Pats give Branch permission to seek Trade

[Pats726]

By allowing Branch to shop his wares the Pats are relinquishing their right to not allow him access to an open market.

If the Pats "truly" wanted the open market to set Branch's value they would have allowed him to test it this offseason when all teams were truly shoppers. Not now when most are not. No doubt Branch's agent realizes this.

He is under contract...He is not reporting and honoring the contract..He and his agent are saying how much money he deserves and what is fair..he and his agent are throwing around money that they want and think is deserved...THIS is a reaction to having Deion and his agent laugh at the contract the Patriots have offered. This is basically saying you think you are worth so much money...then you have a week to get traded and FIND that money. Put up Or shut up. That simple. If Deion was "truly" interested in finding out what that value was, he would be honoring his contract and being in camp and working his tail off to have a monster season so he could get paid what he deserves. SO when you say it's not really an open market..yes..and Branch is NOT doing his part to get in tp that truly open market...when he is a free agent.

 

[DB15]

How do you teach a player what his real value is, let him try the waters.

He wants to be paid market value, see what the market is willing to give him.
QUOTE]
I couldnt agree more with your statements

 

[Underoath]

I'd do that in a millisecond!

Sounds fair, too, since Deion wants Reggie Wayne money.

The problem will be convincing the Colts.

exactly, maybe a draft pick, or a TE too. we have like 5...

 

[SVN]

interesting to see brady's reaction and how the players feel about this. iam more more worried about it effecting brady then anythign else . and this comes after branch saying he hopes it will work out soon.
Honestly we didnt need this mess or distraction.

 

[the taildragger]

hardcore tactic indeed -- but all's fair in a holdout -- still, it's worth considering the backfire risk:

If he's offended and leaves -- all trade considerations aside -- we'll definitely have an unhappy camper at the QB position going into the season.

He'd get over it, but initially at least, I know he'd take the news worse than Lawyer, especially given our current cap standing relative to other clubs. Tom's really taken Deion under his wing...he's VERY protective of him and you just can't expect him to simply tow the coporate line after he's just stuck out his neck in sports illustrated. it would affect chemistry, temporarily at least, and would be a distraction. the Pats know this...BB knows this all too well...his greatest strength is in not being afraid to pull the trigger and make the tough cap-era decisions like this...but despite appearances, I don't think they're trying to run him out of town.

For several factors, many of which have already been raised here (his open market value now is much lower than it was months ago), and including Deion's own humility relative to other primadonnas who'd be on the first train out of South Station...it's possible the Pats played their cards wisely, and Deion will, as many suggest, return with his tail between his legs...nasty business isn't it?

this is why it's vital to have a public advocate on the team like tom...so the FO can basically trash him.

nasty business.

 

[14thDragon]

Brady was never unreasonable in his demands so he's not a valid comparable. Seymour might have been unreasonable (but he is arguably the best DL in the league) but even he held out.

I suppose you could make a case fo the Pats being right with Law but, technically, they have yet to win a SB without him on the roster.

Well technically Law has earned less then what the Patriots offered him, so it is niether here nor there. But they knew even without a new deal in place Law would come back to work, and he did.

Also, it was in the Pats judging the reasonableness of the players. They knew what would be reasonable to him. With Seymour they judged the amount that would get him back to work, and low and behold he got a contract that was reasonable to both sides.

This is the one time that they did not have a good idea of the number neccesary to get someone back to work. I can forgive it this time.

 

[Pats726]

Hopefully the Pats braintrust will do a much better job in the future of gauging how (un)reasonable their players agents are because this is becoming much too frequent of an occurance.

If you think it is frequent now, if they gave into Branch, it would happen ALL the time...it is very infrequent here..for a team that has done so well.

 

[brady2brown]

Why would they have egg on their face over not being able to find a suitor this late in offseason?

Becasue Deion is asking for the money this late in the off-season. He says he is worth it. Is he? let's find out what he is worth today.

The question isn't what he is worth next March. If he wants what he is worth next March, he can play this year and negotiate next March.

I agree with you that no one will pay him a big contract this month. That is why the Patriots shouldn't.

You can't have it both ways. (Pats should pay him because he is worth the money, and No one else will pay him that much money.)

 

[Brownfan80]

Becasue Deion is asking for the money this late in the off-season. He says he is worth it. Is he? let's find out what he is worth today.

The question isn't what he is worth next March. If he wants what he is worth next March, he can play this year and negotiate next March.

I agree with you that no one will pay him a big contract this month. That is why the Patriots shouldn't.

You can't have it both ways. (Pats should pay him because he is worth the money, and No one else will pay him that much money.)

Excellent (underlined three times) post. I agree with you 100%. If he doesn't play out his contract, then his "FAIR MARKET VALUE" is not the issue, as the fair market is waiting at the end of the contract that he's refusing to finish. The market is not the same for Branch as an FA WR.

 

[Pats726]

He's not going to realize his true market value. There isn't a true market for him right now.

And why isn't there??? Because he refuses to report..he is sitting out. He has messed up the process of GETTING TO an open market...NOT the Patriots!! He has REFUSED to report to work and get to that open market by completing his contract. Apparently HE doesn't want that either...so don't keep saying it isn't an open market..WITHOUT blaming HIM for stopping that process.

 

[Mainefan]

The important thing to focus on here, is what happens after Sept. 1.

There will be no deal for Branch, even if some team offers him $20 million--unless the trade makes it worth doing.

The teams that need him don't have someone comparable to give up for him, even if they have a salary cap.

So, imagine this: Here we are on Sept. 1. Branch's negotiation time has run out. What happens now? There are three possibilities:

1. Branch signs for the best offer the Patriots have made and that's the end of that. I give this an 80% chance.

2. Branch sits out the season, reducing his value--and the risk of being franchised in 2007 remains. This doesn't make sense for Branch and whatever his agent tells him, he won't do it. I give this a 10% chance.

3. Some foolish team pays Branch too much, the other players on that team resent it with good reason, and they give us one of their best players in return. I give this a 10% chance.

In my opinion, outcome #1 is practically guaranteed. And I agree with others on this thread who have said we'll love him again and he'll be happy.

I think this is a damn clever move by management. In no way can it anger Branch, and the result will be that he comes back with a realistic self-appraisal, perhaps eager to prove he's worth more than Beloli thinks he is.

 

[Bobs My Uncle]

He is under contract...He is not reporting and honoring the contract..He and his agent are saying how much money he deserves and what is fair..he and his agent are throwing around money that they want and think is deserved...THIS is a reaction to having Deion and his agent laugh at the contract the Patriots have offered. This is basically saying you think you are worth so much money...then you have a week to get traded and FIND that money. Put up Or shut up. That simple. If Deion was "truly" interested in finding out what that value was, he would be honoring his contract and being in camp and working his tail off to have a monster season so he could get paid what he deserves. SO when you say it's not really an open market..yes..and Branch is NOT doing his part to get in tp that truly open market...when he is a free agent.

The CBA allows for players to not honour their contracts by imposing fines on them for not doing so. Branch has a right to pay his fines in lieu of showing up for work. It's his choice.

As for Branch having to "put up or shut up" I don't see it that way. Branch has the option of not showing up for work until week 10 (or is it 9?) and accruing his season so that he can become a UFA next year. He could do so knowing that this would force the Pats to franchise tag him (and pay him handsomely in the process) if they wish to get any value out of him. He could also do so with the purpose of making the Pats start Caldwell and Childress as WR's

 

[Bobs My Uncle]

And why isn't there??? Because he refuses to report..he is sitting out. He has messed up the process of GETTING TO an open market...NOT the Patriots!! He has REFUSED to report to work and get to that open market by completing his contract. Apparently HE doesn't want that either...so don't keep saying it isn't an open market..WITHOUT blaming HIM for stopping that process.

It isn't an open market. An open market would entail having all 31 teams being a serious party to any trade deal. For reasons touched upon several times now, not all 31 teams are in position to be serious suitors to a trade for Branch.

You are making a HUGE assumption that this is all Branch's fault! This may not be the case.

 

[Bobs My Uncle]

The important thing to focus on here, is what happens after Sept. 1.

There will be no deal for Branch, even if some team offers him $20 million--unless the trade makes it worth doing.

The teams that need him don't have someone comparable to give up for him, even if they have a salary cap.

So, imagine this: Here we are on Sept. 1. Branch's negotiation time has run out. What happens now? There are three possibilities:

1. Branch signs for the best offer the Patriots have made and that's the end of that. I give this an 80% chance.

2. Branch sits out the season, reducing his value--and the risk of being franchised in 2007 remains. This doesn't make sense for Branch and whatever his agent tells him, he won't do it. I give this a 10% chance.

3. Some foolish team pays Branch too much, the other players on that team resent it with good reason, and they give us one of their best players in return. I give this a 10% chance.

In my opinion, outcome #1 is practically guaranteed. And I agree with others on this thread who have said we'll love him again and he'll be happy.

I think this is a damn clever move by management. In no way can it anger Branch, and the result will be that he comes back with a realistic self-appraisal, perhaps eager to prove he's worth more than Beloli thinks he is.

The problem with your logic is that #2 is entirely dependant upon #1. If the Pats offer in case 1 is so low it might make case 2 Branch's best option which would exponentially improve the % of that choice happening.

 

[Brownfan80]

The CBA allows for players to not honour their contracts by imposing fines on them for not doing so. Branch has a right to pay his fines in lieu of showing up for work. It's his choice.

As for Branch having to "put up or shut up" I don't see it that way. Branch has the option of not showing up for work until week 10 (or is it 9?) and accruing his season so that he can become a UFA next year. He could do so knowing that this would force the Pats to franchise tag him (and pay him handsomely in the process) if they wish to get any value out of him. He could also do so with the purpose of making the Pats start Caldwell and Childress as WR's

It might just be me.... But I seriously doubt that Branch can use your hypothetical as leverage, being that your hypothetical uses the Franchise to Branch's advantage. He has already publicly stated that part of the reason for his holdout is that he does NOT want to be Franchised, and what WR would? Say he gets Franchised and then seriously injured during that season? Whoopidiedoo he just made 8 Mil in one season sure, but he just lost out on FAR more money that would have been in his pocket from a longterm deal.

So your thinking, IMO, is quite flawed.

 

[Murphys95]

The CBA allows for players to not honour their contracts by imposing fines on them for not doing so. Branch has a right to pay his fines in lieu of showing up for work. It's his choice.

As for Branch having to "put up or shut up" I don't see it that way. Branch has the option of not showing up for work until week 10 (or is it 9?)

Week 10.

As for Branch, I actually think it's now more like sh*t or get off the pot. The Patriots started negotiations back in May, with by all accounts a reasonable first offer. Branch's camp responded with a holdout.

Now the Patriots have dangled another carrott in front of Branch to see if he will react. I agree with others who have said the ball is in Branch's court now. It's his prerogative to sit out until week 10, but at that point I think his will be a lost cause (hardened positions, negative fan reaction etc..). We'll see if the Pats instigated anything here with this latest move.

 

[the taildragger]

mike florio has spun this as "an olive branch" -- a clear misread -- probably because he doesn't want to backtrack off his story from this morning that both sides are now cooperating.

don't expect him to admit his "inside sources" are a few rungs farther down the ladder than he's leading on.

Let's clear up one thing: THERE ARE NO SERIOUS INSIDE SOURCES IN FOXBORO. These guys are in the loop when Bill and his handful of warroom confidants want them to be. Period.

 

[smg93]

The important thing to focus on here, is what happens after Sept. 1.

There will be no deal for Branch, even if some team offers him $20 million--unless the trade makes it worth doing.

The teams that need him don't have someone comparable to give up for him, even if they have a salary cap.

So, imagine this: Here we are on Sept. 1. Branch's negotiation time has run out. What happens now? There are three possibilities:

1. Branch signs for the best offer the Patriots have made and that's the end of that. I give this an 80% chance.

2. Branch sits out the season, reducing his value--and the risk of being franchised in 2007 remains. This doesn't make sense for Branch and whatever his agent tells him, he won't do it. I give this a 10% chance.

3. Some foolish team pays Branch too much, the other players on that team resent it with good reason, and they give us one of their best players in return. I give this a 10% chance.

In my opinion, outcome #1 is practically guaranteed. And I agree with others on this thread who have said we'll love him again and he'll be happy.

I think this is a damn clever move by management. In no way can it anger Branch, and the result will be that he comes back with a realistic self-appraisal, perhaps eager to prove he's worth more than Beloli thinks he is.

You forgot option #4 and that is he plays out his contract and become a free agent next season.

 

[NE39]

One big flaw in your logic BMU is the risk that Branch assumes. If he returns to only play the last 6 games, he loses tons of income. He is a 2nd round pick, so it isn't like he has pocketed multi-millions. Even if he does that, the Pats still have the franchise tag over him.

However, that strategy not only costs him tons of money, but also comes with the risk he could lose everything if he is injured. If he comes to play the last 6 games and suffers an ACL, do you think he is going to get $6M per season in FA? That is a huge risk to take on, especially given Deion not being the biggest guy in the world. He has been hurt before.

 

[Brownfan80]

You forgot option #4 and that is he plays out his contract and become a free agent next season.

I think it's pretty clear (thus far) that Branch doesn't intend for that Option to happen.