2019 Patriots' News

Mike ReissESPN Staff Writer
The Patriots have created $5.67 million in cap space for 2019 by converting $8.5 million of CB Stephon Gilmore's $9.5 million base salary into a signing bonus, according to ESPN's Field Yates. That will increase Gilmore's salary-cap charges in 2020 and 2021, but provides some current relief. The Patriots had about $2.5 million in salary-cap space before Gilmore's restructure, and are still working to re-sign kicker Stephen Gostkowski.

Southieinnc said:

Valentine Holmes could join Patriots | Daily Mail Online

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Ok....who is Valentine Holmes?

Southieinnc said:

I guess I'm a bandwagon fan, becoming a Patriot fan in mid 70's.....

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Same here Southie - that 76 team won me over. Before that, I was aimlessly following the sport and had a casual rooting interest in the early to mid 70's Vikings teams.

Gronk has retired.

Thank you for 9 amazing years. Best TE I’ve ever seen. Will miss him but glad he’s getting out before the injuries take too much of a toll. See you in Canton in 2024.

gronk
It all started at 20 years old on stage at the NFL draft when my dream came true, and now here I am about to turn 30 in a few months with a decision I feel is the biggest of my life so far. I will be retiring from the game of football today. I am so grateful for the opportunity that Mr. Kraft and Coach Belichick gave to me when drafting my silliness in 2010. My life experiences over the last 9 years have been amazing both on and off the field. The people I have meet, the relationships I have built, the championships I have been apart of, I just want to thank the whole New England Patriots organization for every opportunity I have been giving and learning the great values of life that I can apply to mine. Thank you to all of Pats Nation around the world for the incredible support since I have been apart of this 1st class organization. Thank you for everyone accepting who I am and the dedication I have put into my work to be the best player I could be. But now its time to move forward and move forward with a big smile knowing that the New England Patriots Organization, Pats Nation, and all my fans will be truly a big part of my heart for rest of my life. It was truly an incredible honor to play for such a great established organization and able to come in to continue and contribute to keep building success. To all my current and past teammates, thank you for making each team every year special to be apart of. I will truly miss you guys. Cheers to all who have been part of this journey, cheers to the past for the incredible memories, and a HUGE cheers to the uncertain of whats next.

Smart move. No sense in doing any more damage to his body. He's go

BigKen said:

Smart move. No sense in doing any more damage to his body. He's go

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He's going to get his Gold Coat in 2024...........and Bronze bust

And the jerks are already starting to belittle him on CBS,com.

He's not LBGT or whatever.............................they just can't stand anyone who can do something they can't. Like have fun, make a joke about himself and bank every penny he's earned at his primary job or date the best looking females anywhere who wouldn't piss on the media if they were on fire.

Sadly, Malcolm Mitchell officially retired from the NFL Friday night at the University of Georgia. His knee just will not heal to a point that would allow him to take any kind of a hit.

Best of luck to a critical player in the Super Bowl LI victory and was never able to play again.

BigKen said:

And the jerks are already starting to belittle him on CBS,com.

He's not LBGT or whatever.............................they just can't stand anyone who can do something they can't. Like have fun, make a joke about himself and bank every penny he's earned at his primary job or date the best looking females anywhere who wouldn't piss on the media if they were on fire.

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Can''t find what you are talking about

Shoeshine Boy said:

Thank you for 9 amazing years. Best TE I’ve ever seen. Will miss him but glad he’s getting out before the injuries take too much of a toll. See you in Canton in 2024.

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May be to late for that

SDGuy73 said:

Can''t find what you are talking about

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CBSSports.com comments. Shitload of media sports people saying he's not one of the best ever. Gonzalez, Ditka, Mackey, Gates are all much, much better. I was amazed how quickly people will denegrate someone.

This morning (last night?) Phil Perry and Tom E Curran were doing a piece from Phoenix at the owners meetings
discussing Gronk. Curran thinks that he will come back to the Patriots in mid season.

Jared Cooks is supposedly signing with the Saints but hasn't agreed yet. He was impressed with thyepatriot when they made him an offer. Curran says that Cook wanted to know what Gronk was going to do because he didn't want to be watching games from the bench while Gronk played 85% of the snaps. With Gronk retiring he could make a final check with BB before putting pen to paper with the Saints who immediately tried to get him to officially sign when Gronk announced his retirement last night. He wouldn't do it.

Jerad Cooks is still in the conversation and Gronk opened up another $5M+ in cap space.

Gronk's cap savings will be closer to $10M, but won't go into effect until he files his retirement papers with the league and he goes on the reserve/retired list. And if he does come back mid-season, the money comes back on the cap (pro-rated, but still $2M plus $562K per game so pretty significant for a mid-season addition to a team with limited cap space) so the Pats might have to tread lightly with that one.

This news is potentially more scary then we know. Wynn may well be our starting LT with no NFL exp and we now don't have Gronk in that support role. Not sure how well Cooks or any other FA TE can block but IMO protecting Brady's blindside is now a real concern

The only decent FA TE left out there is Austin Seferian-Jenkins. He came out of college with a big rep but never seemed to be able to put it all together in the NFL. Might be worth a look as a bridge player while drafted TE's (hopefully, at least two) are being groomed, as long as his salary demands are not excessive.

BigKen said:

CBSSports.com comments. Shitload of media sports people saying he's not one of the best ever. Gonzalez, Ditka, Mackey, Gates are all much, much better. I was amazed how quickly people will denegrate someone.

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This is a great read. Gronks stats are amazing when compared to guys you mention.
Gronk wins again: Retirement at 29 as the best TE ever (check these stats)? Let the afterparty begin