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CLICK HERE to Register for a free account and login for a smoother ad-free experience. It's easy, and only takes a few moments.Wright can still be signed. And then there's the draft. I'm sure they'll work out their contingencies before dealing or cutting Jarvis.Wright is a UFA. Peppers is too light to play DE in the 3-4.
Musket Fire | A New England Patriots Blog
says something will be announced at 6pm, but I'm not holding my breath. Since it's 6pm now.
Trade Vrabel if we havent deal Cassel before is just stupid .
Salary dump mode .
I am dying to know what picks we got!
It smells like there might be a lot more to the Mike Vrabel to the Chiefs deal than simply a benign "undisclosed" draft pick.
New England is locked up tight as a drum this afternoon. There is no conversation going out which is a sure harbinger that there are bigger dominoes wobbling.
My speculation? Since Vrabel is only in KC and his acquisition hasn't been officially declared, he is merely a sidebar in the deal. The holdup - and silence - is being caused by something else that's taking place and my guess is that the something else is negotiations between Matt Cassel's agent David Dunn and the Chiefs GM Scott Pioli.
Cassel, of course, is the franchised Patriots quarterback who's due to make $14.6 million this year if he stays with the Patriots. If New England deals Cassel, he comes off their books, clearing cap space.
And that has me thinking the undisclosed pick is the third overall pick in this draft.
So it may well be Cassel and Vrabel to the Chiefs for the third overall pick and - likely - another later round pick. The financial end of this is what makes it a solid deal for the Pats. Between Cassel and Vrabel, there's almost $20 million in cap space getting cleared. Vrabel would have been a free agent after this year so the Pats are going to get something for him they wouldn't have otherwise.
Wouldn't the Pats want to avoid the third overall pick and the money outlay for an unproven player that comes with it? Not necessarily. They will still win financially in 2009 even adding the third overall pick because of the money they clear with Vrabel and Cassel leaving. And they'll have a good player from that spot going forward (presumably).
So who replaces Vrabel? Hmmmm. The Patriots liked Jonathan Vilma coming out of Miami. He's on the market. And so is Ray Lewis. Would they be fits at outside linebacker where Vrabel played predominantly? It will be interesting to see. And to see if this goes down as I'm suspecting.
He's already wrong about Vilma, since Vilma have re upped with the saints.
Curran could be right about the fact that there is no word because Matt is working out a deal...
But I wonder, if that is true, what is the follow-up ??? To use the 3rd to replace Vrabel (hoping Curry is there) or to get a FA ? I really can't think they are going to weaken an already suspect LB corp by moving Vrabel with no other move in mind. Sure, we'Re not talking about 2003 Vrabel, but still - I have to think they value him over TBC or Woods !