Report: Talib, Sherman 'have their eye on Patriots'

[Jimke]

Does the pursuit of these guys mean the Patriots have written off all their key free agents?

 

[VectorPrime]

Does the pursuit of these guys mean the Patriots have written off all their key free agents?

No way.

 

[supafly]

Does the pursuit of these guys mean the Patriots have written off all their key free agents?

Has there actually been any pursuit by the team, or just some loose thoughts that the players themselves wouldn’t mind coming here?

 

[Jimke]

Has there actually been any pursuit by the team, or just some loose thoughts that the players themselves wouldn’t mind coming here?

The Broncos are supposedly talking trade for Talib with the Patriots one of the teams.

 

[Jimke]

No way.

No way.

I suspect the Patriots will not make an offer to either Solder or Lewis for fear of
insulting them.

 

[thecore762]

While it may be nice to have Gilmore, Sherman and Talib, we should only go for 2 max. Without a good pass rush even with the best secondary in the world DBs cannot cover forever. Pass rush was a problem in the superbowl. We need some hard nosed guys in there. As of right now, we don't have much.

 

[Bourne Again Christian]

The more the merrier.
We can do both.
Let's bring in Poe or Wilkerson
If their is any chance of trading for Clowney you make it happen.
Draft well.

 

[Bourne Again Christian]

I'll take Sherman with no draft compensation for 500 Alex.

 

[maineman209]

I think that letting Nate Solder go in free agency could open up the opportunity to look at BOTH options. I'm not a fan of what his current value on the market is, so I feel the Patriots might re-sign Waddle/Fleming instead

I think Solder is more critical to team success than either Sherman or Talib (or even the two together). I think that Fleming would be a downgrade at LT, and that Waddle would be an even bigger downgrade (and less reliable from an injury perspective, meaning that someone like Croston would need to step in).

If Solder goes, the Pats definitely need to hang onto Allen and do whatever it takes to keep Gronk happy and playing because their blocking will be needed for support.

Solder's last contract was 2 year, $20M, $19.5M guaranteed. At the time, in 2016, that made him the 5th highest paid LT.

The cap has increased by over 14% since then, and OL pay scales have risen a bit faster ( a bit more for Guard than for Tackle, actually ... but still). Something between $12M and $13M a year wouldn't be out of line on a contract structured to keep his 2018 cap hit relatively low and push costs into 2019 and 2020.

An APY of $12.5M would again make him the 5th highest paid LT by (current) APY, but only the 9th highest paid for 2018.

 

[maineman209]

Does the pursuit of these guys mean the Patriots have written off all their key free agents?

The Patriots are pursuing these guys? When did that happen? I thought it was just some fans who were pursuing them.

 

[maineman209]

NVM.

The Broncos have traded Talib to the Rams for a 5th-round pick.

 

[HailHydra]

I think Solder is more critical to team success than either Sherman or Talib (or even the two together). I think that Fleming would be a downgrade at LT, and that Waddle would be an even bigger downgrade (and less reliable from an injury perspective, meaning that someone like Croston would need to step in).

If Solder goes, the Pats definitely need to hang onto Allen and do whatever it takes to keep Gronk happy and playing because their blocking will be needed for support.

Solder's last contract was 2 year, $20M, $19.5M guaranteed. At the time, in 2016, that made him the 5th highest paid LT.

The cap has increased by over 14% since then, and OL pay scales have risen a bit faster ( a bit more for Guard than for Tackle, actually ... but still). Something between $12M and $13M a year wouldn't be out of line on a contract structured to keep his 2018 cap hit relatively low and push costs into 2019 and 2020.

An APY of $12.5M would again make him the 5th highest paid LT by (current) APY, but only the 9th highest paid for 2018.

Solder is a good LT, but I think that's where it stops. I don't think he's a top tier LT like he will be valued this free agency, just simply due to the fact that he has inconsistent games that could be costly. Sure, the OLine was praised near the end of the season for allowing the rushing attack to become a threat, but Brady still took a lot of hits - and Solder contributed to that. In fact, Waddle actually played quite well at RT and is someone who is a quality player that can be signed for great value. I don't remember as much about Fleming, but I still feel that paying Solder 12-13 mill isn't the way to go, in terms of production value.

 

[DaBronxPats14]

Broncos don't feel that way, traded him to Rams.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Broncos don't feel that way, traded him to Rams.

I knew Elway was never going to help the Pats.

 

[Bourne Again Christian]

I knew Elway was never going to help the Pats.

Well we were never going to pay 11 mill and a 5th for him.

 

[maineman209]

Solder is a good LT, but I think that's where it stops. I don't think he's a top tier LT like he will be valued this free agency, just simply due to the fact that he has inconsistent games that could be costly. Sure, the OLine was praised near the end of the season for allowing the rushing attack to become a threat, but Brady still took a lot of hits - and Solder contributed to that. In fact, Waddle actually played quite well at RT and is someone who is a quality player that can be signed for great value. I don't remember as much about Fleming, but I still feel that paying Solder 12-13 mill isn't the way to go, in terms of production value.

Actually, Solder is a top tier LT. He struggled early in the 2017 season because, as he's readily admitted his head wasn't entirely in the game due to concern about his son's returned cancer.

The fact that Waddle played RT well (for the brief time he was healthy) doesn't mean that he could play LT at all. He was horrible there during the pre-season.

Also, the fact that Solder is a top-tier LT doesn't mean that he'd be successful at RT. The knock on him coming out of college was that he didn't move well to his right. He's much better now, but still gets beat to his right (on the inside) sometimes. However, his ability to recover now is simply phenomenal.

There's a clip floating around out there recently of Solder getting beat clean to the inside by Jerry Hughes, partly the fault of the TE (Hollister) screwing up his own blocking assignment. Hughes gets a full step to the inside of Solder with a clear shot at Brady, 3-4 steps away.

He never gets there.

Solder executes a counter-clockwise spin move into a cut block that should be humanly impossible, especially for a guy as big as Solder. It knocks Hughes off-balance and back to the outside. Then, before Hughes can recover, Solder leaps back to his feet and pancakes him. That's top-tier sh*t right there and Solder does that kind of thing way more frequently than any broadcast camera will ever show.

 

[primetime]

Solder is a good LT, but I think that's where it stops.

I think this is giving him too much credit. I think he's a Flacco-tier left tackle, which is to say he's not good on a leaguewide level but just good enough to win with, but you have to pay him like a star so you don't risk losing him and ending up with a replacement who's really bad at a critical position.

In truth, he'd be considered far worse on a team that lacked a quarterback who is historically good at mitigating pressure on his own.

 

[HailHydra]

Actually, Solder is a top tier LT. He struggled early in the 2017 season because, as he's readily admitted his head wasn't entirely in the game due to concern about his son's returned cancer.

The fact that Waddle played RT well (for the brief time he was healthy) doesn't mean that he could play LT at all. He was horrible there during the pre-season.

Also, the fact that Solder is a top-tier LT doesn't mean that he'd be successful at RT. The knock on him coming out of college was that he didn't move well to his right. He's much better now, but still gets beat to his right (on the inside) sometimes. However, his ability to recover now is simply phenomenal.

There's a clip floating around out there recently of Solder getting beat clean to the inside by Jerry Hughes, partly the fault of the TE (Hollister) screwing up his own blocking assignment. Hughes gets a full step to the inside of Solder with a clear shot at Brady, 3-4 steps away.

He never gets there.

Solder executes a counter-clockwise spin move into a cut block that should be humanly impossible, especially for a guy as big as Solder. It knocks Hughes off-balance and back to the outside. Then, before Hughes can recover, Solder leaps back to his feet and pancakes him. That's top-tier sh*t right there and Solder does that kind of thing way more frequently than any broadcast camera will ever show.

Nate Solder isn't a top tier LT - players like Bakhtiari, Thomas, Whitworth, Smith, Williams, Jason Peters pre-injury are all ahead of him. Solder would find himself among the bottom of the pack of Lewan, Matthews, Decker, Penn, Duane Brown, Villanueva, Glenn, Staley, etc.

 

[HailHydra]

I think this is giving him too much credit. I think he's a Flacco-tier left tackle, which is to say he's not good on a leaguewide level but just good enough to win with, but you have to pay him like a star so you don't risk losing him and ending up with a replacement who's really bad at a critical position.

In truth, he'd be considered far worse on a team that lacked a quarterback who is historically good at mitigating pressure on his own.

That's the truth of it.

Of course I didn't say it to avoid a load of hate.

 

[PatriotsNumero1Fan]

Solder's worth more than 10 mil. Tackles cost money. He played well down the stretch.