Player Signing Patriots Claim 4 on Waivers

[DaBruinz]

They brought in DBs in the FA and the draft

They brought in LB help via FA

They brought in DL via FA

They claimed a DT and LB on waivers today

They haven’t ignored the D

Let’s revisit this topic at the season halfway point; then we’ll really know if the D was ignored or not.

They also got back 2 of their top 3 CBs in Gonzalez and Marcus Jones. Not to mention brining in an ACTUAL FS in Hawkins.

People always forget that Gonzalez and Jones each missed a majority of the season. At one point, they have 4 of their top 6 CBs out injured last season. Then they lost Judon before they got Jon Jones back and got rid of JC Jackson.

 

[DaBruinz]

A 6th rounder? All JAGs - no real help.

How do you know that Dial is no real help? Why do you ignore that they're getting Gonzalez and Marcus Jones back from injury

Has never stepped on the field and a backup - no real help.

You're forgetting about Ximenes. Who had some of the fastest times off the edge in preseason around the league. He's actually got a decent history for pass rush.. Whether he can hold up against the run is another story.

It will be interesting to see how RaeKwon McMillan plays..

True. We don't know what Jacobs will do. No one does.. Saying he's no real help when he could be a strong candidate to help on special teams since he'll be at the bottom of the Edge Rush Depth Chart with White, Wise, Jennings, Uche and Ximenes ahead of him. This is, of course, unless they kick White and Wise inside, but that still leaves 3 others ahead of him.

And cut him. A JAG. No real help. They cut Guy and traded Judon - we are going backwards.

Watts wasn't CUT. He was placed on IR - Designated for Return.. The initial report that was incorrect. Yes, Hill was cut and signed to the PS.
Getting Ekuale back helps the D-line. He's a good sub for Godchaux.

Do you work for the Pats reporting to E. Wolf? Do you support E Wolf for GM of the Year?

Try looking at EVERYTHING that has occurred instead of just the negative things.. Or are you incapable of that?

 

[DaBruinz]

Hawkins has been cut by two other teams. YAG at best. Wilson was benched and cut by the Cardinals for abysmal play. JAG but athletic. Ximenes is undersized and has bounced around. YAG. Takitaki has never been on the field.

We went backwards on defense. Signing JAGs after other teams release them is not a winning strategy. There were a bunch of good defensive players in FA. We ignored them, have $50M in cap space, and signed a bunch of JAGs.

I can't believe I am arguing this.

Where are you getting your information:
Ximines only played for the Giants. He's 6'3 7/8 and 254. Not sure that is Undersized and it's definitely not "bounced around"
Hawkins wasn't CUT by the Chargers. His contract was up.
Takitaki hasn't seen the field for the Pats, but he was a consistent contributor for the Browns. Both as a reserve LB and a Special teams player.

Wilson was picked up by the last regime. He showed MAYO enough that they kept him to back up on the Outside.

What I can't believe is that you pretend to be Ms. Cleo and know how players are going to do while spewing BS about said players. You've been wrong about Watts, Ximines, and Hawkins.

Maybe give it a rest and do better research.

 

[TomPatriot]

I was, but am once again between homes so I'm trying to catch-up tonight... Was Jordan re-signed to the practice squad?

Yup.

 

[Clonamery]

We have been waiting since Brady left. Belichick had been gone since January.

Those that you talk about are still here will probably still stay and whine about Mayo and Wolf.

Of course, there are many that just want Mayo and Wolf to do better in their choices.

Correct. They were here before February 1, 2024 and are still here now.

 

[DaBruinz]

BTW, let's be clear about the Defense. The team did indeed to all but ignore signing new Defensive players while they focused on extensions.
After all, they thought that we had Judon and Barmore for this year. If that were the case, we (well certainly I) wouldn't be fussing about the Defense.

What more could they have done on defense?

Going into TC:
They got back from Injury - Judon, Gonzalez, Marcus Jones, Ekuale, Bolden, McMillan
They'd Signed: Watts, Takitaki, Hawkins
They drafted: Dial
UDFA: Pettus, Russell

The Defensive side of the ball didn't NEED a lot, all things considered. That is until Barmore had the Blood-Clots and Judon was traded.

Yeah, I wanted them to add Gilmore. For the price that Gilmore got, I think they SHOULD have. But Gilmore IS 32 and THIS Management has shown they don't want to sign players who are 30+ to any sort of long term deal. With the Exception of Godchaux.

I did want them to add Chrsitian Wilkins, but he was 29.. He got a 4yr deal with a 5th year void for 110M with 57M Guaranteed. With this management, wasn't happening. So, would be the one to focus on that was under 30 that would play in rotation with Barmore and Godchaux becomes the question.. I, personally, don't know who else would have fit beyond an actual draft pick.

I'd have loved for them to have added Justin Blackmon before he re-signed for peanuts with the Colts. I wanted some others, but I can understand why they didn't want to come here or the Pats didn't want to spend the money..

Losing both Judon and Barmore hurts. It will put pressure on Jennings, Uche, Ximines, White, Pharms and that kid Eric Johnson to step up.

We have to hope that Gonzalex with Jon Jones, Austin, or Wilson on the other side can give the D-line time to get to the QB or make the play if they don't..

 

[DaBruinz]

What andy and I (agreeing with andy again) have suggested is that we should have been willing to spend more to get a better DE or DT than Watts and Hill? And yes, it was and is worth $10M a year to upgrade the Guy roster spot and have a quality top 5 rotation with Pharms/Ekuale as the one or two backups.

OK. Who? Name a player under 30 to sign to more than a 1 year deal that are better than Watts or Hill in this defense.

 

[Clonamery]

OK. Who? Name a player under 30 to sign to more than a 1 year deal that are better than Watts or Hill in this defense.

2023 NFL Free Agents

Tracking the status and signings of all NFL free agents.

www.spotrac.com

 

[Sfpat]

2023 NFL Free Agents

Tracking the status and signings of all NFL free agents.

www.spotrac.com

My calendar says it's 2024. Am l missing something?

 

[Force Zero Boomer]

2 way street. I'm also allowed to come to a Patriots message board and call out things people say that I don't like.

Agree. I don't try to shut people down. One can be a homer, one can be hypercritical, one can be in between, or one can be irrational. Sometimes emotions override logic, including with me. But there's far more good here than bad.

We should not be abusive, but conversations can get heated. That's okay. We're all passionate fans of the team (or we wouldn't be here), and we all have different perspectives. I've learned a lot here and I appreciate the forum.

 

[Clonamery]

My calendar says it's 2024. Am l missing something?

2023 lists who was available.

 

[Fuzz]

2023 lists who was available.

Yes, the 2023 list shows the players available in 2023. The 2024 list shows the players available in 2024. Mystifying.

Here’s the 2024 list:

2024 NFL Free Agents

Tracking the status and signings of all NFL free agents.

www.spotrac.com

As others have said, not a lot there other than Wilkins.

 

[203Pat]

Andy lamenting the "loss" of Lawrence Guy is hilarious to me.

 

[palialka]

Were there any worth while OT's free agents we failed to pursue? We did pursue two good receivers who chose to go elsewher? The under the cap money will have to be spent next year or next we should be in a better position after drafting early again.

Unfortunately there weren’t any good OTs except for the possibility of Smith who signed with the Jets. The issue with him is that he’s in his 30s and he’s damaged goods. He has averaged playing 7-8 games a year for the last 4 seasons.

Yes, the expectation is that we will have a high draft pick next year and we’ll have all the money we didn’t spend this FA period to use next year (in theory)

 

[mgteich]

What more could they have done on defense?

Going into TC:
They got back from Injury - Judon, Gonzalez, Marcus Jones, Ekuale, Bolden, McMillan
They'd Signed: Watts, Takitaki, Hawkins
They drafted: Dial
UDFA: Pettus, Russell

.

BOTTOM LINE: We had $100M. Many argued that free agency did not (and often does not) provide the way to get OT's, WR's and CB's. OK, let's accept that. We cannot then also say that free agency isn't the place to get LB's and EDGE rushers and DL's. We should have gotten a couple of at least mid-level front seven players for 2024 dn the future.
=============
We had a top 10 Defense. We might have expected even better this year with the returnees in the secondary.

When you don't acquire players for the future, then losing players like Barmore and Judon have huge effects. I applaud the extensions. That was Step One. We knew that we had issues on the DL and at OLB, now and into the future. That's normal. However, choosing Watts and Ximinez as the best we get with $100M available is just plain wrong.

DEFENSIVE LINE
We now are starting Pharms on the DL, with newly arrived Johnson as our only backups.
2023: White, Godchaux, Barmore, Guy, Wise
2024: White, Godchaux, Pharms, Ekuale, Wise

OUTSDE LINEBAKCER
We have the same as last year, again playing without Judon.

 

[Ring 6]

They brought in DBs in the FA and the draft

They brought in LB help via FA

They brought in DL via FA

They claimed a DT and LB on waivers today

They haven’t ignored the D

Let’s revisit this topic at the season halfway point; then we’ll really know if the D was ignored or not.

They brought in a cast off safety and drafted a corner in the 6th. Thats pretty much what ignoring means.

They brought in an injured backup LB and a borderline roster guy who the giants didn’t want.

Who exactly did the bring in the DL?

Putting yourself in a position to gs ever claim players off waivers from other teams and cut the guys on your roster is exactly what ignoring the position means

 

[Ring 6]

BOTTOM LINE: We had $100M. Many argued that free agency did not (and often does not) provide the way to get OT's, WR's and CB's. OK, let's accept that. We cannot then also say that free agency isn't the place to get LB's and EDGE rushers and DL's. We should have gotten a couple of at least mid-level front seven players for 2024 dn the future.
=============
We had a top 10 Defense. We might have expected even better this year with the returnees in the secondary.

When you don't acquire players for the future, then losing players like Barmore and Judon have huge effects. I applaud the extensions. That was Step One. We knew that we had issues on the DL and at OLB, now and into the future. That's normal. However, choosing Watts and Ximinez as the best we get with $100M available is just plain wrong.

DEFENSIVE LINE
We now are starting Pharms on the DL, with Ekuale and newly arrived Johnson as our only backups.
2023: White, Godchaux, Barmore, Wise
2024: White, Godchaux, Pharms, Wise

OUTSDE LINEBAKCER
We have the same as last year, again playing without Judon.

The people who tell you there are no free agents worth signing are the same people who tell you dint worry next year we will sign a great free agent class.

White is not a DL any longer, he is an OLB
You left off Guy who was one of the 4 man rotation of which we now have 2 plus Friends U Man and perhaps the Dorito Dink

 

[Ring 6]

What more could they have done on defense?

Going into TC:
They got back from Injury - Judon, Gonzalez, Marcus Jones, Ekuale, Bolden, McMillan
They'd Signed: Watts, Takitaki, Hawkins
They drafted: Dial
UDFA: Pettus, Russell

The Defensive side of the ball didn't NEED a lot, all things considered. That is until Barmore had the Blood-Clots and Judon was traded.

Yeah, I wanted them to add Gilmore. For the price that Gilmore got, I think they SHOULD have. But Gilmore IS 32 and THIS Management has shown they don't want to sign players who are 30+ to any sort of long term deal. With the Exception of Godchaux.

I did want them to add Chrsitian Wilkins, but he was 29.. He got a 4yr deal with a 5th year void for 110M with 57M Guaranteed. With this management, wasn't happening. So, would be the one to focus on that was under 30 that would play in rotation with Barmore and Godchaux becomes the question.. I, personally, don't know who else would have fit beyond an actual draft pick.

I'd have loved for them to have added Justin Blackmon before he re-signed for peanuts with the Colts. I wanted some others, but I can understand why they didn't want to come here or the Pats didn't want to spend the money..

Losing both Judon and Barmore hurts. It will put pressure on Jennings, Uche, Ximines, White, Pharms and that kid Eric Johnson to step up.

We have to hope that Gonzalex with Jon Jones, Austin, or Wilson on the other side can give the D-line time to get to the QB or make the play if they don't..

What more? How about adding good players instead of stiffs.

 

[mgteich]

The people who tell you there are no free agents worth signing are the same people who tell you dint worry next year we will sign a great free agent class.

White is not a DL any longer, he is an OLB
You left off Guy who was one of the 4 man rotation of which we now have 2 plus Friends U Man and perhaps the Dorito Dink

I just added Guy.

I thought that White was expected to take more and more of Guy's reps in 2023 and fully replace him 2024.

In any case, if we consider White an OLB, the DL is even more sad. I suspect that White will play more as a DE than we think.

 

[Ring 6]

I just added Guy.

I thought that White was expected to take more and more of Guy's reps in 2023 and fully replace him 2024.

In any case, if we consider White an OLB, the DL is even more sad. I suspect that White will play more as a DE than we think.

White was originally somewhere between a wise/flowers type and a Judon type. He was never a Guy type.
Last year he was mostly a Wise early on then when Judon got injured he played mostly OLB
With out paper thin OLB depth I assume he will have to be there full time.