Matthew Jones
Rookie
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2012
- Messages
- 13
- Reaction score
- 3
We saw a couple of years ago that the Patriots were willing to draft Dominique Easley coming off of a torn ACL, as it offered a chance to get a good value on a player who likely would have been gone by that point under normal circumstances. Lately, I'm wondering if that sort of approach is a good one to take this year as well. With an injury like an ACL tear, it doesn't seem like a first tear makes a second one more likely, and I feel like I've also read something to the effect that the process to repair an ACL makes it stronger than it was in the past, so that might be one inefficiency in the process, assuming the health problems the player's dealing with aren't the type which would make them more susceptible to injuries in the future, or see their condition worsen over time. Thus, it can help offer better value than drafting a healthy player in some circumstances.
Another reason for this approach is that it would help the Patriots manage their roster efficiently this season. There aren't many spots available this year, but there are quite a few players on roster whose contracts are set to expire after the season. To offer one possibility, how about someone like Mississippi St. cornerback Will Redmond, who recently tore his ACL? New England has four or five corners they look like they could take into next season (Malcolm Butler, Logan Ryan, Justin Coleman, Darryl Roberts, and E.J. Biggers), so there may not really be room for a developmental cornerback on the 53-man roster. Drafting someone like Redmond would allow the team to essentially stash him on PUP/IR while he develops, then either join the team midway through the year if other injuries affect the situation at that position, or wait until next year, when someone like Logan Ryan might be playing elsewhere after testing his value on the open market.
Which other prospects could fit as candidates to squirrel away on PUP/IR?
Another reason for this approach is that it would help the Patriots manage their roster efficiently this season. There aren't many spots available this year, but there are quite a few players on roster whose contracts are set to expire after the season. To offer one possibility, how about someone like Mississippi St. cornerback Will Redmond, who recently tore his ACL? New England has four or five corners they look like they could take into next season (Malcolm Butler, Logan Ryan, Justin Coleman, Darryl Roberts, and E.J. Biggers), so there may not really be room for a developmental cornerback on the 53-man roster. Drafting someone like Redmond would allow the team to essentially stash him on PUP/IR while he develops, then either join the team midway through the year if other injuries affect the situation at that position, or wait until next year, when someone like Logan Ryan might be playing elsewhere after testing his value on the open market.
Which other prospects could fit as candidates to squirrel away on PUP/IR?
