FOXBORO, MA — People go out shopping all the time and are “just looking”. They’ll walk around and look at things they may not need at the time, but in the event they ever do at least they have an idea of what is out there.
The same is probably true for the Patriots, who met with quarterback Michael Vick at the scouting combine last weekend. According to one source who was at the combine, the meeting was short and more of a courtesy than anything else.
The fact that they also met with Perdue’s Drew Brees may also be a backup plan in the event they suddenly need a quarterback, which obviously depends on how the negotiations with franchise QB Drew Bledsoe go. Bledsoe, who is still without a new contract heading into his final year, is currently on the hook with over $9 million against the team’s salary cap. New England reportedly is currently under the cap, but in order to be as active as they’ll need to be in the free agent market, they will need to lower that number considerably. Both sides have said repeatedly they’re committed to working out a deal, but in the event things don’t work out this is a business, and head coach Bill Belichick needs to explore every angle.
“Where we are picking in the draft (6th overall) this year, we vitally have to look at every player and we aren’t treating Michael Vick any differently than we’re treating anybody else,” said Belichick earlier in the week. “If he is available, we have to make a determination as to what our value is on him and whether or not we pick him or where we pick him.”
“I think when you are at six, you can always move down and you can always move up in the draft from that position to pretty much anywhere. Even though we are at six, I think we have to be ready to be at one just like we have to be ready to be at 16.”
As far as what position they’re going to target with their six overall selection, Belichick said that the goal was simply to maximize their choice and get the best value out of it.
“The mindset will be the same as it always is, to maximize the value on that pick,” said Belichick. “Whatever the maximum value in our judgment for the football team than that’s what I’ll use it on. Could be moving up, could be moving down, could be staying right there and taking somebody who is on the board.”
“It’s just really impossible to say at this point how that is going to turn out. We’ll be speculating about it 20 minutes before the draft gets underway. At this point, we are trying to accumulate a lot of information.”
As far as their other quarterbacks are concerned, Michael Bishop has been sent over to Europe to show if he can actually produce at the NFL level. With that in mind, questions have begun to loom about whether or not New England should entertain a trade for him in the event he plays well over there. Obviously, under the right circumstances, it should be considered, but unless they receive considerable compensation for Bishop, they may be better served to hold on to him.
As a matter of fact, despite how durable Bledsoe has been over the years, they still need someone who can step in as a number two quarterback, and unfortunately, John Friesz wasn’t able to do it. The problem for New England right now is that Tom Brady isn’t ready yet either. Brady made progress during last season and has gotten better, but the Patriots are better served to find someone to fill that role until he’s truly ready to step in and contribute. Should Bledsoe head into this season without a new deal, Brady could find himself competing for a starting job before the start of the 2002 season.
As far as who New England will pursue in free agency, Belichick said that he’s not just sure when or who they’ll be talking to.
“As soon as free agency opens up, we will be involved at least in terms of talking to people,” said Belichick. “What will happen and when it will happen, I can’t predict any time frame that we will or won’t sign anybody.”
“The time frame for doing anything and what would happen is hard to say. I think this market is a little different from what it has been the last couple of years. It seems to be a little bit tighter in that there are more teams that have less flexibility than maybe usual. So every year, part of agency is just seeing where the market goes and where it settles, and we will just have to evaluate that as we go through it.”
The Patriots will begin shopping on Friday.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
