Expectations For 2025

[Southieinnc]

Listening and reading about what's been going on since the Bengals announced that they would be franchising Tee Higgins. They plan to franchise him and will be open to offers for him. Supposedly, they want a first and third round pick for him.

As far as this Patriots fan is concerned, they can keep him. Hopefully no one offers a fifth round pick for him and cheapskate Bengals owner Mike Brown has to pay him $24.5M and can't sign either Chase or Hendrickson.
The picks
No way would I give up two picks for him and then have to pay $35M a year on top. The picks are more valuable than a 12 game WR.

Now you're thinking!

 

[nefansince75]

Listening and reading about what's been going on since the Bengals announced that they would be franchising Tee Higgins. They plan to franchise him and will be open to offers for him. Supposedly, they want a first and third round pick for him.

As far as this Patriots fan is concerned, they can keep him. Hopefully no one offers a fifth round pick for him and cheapskate Bengals owner Mike Brown has to pay him $24.5M and can't sign either Chase or Hendrickson.
The picks
No way would I give up two picks for him and then have to pay $35M a year on top. The picks are more valuable than a 12 game WR.

They can't "want a first and a third". The Pats first and third is way more valuable than the iggles. In fact, the Pats 2/4 is almost equivalent to Kc's and Iggles's 1/3. Each negotiation is different.

 

[BigKen]

They can't "want a first and a third". The Pats first and third is way more valuable than the iggles. In fact, the Pats 2/4 is almost equivalent to Kc's and Iggles's 1/3. Each negotiation is different.

They can ""WANT"" whatever they want. They haven't franchised him yet and still have until 3/8. Cleveland has said that they want two firsts for Garrett. I want a pill that will take 50 years off my age. What you want and what you get are two different things.

 

[Southieinnc]

They can ""WANT"" whatever they want. They haven't franchised him yet and still have until 3/8. Cleveland has said that they want two firsts for Garrett. I want a pill that will take 50 years off my age. What you want and what you get are two different things.

Viagra?

 

[BigKen]

Viagra?

That's baby formula. I WANT a real Fountain of Youth pill. I'll even take it with a double Buffalo Trace.

 

[Southieinnc]

That's baby formula. I WANT a real Fountain of Youth pill. I'll even take it with a double Buffalo Trace.

Sparks?

 

[nefansince75]

They can ""WANT"" whatever they want. They haven't franchised him yet and still have until 3/8. Cleveland has said that they want two firsts for Garrett. I want a pill that will take 50 years off my age. What you want and what you get are two different things.

I wasn't referring to wishes. There's a perfect word for this context... Realistic!

 

[BigKen]

Siberia

That is what Foxboro has been described as by one free agent.

I saw this video last night and again this morning around 5:30 am:
DK Metcalf was asked if he would consider playing for the Patriots. "Sure." "Not so Massachusetts."

Per Albert Breer on BST:
"I spoke with people in Kansas City and the Patriots were in on Joe Thuney. They would not tell me if the price was too high, for the Patriots or that the Bears 2026 fourth round pick appears to be much better than a Patriots 2026 fourth round pick. None the less, they felt more comfortable moving Thuney out of the AFC.

Breer has lived in the Boston area most of his life and is a Patriots fan as well as a respected journalist.
"Foxboro keeps trying to modernize and move with modern trends. The problem is that the Gillette Stadium cannot be expanded and as much as they attempt to modernize, not having the space will always be a problem. That comes to light when players see the complexes that exist in newer and larger stadiums such as Las Vegas and Los Angeles. It's a hurdle that must be considered when trying to sign free agents or even making a trade that requires the Patriots to negotiate a new contract. Money is not always the answer."

 

[Yankee Traveler]

Siberia

That is what Foxboro has been described as by one free agent.

I saw this video last night and again this morning around 5:30 am:
DK Metcalf was asked if he would consider playing for the Patriots. "Sure." "Not so Massachusetts."

Per Albert Breer on BST:
"I spoke with people in Kansas City and the Patriots were in on Joe Thuney. They would not tell me if the price was too high, for the Patriots or that the Bears 2026 fourth round pick appears to be much better than a Patriots 2026 fourth round pick. None the less, they felt more comfortable moving Thuney out of the AFC.

Breer has lived in the Boston area most of his life and is a Patriots fan as well as a respected journalist.
"Foxboro keeps trying to modernize and move with modern trends. The problem is that the Gillette Stadium cannot be expanded and as much as they attempt to modernize, not having the space will always be a problem. That comes to light when players see the complexes that exist in newer and larger stadiums such as Las Vegas and Los Angeles. It's a hurdle that must be considered when trying to sign free agents or even making a trade that requires the Patriots to negotiate a new contract. Money is not always the answer."

It was on the Radio here last week about these kids coming out of the bigger schools, the schools get new equipment and refurbished facilities every few years and they far outshine what NFL teams have in most cases.

That's pitiful.

 

[YankeeRebel]

It was on the Radio here last week about these kids coming out of the bigger schools, the schools get new equipment and refurbished facilities every few years and they far outshine what NFL teams have in most cases.

That's pitiful.

Do you know how much money these universities make of off football. The numbers are staggering. Not to mention monies from the state, and alum. NFL monies pale in comparison

 

[Yankee Traveler]

Do you know how much money these universities make of off football. The numbers are staggering. Not to mention monies from the state, and alum. NFL monies pale in comparison

Yeah, It's pitiful in the sense that they are printing money and the cost of an education is staggering.

 

[YankeeRebel]

Yeah, It's pitiful in the sense that they are printing money and the cost of an education is staggering.

Printing Money? You think the states and athletic departments are printing money? And yes the cost of an education is staggering, as I have mentioned before the greatest divide in America is not ethnicity it's wealth and exurbanite cost of education is a means to insure the divide's stay in place

 

[Yankee Traveler]

Printing Money? You think the states and athletic departments are printing money? And yes the cost of an education is staggering, as I have mentioned before the greatest divide in America is not ethnicity it's wealth and exurbanite cost of education is a means to insure the divide's stay in place

Yeah the big schools are absolutely just printing money.

 

[YankeeRebel]

Yeah the big schools are absolutely just printing money.

I guess I am not following your train of thought.

 

[Southieinnc]

Yeah the big schools are absolutely just printing money.

figuratively

 

[BigKen]

The closer that the free agency tampering period and signing period get, the more I think that Patriots fans get prepared for big disappointments.

So far, this front office hasn't been willing to extend itself and get any of the guys who are now on an open market. Deebo Samuel, Joe Thuney or even Christian Kirk. All three could have been Patriots for their picks in the same round.

Before any of you go ballistic, Thuney at 32 is better than any OL the Patriots have on their roster right now.

For all of you 1970s hippies "Don't trust anyone over 30", 30 years old or $30M dollars, you might want to check the calendar because it's 2025. Yeah, I bought a brand new Ford Torino GT in 1972 for $3339.00. Try buying a brand new car for that today.

The absolute worst possible and probably most likely scenario will be that they miss on Stanley, Robinson and Moore and will be forced to draft
Will Campbell at #4 because they "think" he's their best option. They are sitting in a position to move fast and hard and are analyzing everything as if they want to be sure that public opinion will be positive.

From my cheap seat, I think that they should be pulling out every stop to get Stanley and any other OL that they can plug in immediately, even if it costs them every cap space dollar they have. Protect Maye and the offense will be fine. The WRs on this roster appeared to have sucked big time, but Maye was always throwing in a hurry or on the move and we blamed the WR for running lousy routes or not being where they were supposed to be. Give Maye an extra two seconds and the whole picture changes.

My expectations with Vrabel, Wolfe, Cowden and Highsmith are beginning to become very much lower and I'm preparing to see the exact same roster with a bunch of newbies that everyone will expect to turn this team 180 degrees. Sorry, that turn won't be forty five if they don't get their asses in gear.

I'll tell you all here and now, there isn't one team out there who hasn't made at least twenty calls to agents of every free agent. If the Patriots are waiting for Sunday, They're so far behind the eight ball that they can't see a pocket.

 

[NWPATSFAN]

The closer that the free agency tampering period and signing period get, the more I think that Patriots fans get prepared for big disappointments.

So far, this front office hasn't been willing to extend itself and get any of the guys who are now on an open market. Deebo Samuel, Joe Thuney or even Christian Kirk. All three could have been Patriots for their picks in the same round.

Before any of you go ballistic, Thuney at 32 is better than any OL the Patriots have on their roster right now.

For all of you 1970s hippies "Don't trust anyone over 30", 30 years old or $30M dollars, you might want to check the calendar because it's 2025. Yeah, I bought a brand new Ford Torino GT in 1972 for $3339.00. Try buying a brand new car for that today.

The absolute worst possible and probably most likely scenario will be that they miss on Stanley, Robinson and Moore and will be forced to draft
Will Campbell at #4 because they "think" he's their best option. They are sitting in a position to move fast and hard and are analyzing everything as if they want to be sure that public opinion will be positive.

From my cheap seat, I think that they should be pulling out every stop to get Stanley and any other OL that they can plug in immediately, even if it costs them every cap space dollar they have. Protect Maye and the offense will be fine. The WRs on this roster appeared to have sucked big time, but Maye was always throwing in a hurry or on the move and we blamed the WR for running lousy routes or not being where they were supposed to be. Give Maye an extra two seconds and the whole picture changes.

My expectations with Vrabel, Wolfe, Cowden and Highsmith are beginning to become very much lower and I'm preparing to see the exact same roster with a bunch of newbies that everyone will expect to turn this team 180 degrees. Sorry, that turn won't be forty five if they don't get their asses in gear.

I'll tell you all here and now, there isn't one team out there who hasn't made at least twenty calls to agents of every free agent. If the Patriots are waiting for Sunday, They're so far behind the eight ball that they can't see a pocket.

BK easy boy that BP of yours is going to take more meds than you're already taking to keep from having a heat attack.

First no one knows what the Pats strategy is. We don't know if they've made one call or one hundred.

I think Vrabel and Wolfe are being very cautious and don't want some tampering scandal to derail them.

Most of us are with you. We want them to go after Staley and or Robinson. Spend it RK spend it.

Thuney is on his last legs and isn't going to fix the T issues NE has. Deebo would've been ok but meh, not really needed. Kirk would've been a nice sneaky pick up. That deal came out of nowhere.

I believe the WR group is ok. They improved quite a bit near the end of the year. Early on their problems was just plain dropping the ball. Had zero to do with protection, time or routes.

Let FA and the draft play out.

 

[YankeeRebel]

The closer that the free agency tampering period and signing period get, the more I think that Patriots fans get prepared for big disappointments.

So far, this front office hasn't been willing to extend itself and get any of the guys who are now on an open market. Deebo Samuel, Joe Thuney or even Christian Kirk. All three could have been Patriots for their picks in the same round.

Before any of you go ballistic, Thuney at 32 is better than any OL the Patriots have on their roster right now.

For all of you 1970s hippies "Don't trust anyone over 30", 30 years old or $30M dollars, you might want to check the calendar because it's 2025. Yeah, I bought a brand new Ford Torino GT in 1972 for $3339.00. Try buying a brand new car for that today.

The absolute worst possible and probably most likely scenario will be that they miss on Stanley, Robinson and Moore and will be forced to draft
Will Campbell at #4 because they "think" he's their best option. They are sitting in a position to move fast and hard and are analyzing everything as if they want to be sure that public opinion will be positive.

From my cheap seat, I think that they should be pulling out every stop to get Stanley and any other OL that they can plug in immediately, even if it costs them every cap space dollar they have. Protect Maye and the offense will be fine. The WRs on this roster appeared to have sucked big time, but Maye was always throwing in a hurry or on the move and we blamed the WR for running lousy routes or not being where they were supposed to be. Give Maye an extra two seconds and the whole picture changes.

My expectations with Vrabel, Wolfe, Cowden and Highsmith are beginning to become very much lower and I'm preparing to see the exact same roster with a bunch of newbies that everyone will expect to turn this team 180 degrees. Sorry, that turn won't be forty five if they don't get their asses in gear.

I'll tell you all here and now, there isn't one team out there who hasn't made at least twenty calls to agents of every free agent. If the Patriots are waiting for Sunday, They're so far behind the eight ball that they can't see a pocket.

This team does not need to get older it needs to get younger. So Thuney at 32 does not make a lot of sense to me.

You say the worse scenario as it relates to the T position. How is drafting the best OT in the draft which we can get for less than Stanley and have for five years the worse case scenario? If, as you said they think he's their best option why wouldn't any team pursue their best option? A lot of people see Cambell as the real deal, whether or not he will be we won't know.

I would like to see the Pats land Josh Sweat, Jevon Holland and Chris Godwin then if Jakobi comes back great. I would much rather draft T and IOL build the line through the draft.

 

[BigKen]

Spend it RK spend it.

You just stuck a needle in my ass.............

That just might be the clump in the pipe that's preventing everything from moving.

 

[Yankee Traveler]

The closer that the free agency tampering period and signing period get, the more I think that Patriots fans get prepared for big disappointments.

Yeah well Boston fans are notoriously quick to go from "Greatest Team EVAH!!" to "YOU SUCK!!!"

So far, this front office hasn't been willing to extend itself and get any of the guys who are now on an open market. Deebo Samuel, Joe Thuney or even Christian Kirk. All three could have been Patriots for their picks in the same round.

We also don't know if Thuney had any input.

Before any of you go ballistic, Thuney at 32 is better than any OL the Patriots have on their roster right now.

Agreed

For all of you 1970s hippies "Don't trust anyone over 30", 30 years old or $30M dollars, you might want to check the calendar because it's 2025. Yeah, I bought a brand new Ford Torino GT in 1972 for $3339.00. Try buying a brand new car for that today.

I had a '76 Torino that I paid $200 for in 1981.

The absolute worst possible and probably most likely scenario will be that they miss on Stanley, Robinson and Moore and will be forced to draft
Will Campbell at #4 because they "think" he's their best option. They are sitting in a position to move fast and hard and are analyzing everything as if they want to be sure that public opinion will be positive.

I hope they take Scar's advice and draft someone who can sack or score at #4.

From my cheap seat, I think that they should be pulling out every stop to get Stanley and any other OL that they can plug in immediately, even if it costs them every cap space dollar they have. Protect Maye and the offense will be fine. The WRs on this roster appeared to have sucked big time, but Maye was always throwing in a hurry or on the move and we blamed the WR for running lousy routes or not being where they were supposed to be. Give Maye an extra two seconds and the whole picture changes.

Agree 100%.

My expectations with Vrabel, Wolfe, Cowden and Highsmith are beginning to become very much lower and I'm preparing to see the exact same roster with a bunch of newbies that everyone will expect to turn this team 180 degrees. Sorry, that turn won't be forty five if they don't get their asses in gear.

I'll tell you all here and now, there isn't one team out there who hasn't made at least twenty calls to agents of every free agent. If the Patriots are waiting for Sunday, They're so far behind the eight ball that they can't see a pocket.

Time will tell.

If you set your expectations low it's easier to be happy when they are met.