Phase One Of Free Agency For The Offense - How Many Re-signed Before The Season Starts

[mgteich]

For me, PHASE ONE is from now until the end of the season. The decisions consist of
1) tenders and franchise tags
2) re-signs or extensions

We will see where we far before early (1st week or 2), mid (before the draft) and late free agency (after the draft). And, of course, Bill will try to get 3-4 20222 competitors from the draft.

PRESUMPTION - we tender Myers

OL (3)
starting RT - Brown
starting LG - Karras
backup C - Karras
back OG - Redmond

Note that if Onwenu becomes a starting LG or RT, we still need two players. Many of us think that we also need a backup LT.

RB/FB (2)
3rd down back - White
fullback - I expect us to tender Johnson

ST (4)
kicker - Folk
all around STer - Bolden
all around STer -Slater
PR/backup WR - Gunner

TE (1)
#4 TE - Fumagelli (included for completeness)

QB
#2 QB - Hoyer

BOTTOM LINE - 10 DECISIONS (not counting Myers and Fumagelli, which aren't really decisions), 0-10 of which will be made before the new season begins. None NEEDS to be made.

My only strong feeling for a re-signing is Karras. I think that he is a very important part of the OL, filling many roles. It has been great not carrying a backup center on the 53 and active roster.

Brown
Karras
Redmond
White
Johnson
Folk
Bolden
Slater
Gunner
Hoyer

 

[holyredeemer]

Myers-Tender.

Brown-Bring back if under 8 mil or tied to playing bonuses. When out there, he’s solid, but his track record for being out there hasn’t been great.

Karras-As you said, great value to the team. Bring ‘em back.

Redmond-Don’t know much about it. Coaches saw more than we did. If he showed enough, bring ‘em back to fight for a spot.

White-Where is he at in his recovery? We all love ‘em, and it would be great to give Mac the weapon. If he will accept minimum and you think he’s okay, bring ‘em back.

Johnson-Tender.

Folk-Definitely work something out.

Bolden-Make it happen.

Slater-Is he gonna play again? How much does he want? If it’s value, bring him back. Still one of the top in the game to do it, and he’s one helluva leader.

Gunner-Meh. Idk. Give him one more year to figure it out, or try to upgrade the ST’s spot with someone that is good for 20-30 catches a year?

Hoyer-Seemed to still be able to contribute. Who else can we get on the cheap that contributes what he does? I say bring him back.

A lot of these guys should be cheap and present more value to the Pats than most other teams. Wouldn’t be surprised if Josh tries to snag a few away.

 

[Sicilian]

Great breakdown, I always appreciate the work you put into laying things out like this, so thank you for that!

I agree 100% on Karras. I'm not opposed to bringing Brown back too on the right deal, but there are going to be some tough decisions to make in general so if we only brought one back, I'd prefer Karras and plug Onwenu in at RT. We should also sign a veteran swing tackle though (if Brown is too expensive) or maybe try to get one in the middle rounds of the draft (riskier move).

If White can play, I'd like to give him a shot, but I'm skeptical he'll be the same guy. It might be time to look for a younger 3rd down back (still holding out hope for JJ Taylor, or maybe Stevenson can fill some of that) and bring back Bolden as the "in case of emergency break open glass" kind of guy. He did yeoman's work in that role this year, but I hope we improve.

Folk we need until we're sure we can get a younger upgrade. As we saw with Nordin and Rohrwasser before him, that is never a sure thing.

Slater and Hoyer should be short money and no brainers IF they still want to play.

Gunner is the one I go back and forth on. Shouldn't be expensive, but he hasn't grown as much as a WR as I'd hoped. He also wasn't nearly as dynamic as a PR this year as he was last year. That said, I hate giving up on those dirt dog types before we see where their work takes them. And right now we don't have another PR I trust to make good decisions. So I'm leaning towards bringing him back, but I'm not gonna spend more than a few moments thinking about it if they let him walk.

 

[Scotty]

@mgteich ...thanks for starting this useful thread and laying out the players and options

 

[ashley]

I'd like to re sign Karras as well but also bring back T. Brown. When healthy, he plays really well here...I know it's a big "WHEN" but he is a beast on the right side of the line.

Folk has indicated that he wants to play another year...why not, he was very good for us again last year and would love to bring him back.

Slater and Bolden are welcome back.

Gunner meh....but if he doesn't come back, who is returning punts? He should be pretty affordable.

 

[Bourne Again Christian]

Trade Agholar
Franchise and trade JC Jackson to Atlanta for Calvin Ridley.
Trade our second to Denver for Jerry Jeudy.
Sign Braxton Berrios back.
Problems resolved.
Trade Wynn maybe to Falcons, Rams, Raiders.
Re up Trent Brown on a team friendly deal.

Problems fixed.
Otherwise draft Alabamas Wiliams and sign DJ Chark.

 

[bresna]

James White is 30 years old and suffered a hip subluxation in October, a very difficult injury for a running back to fully recover from. I'll be cringing every time someone lands on him. I would not be surprised if he retires.

Brandon Bolden is already 32. I would think that they might be looking to go younger there.

Brian Hoyer is 36, going on 37 in October. Ditto above.

Matthew Slater is also going to be 37 at the beginning of next season. Even if he hasn't announced his retirement, he is probably thinking pretty hard about it.

Folk is a wildcard. Although he was great last year, he is 37 and has had some injury issues which likely caused the Patriots to pick up a kicker for training camp competition last year. They also drafted Rohrwasser the year before. It might have something to do with him not kicking off, because if Bailey isn't there - and Bailey's cap number soars to $4 Million next year - they are in trouble.

 

[TheRainMaker]

White with his hip injury is done. Rham can take over as an all around back.

Myers comes back on the cheap. However, he needs to be moved to a #3 or #4 option at WR. I can’t another year of him as the #1 WR.

Brown - Eh, he’s unreliable.
Karras - Sure.
Johnson - Yes.
Folk - Yes.
Gunner - Don’t care for him.
Bolden, Slater, Hoyer aren’t going anywhere.

 

[jah]

A lot of old names on this list, and it makes sense to move on from just about all of them.

At this point, I'm accepting that we'll never find a young kicker better than Folk as long as he's still playing, so I suppose he comes back.

Is Bentley not a free agent? There was an article in the sidebar on here suggesting he was.

 

[jah]

Trade Agholar
Franchise and trade JC Jackson to Atlanta for Calvin Ridley.
Trade our second to Denver for Jerry Jeudy.
Sign Braxton Berrios back.
Problems resolved.
Trade Wynn maybe to Falcons, Rams, Raiders.
Re up Trent Brown on a team friendly deal.

Problems fixed.
Otherwise draft Alabamas Wiliams and sign DJ Chark.

I think just about every suggestion you made is predicated on something very questionable.

• Agholor has a ton of guarantees in his contract.
• It's explicitly against the rules to tag someone with the specific intention of trading them.
• The Broncos have no good reason to trade Jeudy to a fellow AFC wild card competitor for a 2nd.
• Braxton Berrios showed absolutely nothing in our system the first time around and wasn't more than a WR3 at his best.
• Trent Brown didn't take a team friendly deal last year, and his stock is arguably higher now after a better year than he ever had with the Raiders.

 

[mgteich]

Brandon Bolden is already 32. I would think that they might be looking to go younger there.

Age has never bothered me (or Belichick) for a special teamer.

Consider that if White is re-signed or replaced, Bolden would never get reps at RB unless there are injuries.

 

[50-yard-line]

Trade Agholar
Franchise and trade JC Jackson to Atlanta for Calvin Ridley.
Trade our second to Denver for Jerry Jeudy.
Sign Braxton Berrios back.
Problems resolved.
Trade Wynn maybe to Falcons, Rams, Raiders.
Re up Trent Brown on a team friendly deal.

Problems fixed.
Otherwise draft Alabamas Wiliams and sign DJ Chark.

You have to get a taker for Agholor, but I wonder if Derek Carr would want him back and Josh would be amenable (pats would have to eat some $$$, though). His big year was with Carr, whose forte is launching bombs.

 

[bresna]

• Trent Brown didn't take a team friendly deal last year, and his stock is arguably higher now after a better year than he ever had with the Raiders.

He missed 8 games this past year. That isn't good for a long term contract. He has only played 2 full seasons out of the 7 seasons that he's been in the league. He's not proving to be very durable.

 

[DaBruinz]

Myers-Tender.

Brown-Bring back if under 8 mil or tied to playing bonuses. When out there, he’s solid, but his track record for being out there hasn’t been great.

Karras-As you said, great value to the team. Bring ‘em back.

Redmond-Don’t know much about it. Coaches saw more than we did. If he showed enough, bring ‘em back to fight for a spot.

White-Where is he at in his recovery? We all love ‘em, and it would be great to give Mac the weapon. If he will accept minimum and you think he’s okay, bring ‘em back.

Johnson-Tender.

Folk-Definitely work something out.

Bolden-Make it happen.

Slater-Is he gonna play again? How much does he want? If it’s value, bring him back. Still one of the top in the game to do it, and he’s one helluva leader.

Gunner-Meh. Idk. Give him one more year to figure it out, or try to upgrade the ST’s spot with someone that is good for 20-30 catches a year?

Hoyer-Seemed to still be able to contribute. Who else can we get on the cheap that contributes what he does? I say bring him back.

A lot of these guys should be cheap and present more value to the Pats than most other teams. Wouldn’t be surprised if Josh tries to snag a few away.

Could you tell me where they're going to get all the money from? Especially if they have to Franchise Jackson? I know they can free up $30M, but they're sitting at a little over $4M right now and Jackson would eat up half that.

Trent Brown isn't likely to take a penny less than $10M. If he took a prove it deal with $5M and $5M in NLTBE stuff then fine.

With the tender for Jakob Johnson and Gunner being over $2.5M, I think the Pats will try and get them onto 2-3 year deals where they make a bit above the minimum. Thinking that your 5th WR should give you 20-30 catches a year is a stretch. Especially when you have Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith on board and the intention of running a 2 TE offense as your primary set. Also, Gunner played well in in the limited offensive snaps that he took.

Meyers is the only RFA I'd tender and the 2nd round tender is expensive at $3.98M.

 

[DaBruinz]

You have to get a taker for Agholor, but I wonder if Derek Carr would want him back and Josh would be amenable (pats would have to eat some $$$, though). His big year was with Carr, whose forte is launching bombs.

I think that Josh would want Agholor. I'm hoping he'll take Agholor and Harry. It would be a win/win for both teams, honestly.

 

[Brotherblues]

I think that Josh would want Agholor. I'm hoping he'll take Agholor and Harry. It would be a win/win for both teams, honestly.

I don't exactly agree but I wholeheartedly agree.

 

[holyredeemer]

Could you tell me where they're going to get all the money from? Especially if they have to Franchise Jackson? I know they can free up $30M, but they're sitting at a little over $4M right now and Jackson would eat up half that.

Trent Brown isn't likely to take a penny less than $10M. If he took a prove it deal with $5M and $5M in NLTBE stuff then fine.

With the tender for Jakob Johnson and Gunner being over $2.5M, I think the Pats will try and get them onto 2-3 year deals where they make a bit above the minimum. Thinking that your 5th WR should give you 20-30 catches a year is a stretch. Especially when you have Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith on board and the intention of running a 2 TE offense as your primary set. Also, Gunner played well in in the limited offensive snaps that he took.

Meyers is the only RFA I'd tender and the 2nd round tender is expensive at $3.98M.

The question was about offense. I wasn’t taking defense into consideration. I’d be surprised if they franchised JC and kept him under that amount. Either way, only one on that list that should cost any decent money would be Brown. I figure he wanted to come back to NE, and team is tight on space. They shouldn’t give him any guarantees, and should definitely keep a decent chunk on earned incentives. However, they could sign him to a multi-year deal and push more of the money to next year. I’m hopeful that things will turn around for Smith, but until he proves otherwise, it would be nice having a guy that isn’t on the team just to be a PR. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to see Gunner turn the corner. As far as the others go, I just don’t think they would cost much more than the replacement they would sign to fill the spot. Maybe they think Taylor can step up to fill Whites shoes, or they develop Mondre to take on that role? You’re right about Jakob. I’d like to see them lock him up in a multi year deal.

We have a lot of FA’s. They have to fill those spots with somebody. Bill and Co. are going to have to make some tough decisions moving forward. Find a taker for Wynn, re-sign Brown and plug him into LT with Onwenu at RT? Find a trade partner for Nelson? I saw that you mentioned the Raiders, makes sense imo. We’ve got over 30M tied up into 3 guys that don’t appear on the surface at least to have a bright future in NE. That cash could be spread out in a lot of ways if we can find takers and unload them for some late picks. Wynn, Nelson and Smith would save us over 20M? Hell, I’m not even including Harry either, who needs to go. Do I think they’ll do any of that? Probably not, but back to answering your original question, aside from Brown, most of those guys would be 1M or a tad more. Slate would be a hard sell, and I’d understand if they let him walk, but the hit to the locker room and sidelines would really blow.

*Edit* I forgot about Jacoby. Definitely tender him and pay the 4M.

 

[FCB02062]

Bill the GM ALWAYS takes care of his special teamers early in fa, so think off the most mediocre DB who plays 90% of ST snaps, and voila, there's one of first reups

 

[DaBruinz]

The question was about offense. I wasn’t taking defense into consideration. I’d be surprised if they franchised JC and kept him under that amount. Either way, only one on that list that should cost any decent money would be Brown. I figure he wanted to come back to NE, and team is tight on space. They shouldn’t give him any guarantees, and should definitely keep a decent chunk on earned incentives. However, they could sign him to a multi-year deal and push more of the money to next year. I’m hopeful that things will turn around for Smith, but until he proves otherwise, it would be nice having a guy that isn’t on the team just to be a PR. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to see Gunner turn the corner. As far as the others go, I just don’t think they would cost much more than the replacement they would sign to fill the spot. Maybe they think Taylor can step up to fill Whites shoes, or they develop Mondre to take on that role? You’re right about Jakob. I’d like to see them lock him up in a multi year deal.

We have a lot of FA’s. They have to fill those spots with somebody. Bill and Co. are going to have to make some tough decisions moving forward. Find a taker for Wynn, re-sign Brown and plug him into LT with Onwenu at RT? Find a trade partner for Nelson? I saw that you mentioned the Raiders, makes sense imo. We’ve got over 30M tied up into 3 guys that don’t appear on the surface at least to have a bright future in NE. That cash could be spread out in a lot of ways if we can find takers and unload them for some late picks. Wynn, Nelson and Smith would save us over 20M? Hell, I’m not even including Harry either, who needs to go. Do I think they’ll do any of that? Probably not, but back to answering your original question, aside from Brown, most of those guys would be 1M or a tad more. Slate would be a hard sell, and I’d understand if they let him walk, but the hit to the locker room and sidelines would really blow.

*Edit* I forgot about Jacoby. Definitely tender him and pay the 4M.

You can't talk free agency without talking about the money available to the team. (Currently just over $4M) That's why I brought up Jackson and the likelihood (I'm 99% certain that it happens) that the Pats franchise Jackson if a long term deal isn't done. One can only hope that Wolf has been burning up the lines with Jackson's agent to get a deal done.

If the Pats were to TRADE Jonnu Smith, they'd free up a whopping 2.4M, unless they do it after June 1st. Then they'd free up 9.9M. I don't see that happening unless BB reviews Smith's play and determines that he's a lost cause while seeing zero improvement during mini-camp.

Agholor, on the other hand, they can save 9.88M by trading him somewhere. Such as to the Raiders. They are in desperate need of a deep threat with Ruggs being an idiot and Jackson not really finding a groove with them. Agholor and Carr already have a decent rapport. And I'm certain that Agholor was a McDaniels push for WR.

More likely people to be dumped than Wynn include: Anderson ($2.67M), Godchaux ($5M), Van Noy (4.94M), Guy (3.75M)

Players getting extensions: Shaq Mason, Jake Bailey, Devin McCourty (to keep the 4.3M from accelerating), Joe Cardona.

Player on the bubble (could be cut or extended) : Jonathan Jones (5.68m)

 

[TommyD4207]

Trade Agholar

Fine.

Franchise and trade JC Jackson to Atlanta for Calvin Ridley.

Lol. No.

Trade our second to Denver for Jerry Jeudy.

I'm sensing a pattern here. Also Denver's not trading Jerry Jeudy for a 2nd round pick.

Sign Braxton Berrios back.

Jets washouts always work out. Especially Jets washouts that got cut here the first time.

Problems resolved.

Hardly. And you of ALL people should know you can get Chris Conley for nothing. And get Calvin Ridley for a lot less than the best corner on the Patriots.

Trade Wynn maybe to Falcons, Rams, Raiders.
Re up Trent Brown on a team friendly deal.

Problems fixed.
Otherwise draft Alabamas Wiliams and sign DJ Chark.

DJ Chark is a sick Madden player. In RL, it's a different story.