Hunter Henry's Future Appears Safe

[mike_usagisan]

I've read that Henry wants to test FA again.

After last season, I can't blame him.

 

[Wozzy]

I don't know if it's just money or the way things went, but it doesn't sound like they will get a team friendly extension this year, which is the only way these things seem to come down.

He'll be close to 30 when his contract ends, he plays one of the more punishing positions in football. I get why he wants one more shot at a contract.

That being said the Pats are one of the wealthiest teams in the league in cap space and draft picks. They can offer one of the most competitive contracts in the league if they want to, Henry is also best buds with Mac. If they're really successful this season he could be eager to stick around. We'll see...

 

[Family]

He'll be close to 30 when his contract ends, he plays one of the more punishing positions in football. I get why he wants one more shot at a contract.

That being said the Pats are one of the wealthiest teams in the league in cap space and draft picks. They can offer one of the most competitive contracts in the league if they want to, Henry is also best buds with Mac. If they're really successful this season he could be eager to stick around. We'll see...

To be clear I never said HH wouldn't stay.

I said I wished they could extend him, which doesn't appear likely until a new deal after FA.

 

[Nehalem]

I would be more disappointed except

(1) He has actually provided essentially the same production the last 2 years as he did in SD
(2) This is despite the dysfunction on offense last year
(3) The alternative is Jonnu Smith

 

[Wozzy]

To be clear I never said HH wouldn't stay.

I said I wished they could extend him, which doesn't appear likely until a new deal after FA.

We'll see, a big wad of money and success can change people's minds pretty quickly.

 

[PatsFan2]

I want one of the the Rookie TE's in the upcoming Draft and hopes Bob do too.

 

[PatsFan2]

I would be more disappointed except

(1) He has actually provided essentially the same production the last 2 years as he did in SD
(2) This is despite the dysfunction on offense last year
(3) The alternative is Jonnu Smith

Jonnu Smith can't use Matt Patricia Offense as a n excuse last year he sucked the year before too.

 

[Lavictoire]

Jonnu Smith can't use Matt Patricia Offense as a n excuse last year he sucked the year before too.

That's the guy I really hope will turn around this season whatever the problem is.

 

[Ross12]

Saw this exchange and I think it would have been a stretch for Henry to be the one in jeopardy, but Fauria essentially mocks the report while also backing it up:

Seems the tweets are deleted

Edit: nevermind, just showing unavailable in the preview, but clicking the links takes you to the tweets which are still live. Not sure why it’s doing that

 

[Ian]

Seems the tweets are deleted

Edit: nevermind, just showing unavailable in the preview, but clicking the links takes you to the tweets which are still live. Not sure why it’s doing that

Twitter's servers are likely experiencing an issue. They disable embeds online to reduce the load when that happens, so that's probably why. The ones in the bar aren't loading right now, either.

 

[Family]

We'll see, a big wad of money and success can change people's minds pretty quickly.

The way the team has approached these situations is to let the player go to FA, and if they wanted him, attempt a hometown discount.

This could certainly work here.

But I'd love an extension to tie Hunter up and lower $15 million off the books. Gain some flexibility now. Hunter's good, but that's a lot.

I'm disappointed this is less likely according to reports. It doesn't mean HH doesn't ultimately stay. It's two separate issues.

 

[Wozzy]

The way the team has approached these situations is to let the player go to FA, and if they wanted him, attempt a hometown discount.

This could certainly work here.

But I'd love an extension to tie Hunter up and lower $15 million off the books. Gain some flexibility now. Hunter's good, but that's a lot.

I'm disappointed this is less likely according to reports. It doesn't mean HH doesn't ultimately stay. It's two separate issues.

Sure, I agree. That being said the Pats could do nothing and still be the biggest players in free agency. They really don’t need that many players, but they have the money and means.

In 2021 they owned free agency and signed 250+ million in new contracts. The single largest cap hit that year was Stephon Gilmore, the result of using his contract like a bank and taking out cap loans on it in 2018 and 2019.

Or when the Chiefs signed Mahomes to that gargantuan deal in 2020, his cap hits didn’t explode until this year because they pushed it down the road. It gets substantially bigger in 2023, not ideal but the Pats have plenty of room.

The Pats really have to determine if Mac (or Zappe) is the man and have the resources to extend him when the time comes whilst also having a great team around him.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Somewhere I read the reason they rewrote Smith and not Henry last year was because HH wants FA, and didn't want to rewrite.

Those are two different things.

They restructured Smith's contract to free up cap space, but didn't extend him. Two years left meant they could free up about 2/3 of his salary. Henry wasn't a candidate without an extension because it limited the space they could free up. One year left means about 1/2 of his salary can be freed up.

But restructuring his current contract would not limit his ability to go to FA in and of itself.

 

[Family]

Those are two different things.

They restructured Smith's contract to free up cap space, but didn't extend him. Two years left meant they could free up about 2/3 of his salary. Henry wasn't a candidate without an extension because it limited the space they could free up. One year left means about 1/2 of his salary can be freed up.

But restructuring his current contract would not limit his ability to go to FA in and of itself.

Restructuring a contract makes it less likely you will be cut because it increases the dead cap hit, so in that way it might limit a player's ability to get to FA quicker, if that's the goal.

 

[Jim Beankie]

The Pats are also loaded with cap space... how about we cut everyone then we can have all the salary cap?

I mean, we won't have players or a team... but who cares.

Then Pats will be all set to get Marvin Harrison Jr.

 

[stinkypete]

Henry is solid, but his contract is up after next year & we got Jonnu Smith for 2 more years at a pretty penny.

I think back to Belichick drafting, Graham, Watson, Gronk & Hernandez & I wonder if he will get a TE early. Mayer is a solid prospect and Musgrave & Kincaid both look like they got talent.

The fact Jonnu Smith will be the highest or one of our highest paid is not a good thing so hopefully BOB will be able to mix him in enough to contribute something

I agree, we have needs at other positions, I just think Patriots every time I see a TE in the draft with talent.

Maybe i am still going through Gonk withdrawals

The value of this draft is at the TE position. I think a TE in round 1 is much more likely than a WR.