Offseason Free Agents thread....

[Love The Drake]

UFAs that I like, trying to channel BB (likely unsuccessfully):

RB: J. Rogers, B. Cunningham (Pats like him, had him in for visit last yr). Draft RB rounds 2, 3 or 5.

WR: K. Wright, P. Garçon, B. Quick, resign Floyd

TE: R. Griffin, J. Doyle, L. Willson. Williams will be back as blocking specialist.

OL: J. Hawley (Center, TB....tough SOB, more physical than Andrews). OG and OT depth in draft. Guard and Tackle depth in draft.

DE: C. Campbell (likely too pricey, W. Gholston (young, ascending, perfect size for Pats DE at 6"6', 180....really want him opposite Flowers)

DT: J. Hankins, re-sign Branch

OLB: Meh. Draft and/or post-June 1 cuts.

ILB: resign/tag Hightower, Z. Brown (undersized for Pats LB but I'm sure that BB took note of 28 tackles total in the two Pats games this year).

S: Resign Harmon

CB: Prefer to resign Ryan but he may be too pricey. High tender or extend M. Butler.
D. Butler (second go-round, this time as versatile slot CB with Rowe as CB2 on outside if Ryan leaves, price will likely be reasonable). D. Shead (will start year on PUP with ACL but value signing for second half of season because of injury). Cyrus Jones' development into top 4 CB will be key.

Agree 100 percent with BB noticing how well Brown played against us.
I dont think Buff lets him go personally but would love it.

 

[dafoe2016]

So much do disagree with in here.

I think the worst take is about us being desperate with our OL ? What the hell are you talking about ? How many of those 19 games this season have you seen ? There is no desperation at all. Yes it would be nice to draft a potential LT that can take over after Solder and if we can find someone as intelligent but bigger than Andrews center could also be in play but the line has played great this year. Stop with this recency bias and overvalue what happened in the SB.

Also, go join Marqui on his island if you wanna keep bashing Logan Ryan. The truth is, he is a good player and can be great if put into the right matchups. He will most probably be too expensive to keep but stop this crap about him only having one decent season.

Your take on Hightower is also complete asinine. Just the fact that he is a three down LB playing at this level makes him worth the money. Looking forward to those completely unjustified freakouts when he gets inevitably franchised.

Guess the honeymoon of the SB is soon over and we are back to the regular BB GM bashing by those that live in the fantasy world that wants a top heavy team.

What the hell I am talking about would be incredibly obvious if you were paying attention. The middle of our offensive line is marshmallow soft and needs to be improved. It cost us a title last year in Denver and nearly did this year as well. Your fallacious presumption that I am making a statement based on one game rather than a body of work is ridiculous. Let me speak for myself.

I am not bashing Ryan. I am simply using logic in addressing his situation. He has never put together a consistent season, from start till finish until this year. That's not "crap" it's fact. Sorry reality doesn't align with your feelings. But it is more than fair to be hesitant to give a guy a huge deal in this situation. I bet Bill agrees.

My take on Hightower is asinine, yet you provide no argument to support that. I provide cold hard stats, you provide feelings. Brilliant.

Who's bashing BB? Talk about living in a fantasy world. All I did was state my opinions about possible personnel moves. Moves that haven't even been made. And who wants a top heavy team? You who is wanting to throw gobs of money at all our free agents, or me who is on the fence about letting our second best corner walk in the name of depth? I feel like I'm talking to a feminist. Just a complete divorce from logic. You make zero sense.

 

[dafoe2016]

If the Pats wanted Cunningham, they could have signed him to a futures contract already. He's got STs ability, but as a returned. I don't see the fit with Lewis and White entrenched and the Pats liking Foster. He's not a replacement for Blount.



Unless the Pats cut Amendola, it will be bottom end only for WR.
None of the 3 TEs you mention are a fit for the Pats. Williams has to be re-signed.
The Pats have Thuney, Mason, Karras, Jackson, plus they signed the 3 PS players. Is there a guard in the draft outside the 3rd round who could come in and take a roster spot?

Many people believe that the Pats will be looking at a LT early in the draft as a replacement for Solder, who will be 29 just before the draft and turning 30 after the 2017 season.

I don't know that the Pats will look at Hawley. It will be interesting.



Gholston is the 3rd TB Buc you've mentioned.. I'm guessing you watch a lot of their games..



At 6'6 and 280lbs, Gholston does look like he'd be a prototypical Patriots 4-3 DE. That being said, he's 25 and will probably be highly sought after on the FA Market, though he may fall into the 2nd tier of signings because of people like Charles Johnson and Tyson Alualu being available.



The Pats will probably add a CB or two via the draft. CB is supposed to be one of the deeper positions.. They will probably add a S in the draft as well.

Way too early to be looking for a Solder replacement unless they are unhappy with hi. I thought he held up pretty well this year. He's not an All Pro, but he's a legitimate LT. 29 is not old. Would love to see a stud center and guard or two though.

 

[Ivan]

it is going to be one of the most fascinating offseason's we have seen. They went into last offseason with five million, made a good number of moves, and went into the season ten million under the cap. Additionally they were without their first round pick, this year they may well have two. They have a ton of work to do but they have the best staff in football to do it and 63 million to work with, and that's just for starters.

The big picture is that the offense is set to return very much intact, the defense however has numerous significant free agents and decisions to be resolved.

By unit:

QB

Brady GOAT returns

J. Garrapolo-Trade for a top fifteen pick.

J. Brissett and possible pick in upcoming draft.

The unit is in excellent shape.

RB:

L. Blount-May leave for more money. The Patriots will make an offer, hopefully for two years but I think Blount is gone.

J. White-Super Bowl made him a star but he will return as a key role player. A long term deal would be nice, he looks like their next Kevin Faulk.

D. Lewis-Returns for 2017 and should be fully healthy and a great threat out of the backfield. That the Patriots are 17-0 when he plays is astounding.

Accidentally posted before I was ready

B. Bolden-Will compete for a spot next camp, I can see them brininging a RB to challenge for real time in the backfield.

FB-Develin will be back.

TE

R. Gronkowski-Should be healthy to start the season but you can never know how long it will last. Given his back issues they need to find some young TE's to develop.

M. Bennett-I'm a big fan and I would love to see him return but I think a TE starved team will over pay for him. I think the Patriots will offer 3-18 with 8-10 guaranteed but Bennett will reject it and take bigger money elsewhere.

M. Lengel-Will be challenged by newcomers.

WR

J. Edelman-They should tear his deal up and upgrade it. He's as deserving a player as they get. If Bennett passes on 3-18-10 they should give it to Edelman.

M. Mitchell- He's here for a while and imo he's going to turn into a big time player for them. He will get starter targets next season.

C. Hogan-If he takes the approach Edelman and Amendola have of working relentlessly to improve , as well as the time in the offseason with Brady, then he could up his game dramatically, and that's coming off a great season.

D. Amendola-He's an integral part of this receiving corps and as clutch as they come. Winner. I would really like to see them give him a two year deal with incentives. He wants to be here and he's a really good player.

M. Floyd- Hard to know what they think of him but a two year deal at low money is worth offering him. It's more likely another team will offer more and he will take it.

OL

They have a good young OL and the GOAT OL coach. I really like Vollmer but I think he's done, and his replacement is already under long term contract.

The big question on the OL is Andrews, who is a good smart player but simply may not have the size to hold up. If a top center is available in the draft i could see them going there but there but I think the rest of the starters are pretty safe. They could use more talent to develop behind the starters.

Overall the offense is in great shape and really only needs some young talent to develop.

Defense:

DL

M. Brown-Should continue to improve.

A. Branch-Turned into a key player on their DL but he's the kind of free agent that really benefits from both the season he had and the SB win. I would love to see him stay but think he will get much more elsewhere, I'd offer 10-2-6 guaranteed but I doubt it would be enough.

V. Valentine-I see him as the replacement for Branch and I think they will bolster the interior DL in free agency and the draft.

C. Long-I think he really really really wants to remain a Patriot for the rest of his career it will just come down to the money. He had a decent season but not one that would bring big money. 2-6-4 guaranteed seems about right to me.

T. Flowers-Flowers is turning into a star for the Patriots, I would love to see them prioritize a new deal for him. I would offer him 4-40-20 guaranteed and hope he would take the money now.

J. Sheard-OK season but certainly not what he hoped for. I don't think they have him in their plans for 2017.

Overall their DL played well this season, they could however lose some good players and it should be a priority this offseason.

LB

D. Hightower-The biggest free agent 5-60-36 would put him in the category he deserves to be in, but it may not be enough. They need to franchise him if it isn't and see what they can get done after that.

E. Roberts-Returns for 2017

K. Van Noy-Decent trade, should be back in 2017

S. McClellin-Will return.

J. Freeney-Will return in 2017

B. Mingo-I doubt he will be back, never contributed on defense during the season.

Overall LB is the shakiest unit on the team, signing Hightower would really stabilize it but either way they need more talent to develop in the unit, should be a draft and free agency priority.

Safety

D. McCourty-Elite player and a great leader, he isn't going anywhere.

D. Harmon-He really turned into a good player for them but will most likely be among those who get overpaid in free agency. They need to use both free agency and the draft to bolster the unit.

P. Chung- Has turned into a critical player for them as a S/LB

CB

Ryan would be a significant loss but they aren't going to give him big money, and he will get it elsewhere.

M. Butler-Elite CB but still only a RFA. Hopefully they can get a reasonable deal done with him . We'll see? They still hold all the cards.

C. Jones-Great athletic ability, really needs to take a big step up in his development if he wants to become a full time starter.

J. Jones-Small but really athletic. He had a great season, hopefully he builds on it.

E. Rowe- He will have the opportunity to take Ryan's role but will need to really step it up to be successful in it.

E. Coleman-I think he will be gone.

ST-Everyone returns, great units.


Hightower is the key but they control him. They are in great shape on defense if they can address the holes the impending free agents could create. Either way they will be focusing on defense in free agency and the draft. I am really looking forward to this offseason, should be fun.

 

[PatriotsPimp136]

Ryan could get 13 to 14 million. Teams might overpay. I hope we have a backup plan. I don't wanna go through musical chairs with the secondary again. Hope rowe's ready to take his game to the next level.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Bennett gone 10m+
Ryan Gone 10m+
Sheard Gone 8m+
HT gone 14m+

This year 9m+ was the number that granted a third round compensation. Next year 10m is probably the minimum.

We own all #3 round comp picks next draft.

With the 97/98/99/100 pick NE select...

We have 61m(#3 in cap room) + AH money + Extensions/Cuts and people act like everyone can outbid us and retain their own FA's.

LOL

I don't know about hightower being gone....

 

[The Gr8est]

it is going to be one of the most fascinating offseason's we have seen. They went into last offseason with five million, made a good number of moves, and went into the season ten million under the cap. Additionally they were without their first round pick, this year they may well have two. They have a ton of work to do but they have the best staff in football to do it and 63 million to work with, and that's just for starters.

The big picture is that the offense is set to return very much intact, the defense however has numerous significant free agents and decisions to be resolved.

By unit:

QB

Brady GOAT returns

J. Garrapolo-Trade for a top fifteen pick.

J. Brissett and possible pick in upcoming draft.

The unit is in excellent shape.

RB:

L. Blount-May leave for more money. The Patriots will make an offer, hopefully for two years but I think Blount is gone.

J. White-Super Bowl made him a star but he will return as a key role player. A long term deal would be nice, he looks like their next Kevin Faulk.

D. Lewis-Returns for 2017 and should be fully healthy and a great threat out of the backfield. That the Patriots are 17-0 when he plays is astounding.

Like Vereen before him, James White may have made himself a lot of money in this Superbowl. In a strong draft for RBs, it will be interesting to see if the Pats draft another Vereen/White type in anticipation of replacing him.

 

[patfanken]

I think Ryan is gone. Felger send Mazz srenas convinced he will get paid as a number one. Who will be the replacement? Cyrus Jones!!

How can you hope to have anyone take you seriously when you use Felger and Mazz as your sources.

 

[patfanken]

Like Vereen before him, James White may have made himself a lot of money in this Superbowl. In a strong draft for RBs, it will be interesting to see if the Pats draft another Vereen/White type in anticipation of replacing him.

I'm a big DJ Foster fans, and there is a reason the FO worked hard to keep him on the roster. I think he has more talent than White does as a runner. The question IS can he be as consistent with his hands, as good a pass protector, and have the ability to stay healthy, like White.

So if/when White leaves to cash in like Vareen did, I'm sure BB will have a line of potential replacements ready to go. BTW- isn't White under contract for next season?

 

[doesntmatter1]

It feels like we have too many good players potentially leaving at once. Kind of rare. How THIS offseason plays out will most likely determine our sb chances for years to come. The worst offseason was when Asante left and we all knew there wasn't anything close to him on our roster and had to put our faith in the draft and that failed hard. But I don't remember us EVER having this much cap room to work with either. As the days go by, Logan Ryan seems like a key resigning to me. He has flaws but he is so damn consistent and DURABLE. Ryan, Butler, Chung, and McCourty are basically our four horsemen lol.

I would also love to see Garcon here. Super underrated.

 

[chasa]

I've agreed with most of your comments re: the Hightower situation, but this one sucks, and is being overused quite a lot lately.

I would bet that "the money has been there" before (or could very easily have been maneuvered) with other key players who Belichick has watched walk away in the past. He isn't likely going to budge too far from the value that he places on the player, which is the main reason why we have that much available cap space to begin with.

I'm curious how much money you think mccourty left on the table. How about Hogan?

Honestly i cant think of a single player Bill let walk that would have resulted in the team being significantly better off in terms of talent and results. The fact of the matter is in order to stay a contender you need to not over pay for players and you need to find players who are as good or better when those other players get offers that do in fact overpay them.

Would you rather have paid revis that ******ed contact the jets gave him, or would you rather have mccourty and some other pieces?

This is why Bill is an NFL GM and we're all a bunch of couch potatoes click likes and dislikes on a fan forum.

 

[patfanken]

UFAs that I like, trying to channel BB (likely unsuccessfully):

RB: J. Rogers, B. Cunningham (Pats like him, had him in for visit last yr). Draft RB rounds 2, 3 or 5.

WR: K. Wright, P. Garçon, B. Quick, resign Floyd

TE: R. Griffin, J. Doyle, L. Willson. Williams will be back as blocking specialist.

OL: J. Hawley (Center, TB....tough SOB, more physical than Andrews). OG and OT depth in draft. Guard and Tackle depth in draft.

DE: C. Campbell (likely too pricey, W. Gholston (young, ascending, perfect size for Pats DE at 6"6', 180....really want him opposite Flowers)

DT: J. Hankins, re-sign Branch

OLB: Meh. Draft and/or post-June 1 cuts.

ILB: resign/tag Hightower, Z. Brown (undersized for Pats LB but I'm sure that BB took note of 28 tackles total in the two Pats games this year).

S: Resign Harmon

CB: Prefer to resign Ryan but he may be too pricey. High tender or extend M. Butler.
D. Butler (second go-round, this time as versatile slot CB with Rowe as CB2 on outside if Ryan leaves, price will likely be reasonable). D. Shead (will start year on PUP with ACL but value signing for second half of season because of injury). Cyrus Jones' development into top 4 CB will be key.

Some Comments on your thoughts

RB's - Keep what you have. LGB you can keep for under 2MM on a one year deal, or what amounts to a one year deal. Otherwise see what you can find at the end of the draft. I don't see a FA RB here unless LGB leaves

WR's Keep it simple - Resign Floyd. He has skills and size your other WR's don't. If you do we will be OK at WR - No FA's. then draft the best WR who needs a red shirt year on the 3rd day. (an injury dropper) There is no reason for new WR's on this team beyond development for the future. Edelman, DA, Hogan, Mitchell, Floyd is as good as we could hope for as far as diverse skills and depth. The only concern there is beyond 2018

OL - It is 2 to 3 years too early to think about using a high pick on a OLman. Solder had a bad GAME, not a bad year, quite the opposite. Mason was solid all year, but if we need a more physical OG, then don't forget about Tre Jackson. I think that will be an interesting competition if he can come back healthy.

Getting more physical at C would be my major hope for the OL. Your FA idea could be good. I don't know the player you suggested, but I'd be open to it, if he's better. Otherwise a 4th or lower draft pick would be OK if that person exists. If not then Andrews has proven he doesn't suck.

TE- Even if Bennet is gone, we need to see what the TE's we already have on the roster can do. Lengel, Scruggs, Williams will all be at TC next season and all offer some degree of different skills. I'm not one looking to draft a TE high or assume Gronk won't last the season. IF Bennett isn't signed (BTW $5-7 MM is likely the Pats valuation of him on a 2-3 year deal), then a guy like Floyd would be perfect to replace Gronk to run his off the line routes.

DL - I like the Gholston idea, but a lot depends on how they feel about Grissom's development, since he is a longer version of Flowers, who hasn't developed as fast, but has similar raw athletic talent, just not as good a "football player". I think Sheard has played himself back into the middle of FA pass rushers, and could be signed for less than people expected before the year started. Ninko is old, declining but still a valuable situational piece, but next year should be his last. I expect Long to retire.

This draft is deep in outside pass rushers. I expect our first pick in this draft to be a DE or LB.

DB's If it's not a DE, or LB, it could be a CB simply because there are so many of them. I expect Butler back under one of several conditions. I expect Jones to rebound next season into a top 3 CB. I expect Ryan to either be back or replaced by a combination of a first or second round Draft pick and Rowe.

I think Harmon is eminately replaceable. It could be as easy as Richardson, or Ebner, or someone in FA or the draft. Either way Chung and Dev will be the starters.

LB- I think Van Noy is a great athlete, but without any real football instincts. He's a tease, who makes some good plays but isn't consistent enough. We need an upgrade at the position, unless BB feels he can improve with a full season in the program. Brown obviously has great instincts but not the size. I think we have that skill set on the roster in Roberts. It just needs to get more experience. Besides, I'd like to think Mingo can be developed into something more than ST's player.

 

[IllegalContact]

I'm not meaning to nitpick your wording, man. We just have a difference of opinions on this one.

There have been plenty of free agents whom they still "wanted" yet didn't wish to pay market price for. Hell, there have been guys like Deion Branch who they even brought back. Just because they didn't want to step outside of the value system and overpay doesn't mean they didn't want them. You know this.

so you mean *want as in with conditions

if the pats don't offer him the market price .... which in this case is appearing to be about 12-12.5M per year, then they don't want him

to say they want him but only if he's cheaper is just a nice way of saying 'lowball'

I want a BMW but at a Kia price

 

[patsbrasilpatriotas]

I don't know about hightower being gone....

I don't know either. But when ppl talk about our FA it's like that they are gone. They can keep all.

 

[dustcover]

I see him joining a team like the Cowboys instead of the Pats... I just don't think he would take a huge pay cut for a ring. I just don't see it happening.

Why would the Cowboys pay top dollar for AP to play backup to Elliot, but more importantly, do you really believe AP would settle for being a backup RB?

 

[supafly]

I'm curious how much money you think mccourty left on the table. How about Hogan?

Honestly i cant think of a single player Bill let walk that would have resulted in the team being significantly better off in terms of talent and results. The fact of the matter is in order to stay a contender you need to not over pay for players and you need to find players who are as good or better when those other players get offers that do in fact overpay them.

Would you rather have paid revis that ******ed contact the jets gave him, or would you rather have mccourty and some other pieces?

This is why Bill is an NFL GM and we're all a bunch of couch potatoes click likes and dislikes on a fan forum.

I haven't the slightest idea of what you're suggesting, but it seems as though there are times when you agree with me, like the end of your second paragraph, when you basically quote me word for word. I don't have any idea why you'd bring Revis up.

There have obviously been key players who the team allowed to walk away. Hell, losing Branch set us back a couple of years in the passing game and may have cost another SB (or two). When Belichick chose to pay Wilfork and moved on from Seymour, it set us back years at DE.

I don't know why you'd use McCourty as an example because he DID leave money on the table to stay, as did Moss back in '08 when they went down to the wire for days into FA that time. The suggestion that there is no way that Hightower could go to another team is beyond absurd. There's really not much to say to defend it.

 

[chasa]

my point being everyone that bill lets walk tends to enter witness protection in terms of production.

Branchs career nose dived after he left, Asante samuel, pretty sure he didn't do anything of note. Ty law? nadda, Lawyer Milloy? nothing. Drew bledsoe? Thanks for the wins vs the bills. Revis? one foot into retirement, Moss? hit two team after he left and did nothing with either. Chandler jones had a quiet season in Arizona, and jamie collins had seemingly no impact on a 1-15 browns team.

Suggesting that wilfork was the wrong choice over Seymour is silly, as Wilfork is a future hall of fame nose tackle, and Seymour was out of the league in 2012 5 years before wilfork was done(2 of which were for another team.)

Seymour was a great player, but he was past his prime. For seymour we got a #1 which via wheeling and dealing turned into: Chandler jones, Shane vereen, and Donta Hightower.

So yeah maybe our pass rush wasn't top tier for a little bit, but the players it brought in resulted in 2 more titles.

The only time a player has left and it's caused issues is when welker took less money to go to the broncos, and then cheap shotted out #1CB out of the game. I'd hardly put the blame on bill there.

 

[luuked]

What the hell I am talking about would be incredibly obvious if you were paying attention. The middle of our offensive line is marshmallow soft and needs to be improved. It cost us a title last year in Denver and nearly did this year as well. Your fallacious presumption that I am making a statement based on one game rather than a body of work is ridiculous. Let me speak for myself.

I am not bashing Ryan. I am simply using logic in addressing his situation. He has never put together a consistent season, from start till finish until this year. That's not "crap" it's fact. Sorry reality doesn't align with your feelings. But it is more than fair to be hesitant to give a guy a huge deal in this situation. I bet Bill agrees.

My take on Hightower is asinine, yet you provide no argument to support that. I provide cold hard stats, you provide feelings. Brilliant.

Who's bashing BB? Talk about living in a fantasy world. All I did was state my opinions about possible personnel moves. Moves that haven't even been made. And who wants a top heavy team? You who is wanting to throw gobs of money at all our free agents, or me who is on the fence about letting our second best corner walk in the name of depth? I feel like I'm talking to a feminist. Just a complete divorce from logic. You make zero sense.

What a bunch of crap.

Mason is a borderline probowl caliber guard. He is devastating in run blocking and made a huge jump in pass protection. One more offseason to work on his pass blocking and he could become one of the best in the league. I don't care how he looked against Atlanta there were 18 more games this year. Andrews is undersized and everyone is aware of that. If we find someone who is as dependable and excellent about making all the line adjustments + has Brady's faith then that's an area to upgrade. Thuney is a rookie who played well everything considered. Another offseason under Scar + the experience from his rookie year will produce a nice jump, hopefully.

Is there work to be done, sure.. but if you look at the entire year, in whole the OL has been a big success story compared to last year. It's night and day and suggesting otherwise might be one of the biggest hyperbolic reactions this year.

Ryan might be the most intelligent corner we have. Add in that he is also the best tackler in that group, brilliant against the run, decent against the pass and versatile enough to be used on disguised blitzes without giving it away to early and you have an almost ideal (because versatile) CB for our defense. If you want shutdown corner play go and cheer for another team because that's not the defense we are rolling out and I doubt that it will change at any point with BB and Patricia on board.

I won't even go into Hightower because there is full ****ing thread about it. If you can't see how important he is then I don't think anyone can help you.

 

[Ivan]

Ryan could get 13 to 14 million. Teams might overpay. I hope we have a backup plan. I don't wanna go through musical chairs with the secondary again. Hope rowe's ready to take his game to the next level.

The only person who would give Logan Ryan 13 million is Jerry Thornton.

 

[luuked]

Ryan could get 13 to 14 million. Teams might overpay. I hope we have a backup plan. I don't wanna go through musical chairs with the secondary again. Hope rowe's ready to take his game to the next level.

Ryan will not get 13-14. Lets not get crazy. He will not get ~ 50% more than Chris Harris.