If a trade was to be made...

[supafly]

If Valentine is "only marginally better' than Brown, then he should be activated as quickly as possible.

Agreed about the irony of the post.

We may be able to start having the conversation about Valentine returning in about a month or so, but it's still too early to project who will be brought back.

I think it will depend upon many factors such as the play of Branch, the health of our WR group, and any potential moves that may be made in the coming weeks. Personally, I'm hesitant to think that Mitchell is the lock to come back like most think he is, unless we see injuries at the position.

In the same vein, if Branch's play improves then it's possible that Belichick may not wish to wait until week 11 for the return of Valentine. I think we can all agree that McClellin would be the obvious choice for one of the returning players, so there's probably not as much debate there.

 

[supafly]

I'm kinda doubtful that Mara would make a deal with BB.

Geez, I remember some here claiming how overrated and washed up DRC was when he was a free agent a few yrs ago. He was one of the higher rated CBs last season.

 

[maineman209]

Geez, I remember some here claiming how overrated and washed up DRC was when he was a free agent a few yrs ago. He was one of the higher rated CBs last season.

I remember a crap-tonne of WTF??!! when the Cards dealt DRC and a 2nd to the Eagles for Kolb. This inevitably, and unsurprisingly, led to some speculation that DRC was maybe not as good as he appeared to be.

Then, DRC appeared to confirm that speculation by underperforming in Philly for the next two seasons. This was 2011-12, when Philly had kinda loaded up on "famous" cornerbacks with Asomugha and Asante Samuel - and didn't use any of them optimally. The entire roster was stuffed with "talented players", and yet they still ended up going only 8-8 in 2011 and 4-12 in 2012 (after which they fired Andy Reid).

In 2013, Philly was in cap hell (Asomugha' contract was stupid expensive), and they let DRC walk. DRC signed what was essentially a one-year "prove-it" deal with Denver for $5 mil, which further confirmed some of the negative speculation about him. He looked a bit better with the Broncos, and then, in 2014, the Giants snagged him for $7 mil a year for five years - a relatively cheap price for an ostensibly top-end CB even back then.

And he's had a kind of resurgence with the Giants, at least through last season.

Anyway, DRC is in his 10th year in the league and he's had some ups and downs. There have been lots of times that he's been brilliant, and lots of others where his play has been horribly undisciplined, although he seemed to be getting better with that the last couple seasons.

DRC has about $4.5 mil left on his contract for 2017, so the Pats couldn't reasonably afford to trade for him this year with only $4.8 mil in cap space. DRC would be getting about $6.5 mil for 2018, which doesn't seem like an awful lot, but he'll also be 32.

OTOH, there's a very slim possibility that the Giants could cut him for the cap savings (they only have about $2.5 mil in cap space), especially if their season continues to circle the drain. If that were to happen a week or three from now, I think the Pats might make him an offer to play out the season for a couple million, although I have to think there's a team or two that would likely out bid them. And it also seems way more likely that the Giants would trade DRC to another team before cutting him.

 

[luuked]

I'd take him for a 5th

For the remaining 6m of this years contract (9m total 5 games already played) they would have to give us a pick to even consider this. Apart from there not being enough cap space imo there would be too much money allocated into CBs.

 

[luuked]

OTOH, there's a very slim possibility that the Giants could cut him for the cap savings (they only have about $2.5 mil in cap space), especially if their season continues to circle the drain. If that were to happen a week or three from now, I think the Pats might make him an offer to play out the season for a couple million, although I have to think there's a team or two that would likely out bid them. And it also seems way more likely that the Giants would trade DRC to another team before cutting him.

They wouldnt save any money by cutting him it would only accelerate the final portion of his signing bonus (2m) and actually take away cap room: Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie

So on some level the suspension might be the best cost saving measure there is because he is not paid any of his base salary (~ 400k per week) during that period.

 

[maineman209]

They wouldnt save any money by cutting him it would only accelerate the final portion of his signing bonus (2m) and actually take away cap room: Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie

So on some level the suspension might be the best cost saving measure there is because he is not paid any of his base salary (~ 400k per week) during that period.

Correct. Apparently, I was only looking at the numbers for the post-6/1 trade scenario which would save them his remaining salary and amortize his remaining signing bonus over 2017 and 2018.