Two Easy Predictions For Actions By March 14

[maineman209]

Correct but if he is willing to play I don't think BB will turn him down.

I'm not certain of that at all. Setting aside the irresponsibility involved, BB prizes availability as much as ability, and McClellin's concussion issue from just this past season would put his continued availability in serious doubt.

 

[Love The Drake]

My prediction is unless Solder comes on board for under 11 Mill he either retires or goes to the Giants which is close enough to his child's Drs.
If you can spread that money out and get Flemming on board for say 3.5 Mill thats more money for Tight end Secondary linebacker and D line.
That's what I would be more on board with.
I would explore what Hightower could fetch If you could trade him for a third and get rid of that cap It be tempting to pull that trigger.
The Mccourty trade rambling on this site I think is unfounded BB adores him.
Sua Cravens or Vacarro is a possibility to boost up talent and have a player in the wings when Mccourty or Chung is done.

 

[p8ryts]

Your recollection is pretty good, for the most part. A little help, though:



McClellin's significant history of concussions seems likely to keep him off the roster, one way or another. Net savings = $1.79M.



Solder is currently UFA, so no savings, only an expense if he re-signs. His 2017 cap hit was just over $11M.



An extension-restructuring of Dwayne Allen could reduce his 2018 cap hit much closer to $2M, saving more like $3M.

.

Gillislee's 2018 cap hit is $2.18M. That makes him the 23rd-highest-compensated RB in the league. The net savings from cutting him is about $1.6M.

If he's cut now for the sake of cap savings, and the Pats can't afford to compete with the offers that Lewis and Burkhead get and, thus, can't re-sign them, that leaves the Pats with only White and Bolden at RB, and a gaping hole at the position that would need to be filled with RBs who may (or my not) be as effective as Gillislee was in 2017, who may (or may not) be as cheap as Gillislee, who may (or may not) having any NFL experience, and who would need to learn the offense from scratch.



Cooks' 2018 cap hit is $8.459M (his 5th-year option amount).

If the Pats extend him this season, it could reduce his 2018 cap hit by as much as $4.5M. Such an extension now (or before July, at least) might retain him for another 4-5 years at an APY of under $13M. If they wait until he's a free agent in 2019, it may require something in the $15M+ APY range to retain him.



The net cap savings from Harris' retirement was approximately $1.57M.

The net cap savings from cutting Britt would only be about $895k. Somewhat similar to Gillislee, cutting Britt would be cutting a skill position player with extensive NFL experience and at least some experience with the Pats' offensive system - for negligible cap savings.



The cuts/restructurings you propose, including extending Cooks, might increase the the Pats' cap space to around $37M. However, that still leaves Solder, Amendola, Lewis, Burkhead, both backup OT, and Marquis Flowers, plus core special teamers Bademosi, Ebner, Slater, and King unsigned. Re-signing all of them is likely to hit the 2018 cap for about $30M, with Solder getting about 1/3 of that money. Additionally, the Pats may need to come up with as much as $5M to cover the 2018 cap hits of their draft picks and UDFAs.

Could Britt transition to a Hernandez role?

 

[stinkypete]

My prediction is unless Solder comes on board for under 11 Mill he either retires or goes to the Giants which is close enough to his child's Drs.
If you can spread that money out and get Flemming on board for say 3.5 Mill thats more money for Tight end Secondary linebacker and D line.
That's what I would be more on board with.
I would explore what Hightower could fetch If you could trade him for a third and get rid of that cap It be tempting to pull that trigger.
The Mccourty trade rambling on this site I think is unfounded BB adores him.
Sua Cravens or Vacarro is a possibility to boost up talent and have a player in the wings when Mccourty or Chung is done.

I was thinking of Cravens as a possible trade target. His skill set is exactly what the defense needs.

 

[micronin127]

4. What's the status of Solder? If he retires the Patriots save something in the area of 6,5m. If he stays I believe he is approx. 10m cap hit. Savings - unknown

Solder played out his contract and is an UFA. We can try to resign him or not, but he is not currently counted against the 2018 cap.

The Patriots always seem to want at least 4 tackles on the roster with a 5th player (e.g. Croston who played LT at Iowa, but is more of an interior player at pro level) who can play tackle in a pinch.

I'd look for the Patriots to try to resign Solder.

 

[maineman209]

Could Britt transition to a Hernandez role?

That's actually an interesting question, but it depends on how well he blocks near the LoS on running plays ( I have no idea).

Hernandez wasn't a great blocker as a TE, but he was really pretty decent blocking near the LoS compared to most WRs. LaFell isn't quite as big as Britt and neither of them are as stocky as Hernandez (250 lbs) was, but LaFell was a such a great blocker as a WR, both downfield and near the LoS, that he was able to help out in the run game when lined up in the slot - probably almost as much as Hernandez did.

So, yeah, it's hypothetically possible that Britt, at 6'3"/220 (or so) could play a Hernandez-ish role IF his blocking is (or can be made to be) as good as Hernandez's or LaFell's. Anything that can help disguise run versus pass is helpful to the offense.

Anyway, it couldn't hurt Britt's chances of making the roster.

 

[maineman209]

Solder ... goes to the Giants which is close enough to his child's Drs.

No. It's really nowhere near "close enough."

Again, speaking from personal experience.

 

[maineman209]

I was thinking of Cravens as a possible trade target. His skill set is exactly what the defense needs.

Cravens is a huge risk, having quit the Skins last season on the eve of their regular-season opener, and then undergoing treatment just this past December for post-concussion syndrome.

While the skill set that he demonstrated in college seems like it might fit the Pats well, it's still questionable whether or not that translates to the Pats defense, and very questionable as to whether or not he's either mentally or physically healthy enough to play football at all.

 

[Ivan]

I don’t believe the “ cap is crap” argument but it can be manipulated extensively to accommodate most offseason needs. Iirc in 2016 they were 5 million over heading into free agency, made all sorts of moves and signings, and ended up 10 million under going into the season. The Patriots aren’t going to go spend huge money on guys like DeMarcus Lawrence, but they can certainly create significantly more cap room, keep they guys they really want to keep, and bolster the team this offseason.

 

[Tony2046]

But how much true NT positional play has this team emphasized since Wilfork left? It seems the Patriots really need competent DTs and next to Malcolm Brown things have been tenuous. I mean, I'd be OK if they COULD find a dominant NT, but those types seem really elusive. Suffice to say that whatever combination is decided on the front seven must be improved.

Finding a Wilfork type is rare but finding a Branch type might be easier. VV looked promising so maybe we already have a viable option on the roster but if so would still need rotational depth. At any rate I consider the NT a must have position and would rank it as one of the top positions in team roster value.

 

[mgteich]

Finding a Wilfork type is rare but finding a Branch type might be easier. VV looked promising so maybe we already have a viable option on the roster but if so would still need rotational depth. At any rate I consider the NT a must have position and would rank it as one of the top positions in team roster value.

We have a Branch replacement on the roster. He is in his 3rd year. If he were healthy last year, Branch would likely have been waived.

Vincent Valentine - New England Patriots - 2018 Player Profile - Rotoworld.com

I'm OK with adding more; but we do have a Branch replacement.

 

[Tony2046]

We have a Branch replacement on the roster. He is in his 3rd year. If he were healthy last year, Branch would likely have been waived.

Vincent Valentine - New England Patriots - 2018 Player Profile - Rotoworld.com

I'm OK with adding more; but we do have a Branch replacement.

I like VV too. He wouldn't have replaced the 2016 version of Branch imo. Branch was a more powerful NT then. If you think about the power loss from Wilfork to what they have now it's a lot. I say that not knowing what VV could have given them last season because of injury. Anyways I'm kind of over my head head when evaluating a players potential at a any given position but do know or think that a stud NT will have the most overall impact than any other position in the front 7.

A stud NT is more impactful than having a stud LB or DE. So having a Branch replacement is fine as long as it is truly replacing his past production. If not it's still a weakness that would affect the rest of the front 7.

While writing this I decided to look up their combine bench press stats. I know it's just a stat and there's more to it but was just curious.

Wilfork - 36 reps
Branch - 33 reps
Valentine - 17 reps
Poe - 44 reps
Edelman - 14 ( maybe ......)

 

[mgteich]

I agree that a stud Wilfork like NT would have huge overall impact. As far as I know, only one is available, and I don't think that we'd be willing to pay Poe.

If a stud NT isn't available, then a Branch replacement seems appropriate.

I like VV too. He wouldn't have replaced the 2016 version of Branch imo. Branch was a more powerful NT then. If you think about the power loss from Wilfork to what they have now it's a lot. I say that not knowing what VV could have given them last season because of injury. Anyways I'm kind of over my head head when evaluating a players potential at a any given position but do know or think that a stud NT will have the most overall impact than any other position in the front 7.

A stud NT is more impactful than having a stud LB or DE. So having a Branch replacement is fine as long as it is truly replacing his past production. If not it's still a weakness that would affect the rest of the front 7.

While writing this I decided to look up their combine bench press stats. I know it's just a stat and there's more to it but was just curious.

Wilfork - 36 reps
Branch - 33 reps
Valentine - 17 reps
Poe - 44 reps
Edelman - 14 ( maybe ......)

 

[Tony2046]

I agree that a stud Wilfork like NT would have huge overall impact. As far as I know, only one is available, and I don't think that we'd be willing to pay Poe.

If a stud NT isn't available, then a Branch replacement seems appropriate.

Sure. I agree but would also go into the draft having NT as a priority.

 

[captain stone]

...Valentine - 17 reps...

That should've been a warning sign right there. No way was he worthy of a top-100 selection. With Vinnie, it's always going to be something.

 

[Tony2046]

That should've been a warning sign right there. No way was he worthy of a top-100 selection. With Vinnie, it's always going to be something.

Yeah I don't know but am sure he's much stronger than that 17 reps would indicate after being through a few seasons of strength and conditioning.