Pre draft cap update

[scout]

After the draft it is time to look ahead, Chung and Vollmer are free agents after this year. The year after that is Gronk, Herdandez, Spikes,

patriots by contract length espnboston - Yahoo! Search Results

The last couple of years BB has drafted players who essentially took the jobs of free agents who left the following year. I would assume that might be one variable in hundreds that determines what lever BB pulls.

 

[BTTA]

They should use that money to extend some guys. Chung, Arrington, Love & Vollmer are free agents after this season. Gronk, Hernandez, Spikes, McCourty & Mesko are only signed thru 2013.

Yes, and if they do this, it will be next year for most of them. Any one of those guys could have a fall off in performance or an injury, causing the team to rethink their value. Management will probably wait to make sure that hasn't happened before rolling the dice with extensions. It is a tough business.