littered with supposedly "great" teams that were constructed with "one man deep” great rosters

Those late 90’s teams couldn’t draft and made poor personnel decisions coming back to haunt them.

Meanwhile, the rest of the division was creeping up on them quickly by 1998 who drafted well. Then the Colts came out of nowhere in 1999. After 1997, it wouldn’t have mattered if they stayed healthy.

Glad to see Drew Bledsoe after all these years say on Edelman’s podcast poor drafting led to their downfall. Pete Carroll also vowed to have full control after the Curtis Martin disaster.

 

[upstater1]

This is just another BS hot take from Callahan. He knows Kraft's $9B in net worth means NOTHING in this equation. He's just stirring up the fans to keep repeating another Felgerism. The Pats play under the SAME $300MM cap that EVERY other team in the NFL have. And part of building a strong roster is MORE than finding good players, you have to fit them all under that cap in order to build a championship roster, you have to build the quality depth behind them. You have to build that strong "middle class" and you cannot do that by paying all your top players whatever they want, whenever they want it.

Just think about our good rosters of the late 90's. We had several good rosters back then, ONE man deep, and we watched all those teams fail to meet expectations because they couldn't survive the injuries that inevitably happen. Not just us. NFL history is littered with supposedly "great" teams that were constructed with "one man deep" great rosters

This all sounds good, but then when you give really good contracts to a bunch of mediocre players, the middle class theory fails you badly.

I mean, look at this:

Carlton Davis $18m AAV
Harold Landry $14.5m AAV

Combined $32.5m AAV (what Witherspoon got).

If if were me, I'd trade Gonzalez for Davis and Landry.

This is why superstars get paid, because you can get pretty good production from other players for a lot cheaper than the $32.5m we're paying Davis and Landry, which leaves good money for the superstars.

It would really be absurd for us to lose Gonzalez and yet we get to keep oldheads like Davis, AJ Brown, and Landry.

I would call that a colossal error in teambuilding and mismanagement of the salary cap.

You're supposed to keep your young studs and use the draft to fill in around them, with grizzled vets coming on for friendly deals like Moses's, Hollins's, Byard's, etc.

Save the money for Gonzalez, Milt Williams, Maye.

 

[mike_usagisan]

This is a friendly reminder to keep the politics out of this, please.

 

[Lagaffe_07]

They have been bottom 5 in real cash spending over the last 5 years, the last 10 years, the last 20 years. The 2nd-most valuable franchise in the league.

Sorry but that’s just simply isn’t true.

They had years when they were at the bottom of the league and they had years where they were at the top of the league.

They are definitely not the biggest spender but if you were to take their average ranking in the league on sportrac since 2011 (year since they started tracking that data). My guess would be that the patriots would be right down the middle.

I hope they sign Gonzo because he is a good player and I want the Patriots to keep him but I also don’t want the Patriots to cave in on any demands they superstars wants. I think it also sets a bad precedent.

nobody knows what the Patriots have offered or haven’t. I dismiss what Schefter reported as much as I dismiss what Kraft and Wolff said. Schefter is getting fed info from the Gonzo camp. They won’t say the offer we receive was fair but we want more. And Kraft and Wolf aren’t gonna tell us if they are low balling Gonzo. The truth is probably in the middle.

 

[borg]

This is a friendly reminder to keep the politics out of this, please.

curious why one esteemed contributor is granted unlimited political disparagements