Welker only got two years at $12 Mil so I think giving Edelman the $20 Mil all in or so would be enough to keep him? Who knows. I think Amendola is playing at half speed and will have surgery after the playoffs.
Also curious what the Pats do to get TB some more weapons. Dobson looks like he could develop into a decent #2 and Gronk should be back by week 8 or so. Probably need to draft another TE and try to get a #1 WR (again) ~ maybe pay Decker? Takes him away from Manning and gives Brady another tall guy to throw to.
I am guessing they will draft O Line and LB along with a TE.
Please, stop with the "pay him what he wants" crap. No one has banged the table for Julian Edelman more than I. But let's take a step back on this for a second. The Pats will offer him a huge pay raise, but nothing that gets into the $20MM range. Not for a WR, especially one who has only proved himself for one year. ESPECIALLY a WR.
Lets not forget that we are awash with WR's who have huge upsides in Thompkins, Boyce, and Dobson. Guys who have all flashed the kind of skills that can give us hope that Brady will ride into retirement with the best WR talent since Moss, Branch, Welker and Brown were in their heydays.
Dobson and Thompkins BOTH passed Branch's rookie mark for WR's, and that's DEPSITE each missing 6 or more games, and quite frankly I liked what Boyce showed in his brief opportunity. All 3 can be expected to make big jumps in their 2nd year in this offense. So paying big money to a good but not great WR, who hasn't proven he can remain healthy over the long haul is NOT prudent. I'm thinking a $10-12MM deal with a signing bonus large enough to ensure his financial security (say $4MM) and a few million more in incentives for games played and receptions.
Don't forget we can't pay Edelman for the numbers he put up THIS year. We have to pay him for the numbers he's likely going to get in the next 3 years playing with an improved group of current rookies, a healthy Amendola and Gronk, and a top notch running game that needs to be fed. Baring another set of off the chart multiple injuries, Edelman is never going to get close to the number of targets he got this year.
The unfair fact is, that as long as Tom Brady is the Pats QB, the team would be much better off investing their money into the OL and defense and NOT in overspending in an area that is by far the easiest position to find suitable replacements.
Look at it from BB's POV. He basically lost his top 5 receivers from the previous year and wound up with the exact same record and a playoff bye. Granted the offensive results were down, but who cares. Its only the 12-4 that's important and THAT didn't change. Shouldn't there be a lesson in that. Would it have been any better if it were Welker had gotten the 105 catches and over 1000 yds and Edelman wound up playing in Denver putting his results and giving Denver $5MM more in cap space???
When are we going to learn? A lot of the best WR's in the league play for teams that RARELY make the playoffs. You can't overinvest in a position that isn't critical to wins and losses. Julio Jones is truly a great WR, but the Falcons would have been much better off with a slightly less great receiver and the 5 picks they lost moving up to get him. A single WR is NEVER going to make or break a teams chances to win it all. A QB might, or even a great pass rusher or DLman, but NOT a WR.
I keep trying to preach this message, but sometimes I feel like if falls on deaf ears. We are too often like chicks falling for rock stars, and that's what WR's are... Rock Stars. Lots of hype but easily replaced. If they weren't we all wouldn't be all googlie eyed over a dozen or more guys we can get in the first 4 rounds of the draft come this April, just like last April, and the April before that, etc.
