Why This Might Be The Year For Patriots To Be FA Players

[manxman2601]

This nugget from Tony Pauline hints at the Free Agency value this year:

Word during the final day of the combine is many of the free agent cornerbacks and defensive backs who are expecting big paydays are likely to be disappointed. We hear those expecting deals of $7-million per year may have to settle for $4-$5 million annually. LaRon Landry, who’s hoping to get in the area of $6-million per year, is likely to be offered no more than $3-$4 million, according to those who hung around Indianapolis through Tuesday.

I imagine that that which applies to defensive backs applies to other positions as well, like D linemen.

http://www.draftinsider.net/blog/?p=6805

 

[Jimke]

The Patriots may be forced to be major players in free agency if they
lose three very good players (Talib, Vollmer, and Welker) and three
contributing players (Arrington, Edleman, and Woodhead). If these players are replaced with JAGs, they will no longer be contenders for another
Lombardi Trophy.

 

[Big-T]

If they can keep Talib for 4-5m per and bring in Landry at 3-4m I don't think too many people would complain about that.

 

[BradyBranch39]

Laron Landry is a bad example. He's not very good.

 

[Marqui]

No excuse not to keep Talib if thats true.

 

[Raymond]

If they can keep Talib for 4-5m per and bring in Landry at 3-4m I don't think too many people would complain about that.

4-5 m for Talib sounds pretty low to me. I'd guess BB would jump at the chance to keep him for anything close to that.

To me, Landy is a good hitter but his lack of speed turns me off.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

landry at 2 mill...i wouldn't take

 

[Off The Grid]

Eh? I thought it went without saying that the flattening of the Cap over the next couple years ~ and perhaps far beyond, in my opinion!! ~ would significantly depress the Mass of the Money Free Agents should expect.

Just look at all the Teams scrambling to get slews of Restructures done to try to squeeze under.

And look at all the Cuts, done and prospective.

It isn't quite like the first few years of The Cap, but belts will be tightened!!

***

All that being said, I respectfully disagree: It's precisely when things are beginning to constrict ~ as they now are ~ that one should get ahead of the curve in frugality.

The best time to pick off Low Hanging Fruit won't be for quite awhile, in my Perspective.

 

[supafly]

All that being said, I respectfully disagree: It's precisely when things are beginning to constrict ~ as they now are ~ that one should get ahead of the curve in frugality.

The best time to pick off Low Hanging Fruit won't be for quite awhile, in my Perspective.

I think that's a good point. Many here always want to spend, spend, spend, but don't realize the number of variables that need to go into account to make these decisions.

I think we're in good shape to sign some of our own (but not at the price of overpaying) while also shoring up some areas of need.

The rest of the money can be carried over to next season. I am envisioning about 10 million or so, maybe slightly less, when all is said and done--understanding that there are more moves to be made.

It isn't the right time to take too many risks, and I highly doubt that we will, besides some of the vet signings that we usually make going up a bit.

 

[supafly]

No excuse not to keep Talib if thats true.

There are still reasons not to keep him, but those reasons lessen if the price actually drops significantly. We all want him, but at a fair price and a reasonable amount of years which likely aren't long term.

Everything else will obviously depend on what Belichick feels about him and the situation with him in the future. He may still have an idea of a max price that could still be overpaid for by another team though, or if the number of yrs are too much. I'm not sure that he's a very good long term prospect at the moment.

 

[bagwell368]

Pats will do their usual thing - go for slightly above mid tier and mid/low tier guys to fill vacancies. So you can forget about Bowe - but you might end up with Alexander or Hartline plus a pick to backfill WR. I see at least one front 4 guy coming in FA, but who? Abraham or Gilberry? Safety? Moore or someone like Crocker?

No telling with BB. But, again we should have one of the top rosters in the league by the start of the season.

 

[Fencer]

After allowing for rookies and general contingencies, the Pats have somewhat under $20 million to play with. With that, they need to:

• Pay or replace Welker
• Pay or replace Lloyd
• Pay or replace Edelman
• Pay or replace Vollmer
• Pay or replace Talib
• Pay or replace Arrington
• Add DE/pass rushing, if they want to, as reports suggest they do
• Address any miscellaneous other needs that can't be handled at minimum salary (many folks think safety is one such need)

A few of these could be handled out of the rookie cap (but will the Pats even use their first-rounder?), or out of existing non-FA personnel (safety? RT?). Even so, the base case is that the Pats need to pay FA money for 3 WRs and 2 CBs, and if those five players average $4 million each, that's your cap budget right there.

Assume Welker consumes $8 million and that a DE gets paid, and now you're fitting 2 (other) WRs, 2 CBs, and a DE into $11-12 million. And that's with Vollmer gone and only minimum salaries/rookies coming in for him and Thomas.

The money could be used up pretty fast.