Intriguing possibility...

[MrDoc420]

If Moore indeed signs somewhere else, I'd really like to see this. Webster has a nasty streak to him, and next to Ward they could be a really nice duo. Webster can fly too and would probably be better in coverage coming out of the FS spot than Moore. Dude likes to hit too I'm curious to see what kind of money teams offer Moore.

Report: Kayvon Webster moving to safety if Rahim Moore out - Mile High Report

 

[DownSetHutch]

This sounds like a good move. I love having 2 physical safeties on the field. WRs and TEs will have to think about them just a little bit more when coming across the middle. Steve Atwater and Dennis Smith put fear into opposing teams WRs, TEs, and even RBs, and that had an affect on offenses before they even stepped onto the field.

Hopefully, if this move happens, Webster will be able to adjust to the safety role. He may end up being more suited to play safety than CB, but I guess we'll find out if and when it happens.

 

[cdumler7]

I read this earlier and actually really like the idea! Now I know it is not the easiest to switch positions but Webster actually played Safety for some of college and all of high school so it is not completely new. I would say he has some major advantages over that of Moore in he is the better tackler, harder hitter, faster player, and better coverage skills for the FS position. The only question I would have is his ability to drop back to the middle zone and read and react. At the same time though probably the biggest issue for Moore was he was not the best at reading angles. He was still playing at his college speed thinking that would work for the pros and at times allowed guys to get deep on him. At least with Webster he has that little more speed to make up for if he doesn't take the best angle.

Throw in this is the cheaper option for the team so they can hopefully then keep a couple of the other guys.

 

[TDs3nOut]

If Moore indeed signs somewhere else, I'd really like to see this. Webster has a nasty streak to him, and next to Ward they could be a really nice duo. Webster can fly too and would probably be better in coverage coming out of the FS spot than Moore. Dude likes to hit too I'm curious to see what kind of money teams offer Moore.

Report: Kayvon Webster moving to safety if Rahim Moore out - Mile High Report

The guy who wrote that article mentions several times that Moore is gone unless he "takes a hometown discount". Not at all clear to me that Moore will get big offers in free agency. I know he has had a few big moments, but overall he seems to me inconsistent at best.

 

[MrDoc420]

The guy who wrote that article mentions several times that Moore is gone unless he "takes a hometown discount". Not at all clear to me that Moore will get big offers in free agency. I know he has had a few big moments, but overall he seems to me inconsistent at best.

Moore obviously won't get any sort of offer like Jarius Byrd, but I could see a team giving him a 4 year/$16-$18 mil deal and us letting him walk. He'll always be remembered for his bonehead Jacoby Jones screw up, but outside of 2-3 games this year, he played very well IMO. I could see him leaving on a deal similar to what Wesley Woodyard got.

 

[cdumler7]

The thing going for Moore this year is the Safety FA and draft class are both lacking any real star power. Obviously there is McCourty for the Patriots but he will get tagged if not signed to a long-term deal so really even with Moore being an average Safety he is probably the best one that will actually hit the market. Now there are a couple of safeties in the draft that intrigue me but most of them look like they need a year or two just learning the NFL game to really be an impact type player.

 

[notorious98]

The thing going for Moore this year is the Safety FA and draft class are both lacking any real star power. Obviously there is McCourty for the Patriots but he will get tagged if not signed to a long-term deal so really even with Moore being an average Safety he is probably the best one that will actually hit the market. Now there are a couple of safeties in the draft that intrigue me but most of them look like they need a year or two just learning the NFL game to really be an impact type player.

Unless the Pats do some pretty major restructuring, they won't be able to afford McCourty. They're mostly likely going to be way over the cap. Even if the cap increased by $20 million, the Pats would still be over the cap. It's more likely that the cap increases by half that. I just don't see them having the money to sign McCourty.

 

[WalkerBoh]

On top of that, Brady's recent restructuring increases his cap number by $1 MM per year. So that well's run dry for the time being.

 

[cdumler7]

Unless the Pats do some pretty major restructuring, they won't be able to afford McCourty. They're mostly likely going to be way over the cap. Even if the cap increased by $20 million, the Pats would still be over the cap. It's more likely that the cap increases by half that. I just don't see them having the money to sign McCourty.

Oh there is plenty they can do to get McCourty signed. They would not still be over the Cap that much. Right now they have $146 million in contracts signed. The $140 million Cap is a very low estimate and most likely will be closer to $143 million. So that means they are $3 million over the Cap. Cutting Revis saves them $25 million right off the bat. There is no way they go into this next season paying him that much. So then that means they have $17 million in freed up cap space at that point. Now given most teams like to have about $5 million in extra cap space in case of injuries so take that down to about $12 million in actual FA spending money. Then account for draft picks which actually only adds about $2 million a year when you add those in but subtract the contracts that then don't count against the cap because of being taken out of the top-51 contracts. So around $10 million then. Most likely then the Pats will either restructure or cut Wilfork and Mayo for this upcoming season. I would bet one of those two is cut with Wilfork being the likely choice as there is not much dead money in cutting him and it saves around $8 million. That puts them at $18 million. Finally teams can easily get around the big cap hits right off the bat if they want to. Yes it pushes the problem down the road a bit but it is pretty easy to do. Look at last year for the Saints in them signing Byrd even though they had almost nothing cap wise to work with. His first year Cap Hit was only $3.5 million with the rest of the years still being manageable.

 

[notorious98]

Oh there is plenty they can do to get McCourty signed. They would not still be over the Cap that much. Right now they have $146 million in contracts signed. The $140 million Cap is a very low estimate and most likely will be closer to $143 million. So that means they are $3 million over the Cap. Cutting Revis saves them $25 million right off the bat. There is no way they go into this next season paying him that much. So then that means they have $17 million in freed up cap space at that point. Now given most teams like to have about $5 million in extra cap space in case of injuries so take that down to about $12 million in actual FA spending money. Then account for draft picks which actually only adds about $2 million a year when you add those in but subtract the contracts that then don't count against the cap because of being taken out of the top-51 contracts. So around $10 million then. Most likely then the Pats will either restructure or cut Wilfork and Mayo for this upcoming season. I would bet one of those two is cut with Wilfork being the likely choice as there is not much dead money in cutting him and it saves around $8 million. That puts them at $18 million. Finally teams can easily get around the big cap hits right off the bat if they want to. Yes it pushes the problem down the road a bit but it is pretty easy to do. Look at last year for the Saints in them signing Byrd even though they had almost nothing cap wise to work with. His first year Cap Hit was only $3.5 million with the rest of the years still being manageable.

I'm not sure where you got your figures from, but here's overthecap.com

New England Patriots Salary Cap - Over the Cap

It puts their current cap number at $155 million and their top 51 cap number at $151 million.

As far as Revis goes, they won't go into the season with him at $25M, but he's not going to accept anything less than $16M/year. Revis also isn't one to play with a backloaded contract especially with $25M currently on the table. And I don't think the Pats can risk cutting him. Trying to replace him while he likely waltzes back over to Rex could be catastrophic for them. So that shaves $9M off their cap number, taking their top 51 down to $142 million. Let's assume the cap increases $10 million, that puts them $1 million below. They COULD cut Wilfork. Doing that will save them another $8 million. They could tell Mayo he needs to restructure or risk getting cut. If he restructures, it's hard to say what his cap number will be, but I will assume it'll be the same as the dead money against the cap if they cut him. That's another $4 million freed up. That puts them at $130 million. Of course, this is based off the top 51 contracts. The only other guy that has the potential to free up decent money is Nate Solder. Unfortunately, for the Pats, Solder is getting paid middle of the pack for left tackles. Then, let's not forget their free agents. Gostkowski, Connolly, and Vereen are out there as well.

That gives them around $13M to sign draft picks and free agents. Which, of course, is assuming that the cap increase by $10M. That's not much money to work with. Also, franchising McCourty is going to be around $9.5M. Probably just a little north of that.

Looking at spotrac, they have the Pats currently being $4M over the cap with a 2015 salary cap of $142M and only counting the top 51 contracts. It would be $7M if you count all contracts. I forgot about the roll over money that the Pats have.

 

[cdumler7]

Not sure why they are getting 2 different numbers but this is the place I got my number on OverTheCap...

NFL Salary Cap Space | Over The Cap

They have them around $146 million on this spot.

Also with Revis he is not an idiot and knows Signing Bonus/Guaranteed Money is where the contract really is at. I'm pretty sure this is a big reason they changed up Brady's contract in free up some more cash as to be able to offer a very big signing bonus to a guy like Revis. This then would mean his 1st year Cap Hit would be maybe $5-7 million but he would still make close to that $20-25 million he is supposed to make this year. Now for the Patriots it puts them in a bad spot in the sense of he will be a huge dead money risk especially for a guy that loves to hold out but it is how they can get that type of deal done where Revis is happy with what he is getting paid while also keeping his cap number low this year and probably having year 3 or so be the big cap hit. This then allows them to also resign McCourty even if he is tagged while they work on a long-term contract.

It isn't impossible for them to have both back. It limits them in future years a bit but not enough to destroy them. Revis becomes a huge risk/reward type player for them but I think they saw what he brings to the table this year and will find him to be worth it for the next few years as they still have the Brady window.

 

[randymon]

The more I`ve been hearing regarding salary cap/resigning players the more it seems that nothing is impossible. It`s all about how you restruct contracts,etc. From what I`ve been hearing of late...if there`s a will, it can be done. You just got to be very smart,innovative and resilient in negotiations and planning down the rd.