What Would You Do?

[TKO]

The Pats have the following UFAs to decide on when this year is over:

Talib, Edelman, Wendell, Blount

Keep in mind some names they have looming as UFAs in 2015:

Cannon, Connolly, Ghost, Ridley, Vereen, Wilfork, McCourty, Gregory, Kelly, Mallett, Solder, Slater

 

[JDM]

That's a lot next year.

Extend talib, Blount, Edelman. Offer extensions to vereen, Mallett, solder, a short one to Wilfork, and cannon. Slater will be cheap so can get one too.

 

[briz almighty]

talib is a must i will be pissed if they lowball him afraid of injuries or character. he balled this year and proved hes a #1 corner. blount might be the new franchise rb we been looking for, you know i been wanting one for forever krafty. hes like earl cambell that can take it to the house. sign him longterm im done with ridley starting, although i do like him as a very good backup and depth. edelman gunna be tough i think he will get some good offers but we got to keep him. elite punt returner and new slot, amendola still dont know what hes gunna give us brady and him seem not to be on the same page yet.

 

[TKO]

Right off the bat I'd say try to sign Talib and Blount. I love Edelman but if Amendola can stay healthy..lalala...he can take Edelman's spot. As far as Wendell goes...Connolly can play OC and Cannon can play OG so he may be gone.

I'd try to sign Talib and Blount and see what the market is for Edelman.

 

[TKO]

talib is a must i will be pissed if they lowball him afraid of injuries or character. he balled this year and proved hes a #1 corner. blount might be the new franchise rb we been looking for, you know i been wanting one for forever krafty. hes like earl cambell that can take it to the house. sign him longterm im done with ridley starting, although i do like him as a very good backup and depth. edelman gunna be tough i think he will get some good offers but we got to keep him. elite punt returner and new slot, amendola still dont know what hes gunna give us brady and him seem not to be on the same page yet.

I don't watch much college ball but I pay attention to the Senior Bowl and the week of practice leading up to it and Blount was the man...he still is.

 

[JDM]

Right off the bat I'd say try to sign Talib and Blount. I love Edelman but if Amendola can stay healthy..lalala...he can take Edelman's spot. As far as Wendell goes...Connolly can play OC and Cannon can play OG so he may be gone.

I'd try to sign Talib and Blount and see what the market is for Edelman.

Edelman's better and probably cheaper than amendola.

 

[briz almighty]

in a league where kickoffs are all but eliminated punt returners are now the studs. we got one of the best in the league that will boost edelmans value. 100 receptions and a 1000 yards will hurt to. he will get alot more offers that he did last offseason. id almost overpay for him cuz i dont want to lose his punt returns.

 

[BigKen]

Amendola can't play 16 games, never has, never will. Edleman is making $750,000 this year. I think he'd stay for 5 years $17.5M. Blount should be a reasonable signing. He drives a 1970 Chevy Caprice Classic and is a pretty down to earth guy. Talib is the tough one. He resigned a one year deal to prove he was as good as advertised. He missed a little time with a hip problem that is still bothering him but the jets would sign him just to piss off the Patriots and their fan base. I think he'd stay for 3-4 years at $8M per, but the Patriots can't screw around. Wendell has missed time and has never played a full season. I think he'll resign for a small pay increase. You can't worry about 2015. Age, injuries and poor play or outstanding play will determine what happens.

 

[JDM]

Amendola can't play 16 games, never has, never will. Edleman is making $750,000 this year. I think he'd stay for 5 years $17.5M. Blount should be a reasonable signing. He drives a 1970 Chevy Caprice Classic and is a pretty down to earth guy. Talib is the tough one. He resigned a one year deal to prove he was as good as advertised. He missed a little time with a hip problem that is still bothering him but the jets would sign him just to piss off the Patriots and their fan base. I think he'd stay for 3-4 years at $8M per, but the Patriots can't screw around. Wendell has missed time and has never played a full season. I think he'll resign for a small pay increase. You can't worry about 2015. Age, injuries and poor play or outstanding play will determine what happens.

A few of those guys have the potential to give much more team friendly deals if you get them now. I don't go all out, but I float some offers and see what sticks.

 

[SteelersPride]

blount would have to be cheap IMHO i dont see him as a stud, you can get his production from a FA or late round pick.

Talib you need to sign now

 

[JDM]

I didn't look at the whole free agent list, but spikes needs back if the cash is reasonable too.

 

[briz almighty]

blount would have to be cheap IMHO i dont see him as a stud, you can get his production from a FA or late round pick.

Talib you need to sign now

 

[rehone]

Good question

They cut Amendola and they lose CAP space according to Miguel's CAP page

Miguel's UNOFFICIAL 2014 Patriots Salary Cap Information Page it would cost $2 million extra to cut him.

I agree with signing Talib, Edelman and Blount. The question is CAP space but there are places where they can recover CAP space.

Talib is the best corner the Pats have had since Ty Law and IMHO has had a better year this year than Law ever had. His flexibility and smarts enable him to cover Tight Ends like Graham or shut down receivers like he has.

Blount is the big back Briz and I have wanted forever. That Corey Dillon type back who always seems to get a yard regardless of the situation. I have not seen a Pats running back in the kind of beast mode we witnessed Sunday ever. He literally carried 3 or 4 tacklers 4 yards extra each time and they wanted nothing to do with him by the end of the game and Blount has low mileage and he seems happy here.

Edelman is a tougher case. Can they afford to have edelman and Amendola making Amendola kind of money?

The CAP goes up to #126.3 million next year and Pats can cut the following guys for CAP space.

Sopoaga for $2 million

Gregory for $1.855 million


They can redo Vince who has a $7.5 million CAP hit which is all salary snce it is his last year of contract. A new extension could save $4-5 million.

With rollover money from this year Pats could get around $12-15 million under the CAP or maybe a little more.

Personally I think keeping all three is important. Blount might be the least important except 250 pound backs with his speed and agility and low miles are hard to find. There is no question he is our best running back and there seems to be no question that Talib and Blount love it here and like playing for BB and like being on the same team. Sign Blount first and Talib might just follow.

All of this is CAP space dependent.

 

[JDM]

Even costing an extra 2 mil, it's possible longer term we save money that way. Especially next year, we have a lot of guys opening up that we'll need to resign/replace.

 

[briz almighty]

i know right rehone? how long have we been wanting that franchise back? seems like for the last 5 drafts or so. they never add a stud, they just run mediocre backs and the run game does squat at the end of the season against the best teams. we become one dimensional with the pass then teams just blitz brady like nuts and we get shut down. it finally feels like we got a back that can do damage against the better teams. when we need to run we can run it. takes some pressure off brady. i was excited when they added blount, bb found a way to get that kind of back we need. i didnt see it coming was looking in the drafts for that back. it was pure genius by bb to sniff out blount and make that trade.

 

[TKO]

Good question

They cut Amendola and they lose CAP space according to Miguel's CAP page

Miguel's UNOFFICIAL 2014 Patriots Salary Cap Information Page it would cost $2 million extra to cut him.

I agree with signing Talib, Edelman and Blount. The question is CAP space but there are places where they can recover CAP space.

Talib is the best corner the Pats have had since Ty Law and IMHO has had a better year this year than Law ever had. His flexibility and smarts enable him to cover Tight Ends like Graham or shut down receivers like he has.

Blount is the big back Briz and I have wanted forever. That Corey Dillon type back who always seems to get a yard regardless of the situation. I have not seen a Pats running back in the kind of beast mode we witnessed Sunday ever. He literally carried 3 or 4 tacklers 4 yards extra each time and they wanted nothing to do with him by the end of the game and Blount has low mileage and he seems happy here.

Edelman is a tougher case. Can they afford to have edelman and Amendola making Amendola kind of money?

The CAP goes up to #126.3 million next year and Pats can cut the following guys for CAP space.

Sopoaga for $2 million

Gregory for $1.855 million


They can redo Vince who has a $7.5 million CAP hit which is all salary snce it is his last year of contract. A new extension could save $4-5 million.

With rollover money from this year Pats could get around $12-15 million under the CAP or maybe a little more.

Personally I think keeping all three is important. Blount might be the least important except 250 pound backs with his speed and agility and low miles are hard to find. There is no question he is our best running back and there seems to be no question that Talib and Blount love it here and like playing for BB and like being on the same team. Sign Blount first and Talib might just follow.

All of this is CAP space dependent.

Good post Rehone, I though Miguel stopped updating his cap pages...maybe due to illness? We all pretty much agree Talib is mandatory and Blount is also a good choice. Vereen and Ridley will both be in a contract year so the RB stable will be set for 2014.

 

[Bruschi_Warrior]

This is what I would do:

Two of the following three will not be back when their contracts are up: Wendell, Cannon and Svitek unless it is at a fraction of their 2013 cost. Solder is extended. Mount Zus is extended.

Same goes for Spikes. He will sign to a cap-friendly deal or he is gone.

Edelman will be extended. 3 years, $18 million will get that done.

I am restructuring Wilfork and he gets a 1 or 2 year extension. Siliga is extended. Sopoaga will be a cap casualty.

Gostkowski is extended and restructured (if restructuring is necessary which is doubtful).

Gregory is cut. McCourty is cut unless there are no other viable options at free safety in 2015. Talib is NOT extended because of price.

Slater is extended.

Chandler Jones is extended.

Vereen, Ridley and Blount are each extended. Bolden signs a cap-friendly deal or he is gone.

Mallett is extended.

 

[TKO]

This is what I would do:

Two of the following three will not be back when their contracts are up: Wendell, Cannon and Svitek unless it is at a fraction of their 2013 cost. Solder is extended. Mount Zus is extended.

Same goes for Spikes. He will sign to a cap-friendly deal or he is gone.

Edelman will be extended. 3 years, $18 million will get that done.

I am restructuring Wilfork and he gets a 1 or 2 year extension. Siliga is extended. Sopoaga will be a cap casualty.

Gostkowski is extended and restructured (if restructuring is necessary which is doubtful).

Gregory is cut. McCourty is cut unless there are no other viable options at free safety in 2015. Talib is NOT extended because of price.

Slater is extended.

Chandler Jones is extended.

Vereen, Ridley and Blount are each extended. Bolden signs a cap-friendly deal or he is gone.

Mallett is extended.

They might get some more room from Hernandez:

“Whenever the commissioner [Roger Goodell], after notice and hearing, decides that an owner, shareholder, partner or holder of an interest in a member club, or any player, coach, officer, director or employee thereof, or an officer, employee or official of the league has either violated the constitution and bylaws of the league or has been or is guilty of conduct detrimental to the welfare of the league or professional football, then the commissioner shall have complete authority to: Cancel any contract or agreement of such person with the league or with any member thereof.”

Article 4, Section 9 of the 2011 Collective Bargaining Agreement, a player who is "unavailable to the team due to conduct by him that results in his incarceration" has committed a "forfeitable breach" and may be required to forfeit the signing bonus (or roster bonus, option bonus, reporting bonus) for each year that a breach occurs. If Hernandez is convicted of a crime and serves time, and had the Patriots retained his rights for the duration of his incarceration, the Patriots would have a much clearer path to recoup the $10.05 million in bonus money.

 

[Bruschi_Warrior]

They might get some more room from Hernandez:

“Whenever the commissioner [Roger Goodell], after notice and hearing, decides that an owner, shareholder, partner or holder of an interest in a member club, or any player, coach, officer, director or employee thereof, or an officer, employee or official of the league has either violated the constitution and bylaws of the league or has been or is guilty of conduct detrimental to the welfare of the league or professional football, then the commissioner shall have complete authority to: Cancel any contract or agreement of such person with the league or with any member thereof.”

Article 4, Section 9 of the 2011 Collective Bargaining Agreement, a player who is "unavailable to the team due to conduct by him that results in his incarceration" has committed a "forfeitable breach" and may be required to forfeit the signing bonus (or roster bonus, option bonus, reporting bonus) for each year that a breach occurs. If Hernandez is convicted of a crime and serves time, and had the Patriots retained his rights for the duration of his incarceration, the Patriots would have a much clearer path to recoup the $10.05 million in bonus money.

This needs to happen. If it happens, then Talib signing is a lot more plausible.

 

[TKO]

This needs to happen. If it happens, then Talib signing is a lot more plausible.

Without it, I think they take at least a $7.5 mil cap hit because of his bonus. The lawyers will be busy...