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Post by bluemeii on Mar 2, 2015 14:54:21 GMT -5
Will they be able to afford McCourty now on the open market? Not sure, guess they need to decide on what to do with Revis. Think the call on the $25 mil gotta be done by next week so we'll see.
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BRV
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Post by BRV on Mar 2, 2015 15:21:43 GMT -5
Will they be able to afford McCourty now on the open market? Not sure, guess they need to decide on what to do with Revis. Think the call on the $25 mil gotta be done by next week so we'll see. I'm equal parts fine and frustrated with the Patriots placing the franchise tag on Stephen Gostkowski. As I said a few weeks ago, kickers, much like punters or referees, aren't all that noticeable until you've got a bad one, and the Patriots are fortunate to have one of the best in the league. He has more than filled the cleats left behind after Adam Vinatieri departed in 2006, and if the Patriots let him walk and lost him in free agency, their options would have been to draft a kicker, sign an undrafted kicker following the draft, or commit to Jay Feely, Mike Nugent, Matt Prater, or Ryan Succop in free agency. So if it comes down to keeping Gostkowski via the franchise tag or biting my fingernails any time Matt Prater has to be called upon to make a crucial field goal, I'll take Gostkowski all day. That being said, I would rather have seen the Patriots lock in Devin McCourty. Now that he's entering free agency as the best safety on the market, he will likely bring in a contract in the neighborhood of what Earl Thomas received from Seattle or what New Orleans gave Jairus Byrd. To re-sign McCourty, now that he has 31 other suitors, they're going to have to cut a rather sizable check or risk losing him. The one aside is that in the Patriots' defense, McCourty plays deep, deep, deep centerfield, and the only time he's really ever called upon to make a play is when the opposing quarterback airs it out and a cornerback has been beat. Duron Harmon sort of came on at the end of the regular season and had the game-saving interception against the Ravens in the Divisional Round, so I wonder if the Patriots feel comfortable with Harmon filling the void and letting McCourty walk. Obviously, though, the key focus right now (and of the entire off-season) has been and will continue to be what the Patriots do with Darrelle Revis. From all indications, they aren't going to pay him that option year with the $25 million cap hit, so he likely may hit free agency. However, the Patriots will have the flexibility to target him in free agency and give him the contract he wants, to make him the highest-paid cornerback in the league. The one problem is that with Revis in free agency, will someone like Buffalo or the Jets come swooping in with a contract that blows everyone out of the water? If Woody Johnson gives Revis a contract that makes him the highest paid defensive player in football (imagine six years, $110 million, $40 million guaranteed), then he'll go back to the Meadowlands. But I think short of being completely bowled over, the Patriots will bring Revis back. They saw how important he is and how he single-handedly transforms a defense and I'd like to think they understand how valuable that is, to have one player who is such a force that his mere presence cuts off half of the field.
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Post by bluemeii on Mar 2, 2015 15:43:54 GMT -5
Will they be able to afford McCourty now on the open market? Not sure, guess they need to decide on what to do with Revis. Think the call on the $25 mil gotta be done by next week so we'll see. I'm equal parts fine and frustrated with the Patriots placing the franchise tag on Stephen Gostkowski. As I said a few weeks ago, kickers, much like punters or referees, aren't all that noticeable until you've got a bad one, and the Patriots are fortunate to have one of the best in the league. He has more than filled the cleats left behind after Adam Vinatieri departed in 2006, and if the Patriots let him walk and lost him in free agency, their options would have been to draft a kicker, sign an undrafted kicker following the draft, or commit to Jay Feely, Mike Nugent, Matt Prater, or Ryan Succop in free agency. So if it comes down to keeping Gostkowski via the franchise tag or biting my fingernails any time Matt Prater has to be called upon to make a crucial field goal, I'll take Gostkowski all day. That being said, I would rather have seen the Patriots lock in Devin McCourty. Now that he's entering free agency as the best safety on the market, he will likely bring in a contract in the neighborhood of what Earl Thomas received from Seattle or what New Orleans gave Jairus Byrd. To re-sign McCourty, now that he has 31 other suitors, they're going to have to cut a rather sizable check or risk losing him. The one aside is that in the Patriots' defense, McCourty plays deep, deep, deep centerfield, and the only time he's really ever called upon to make a play is when the opposing quarterback airs it out and a cornerback has been beat. Duron Harmon sort of came on at the end of the regular season and had the game-saving interception against the Ravens in the Divisional Round, so I wonder if the Patriots feel comfortable with Harmon filling the void and letting McCourty walk. Obviously, though, the key focus right now (and of the entire off-season) has been and will continue to be what the Patriots do with Darrelle Revis. From all indications, they aren't going to pay him that option year with the $25 million cap hit, so he likely may hit free agency. However, the Patriots will have the flexibility to target him in free agency and give him the contract he wants, to make him the highest-paid cornerback in the league. The one problem is that with Revis in free agency, will someone like Buffalo or the Jets come swooping in with a contract that blows everyone out of the water? If Woody Johnson gives Revis a contract that makes him the highest paid defensive player in football (imagine six years, $110 million, $40 million guaranteed), then he'll go back to the Meadowlands. But I think short of being completely bowled over, the Patriots will bring Revis back. They saw how important he is and how he single-handedly transforms a defense and I'd like to think they understand how valuable that is, to have one player who is such a force that his mere presence cuts off half of the field. Gonna have to disagree with the space thing though. Agree with most of what you said though concerning Revis. With the cap number disclosed, and including Revis' option and not yet including Gustkowski's cap number they are over $7million over as of now. If you though in the cap number for the kicker of 4.1 that's 11.1 million. Subtract 20 million for the no Revis option ($5million is dead no matter what due to pro-rated bonus) that gives them Apx. $9m left. They could get rid of Solder or Browner or both to open up Cap space as neither carries a cap penalty. Maybe another Brady rework to free up some (almost half his cap number is in pro rated bonus so that stays). I just don't know how it's gonna work to keep McCourtey and especially Revis without cutting either of those 2 or Wolfolk. Interesting to see but one thing about Revis, as most already learned. He will chase the dollars...period. I know what he says, but the guy is all about getting the big bucks.
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BRV
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Post by BRV on Mar 2, 2015 16:12:08 GMT -5
Gonna have to disagree with the space thing though. Agree with most of what you said though concerning Revis. With the cap number disclosed, and including Revis' option and not yet including Gustkowski's cap number they are over $7million over as of now. If you though in the cap number for the kicker of 4.1 that's 11.1 million. Subtract 20 million for the no Revis option ($5million is dead no matter what due to pro-rated bonus) that gives them Apx. $9m left. They could get rid of Solder or Browner or both to open up Cap space as neither carries a cap penalty. Maybe another Brady rework to free up some (almost half his cap number is in pro rated bonus so that stays). I just don't know how it's gonna work to keep McCourtey and especially Revis without cutting either of those 2 or Wolfolk. Interesting to see but one thing about Revis, as most already learned. He will chase the dollars...period. I know what he says, but the guy is all about getting the big bucks. There are plenty of ways to open up cap space to accommodate for Darrelle Revis and Devin McCourty. In fact, the Patriots find themselves in a scenario in which they have to hand out actual dollars, not cap dollars, this off-season to hit the threshold, or else they are otherwise going to be penalized. NESN's Doug Kyed on Twitter surmised that contracts with large signing bonuses spread out can make sense for the team. He also theorized that they have to make "one or two big moves" this off-season, otherwise they're giving away cash for free because of the penalty. Cap space can be maneuvered in a number of different ways, and the Patriots have plenty of options to find that available space to keep Revis and McCourty. Jerod Mayo will likely be asked to take a pay cut or be released. The same can be expected for Vince Wilfork and Danny Amendola. Nate Solder's contract could be restructured. There are ways to save money and save space. As for Revis, I agree, now that he has his Super Bowl victory, he's going to be looking for every last dollar and cent, and I'd like to think the Patriots know that, which is why they'll pay him commensurate with the top cornerbacks in the league, if not a contract that supersedes all other cornerbacks. The one variable is if there is that one team out there who is willing to go so far above and beyond that Revis has no choice but to accept. Like I mentioned earlier, a team could swoop in and blow his hair back with a $100+ million contract with $40 million guaranteed. But short of that, unless the Patriots really, really nickel and dime him, I think he comes back to Foxboro.
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Post by bluemeii on Mar 2, 2015 16:42:02 GMT -5
Gonna have to disagree with the space thing though. Agree with most of what you said though concerning Revis. With the cap number disclosed, and including Revis' option and not yet including Gustkowski's cap number they are over $7million over as of now. If you though in the cap number for the kicker of 4.1 that's 11.1 million. Subtract 20 million for the no Revis option ($5million is dead no matter what due to pro-rated bonus) that gives them Apx. $9m left. They could get rid of Solder or Browner or both to open up Cap space as neither carries a cap penalty. Maybe another Brady rework to free up some (almost half his cap number is in pro rated bonus so that stays). I just don't know how it's gonna work to keep McCourtey and especially Revis without cutting either of those 2 or Wolfolk. Interesting to see but one thing about Revis, as most already learned. He will chase the dollars...period. I know what he says, but the guy is all about getting the big bucks. There are plenty of ways to open up cap space to accommodate for Darrelle Revis and Devin McCourty. In fact, the Patriots find themselves in a scenario in which they have to hand out actual dollars, not cap dollars, this off-season to hit the threshold, or else they are otherwise going to be penalized. NESN's Doug Kyed on Twitter surmised that contracts with large signing bonuses spread out can make sense for the team. He also theorized that they have to make "one or two big moves" this off-season, otherwise they're giving away cash for free because of the penalty. Cap space can be maneuvered in a number of different ways, and the Patriots have plenty of options to find that available space to keep Revis and McCourty. Jerod Mayo will likely be asked to take a pay cut or be released. The same can be expected for Vince Wilfork and Danny Amendola. Nate Solder's contract could be restructured. There are ways to save money and save space. As for Revis, I agree, now that he has his Super Bowl victory, he's going to be looking for every last dollar and cent, and I'd like to think the Patriots know that, which is why they'll pay him commensurate with the top cornerbacks in the league, if not a contract that supersedes all other cornerbacks. The one variable is if there is that one team out there who is willing to go so far above and beyond that Revis has no choice but to accept. Like I mentioned earlier, a team could swoop in and blow his hair back with a $100+ million contract with $40 million guaranteed. But short of that, unless the Patriots really, really nickel and dime him, I think he comes back to Foxboro. I like talking cap Lets use Mayo for an example. Yes they could cut him, he's still going to count 3.6 m against this years cap and 2.4 against next years whether they cut him or not. (edit : actually those hits are a post June 1 cut. If they cut him pre June 1 it's 6m hit this year as the 2 years of prorated bonus gets rolled into this year). They can rework his contract, give him a paycut, whatever. That money isn't going away no matter what they do because of his $21 million dollar bonus from back in 2011. It's the Pats handing out the huge bonuses in previous years that makes me wonder why this guy is advocating doing more of it. Hell you got Mankins on your books for 4m of cap space this year because of the bonus in his contract from back in 2011. Amendola is another one. 3.6 million hit this year with a cut due to 3 more years of signing bonus, or a post June 1 cut of 1.2 on the books for the next 3 years. Guess for the Pats it's just a matter of how much dead money you can sit with. Not cheering for it, but I can see a team like the Raiders or Jets chucking a 18-20 million guaranteed a year deal at him for multiple years. Revis took this esentially one year deal with the Pats to prove to the league he still had it. Now he's going to get paid and it's gonna take more than $40m guaranteed to do that. Hell the Jags are so far under their team cap this year it's amazing how much they have to spend. They still need to add 63 million to their cap just for this year. ****After looking at it some more I see what this guy is getting at. So many virtual dollars ($35.05 million in deferred bonuses plus $4.6m in dead money so essentially $40 million in virtual money) on the teams payroll this year they need to add real dollars this year. For comparison, using the Broncos...cause that's how I roll... have $16.76 million deferred on the cap with less tha $1m dead. Again this is due to the huge signing bonuses given out previously as that money was actually paid then. Those are pretty big numbers. They really have no other choice but to go with bonuses as they can't offer the big contracts for this year. Problem is this just pushes the problem further back. *NOTE - I am not advocating they become this team but just using them as a comparison. This is exactly what happened to the Raiders. Huge signing bonuses that built up and kept getting pushed back until you end up with so much dead money you field a JV team for a decade. Why this could be a big year for the Pats in terms of getting a) To their cash floor and b) staying under the cap due to virtual dollars. Guess this is why those cap guru's get paid the big bucks.
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andrew8798
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Post by andrew8798 on Mar 2, 2015 20:01:15 GMT -5
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport mentions the Cardinals, Colts, and Jaguars as "potential suitors" for free agent DeMarco Murray.
Titans released SS Bernard Pollard.
ESPN Browns reporter Jeremy Fowler reports the team plans to add "at least" one more quarterback despite Friday's signing of Josh McCown.
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Post by OldDirtyBernie on Mar 2, 2015 20:26:25 GMT -5
Bengals have either already hosted or are planning to host Jacoby Jones, with the Titans following.
As a Bengals fan, that's a whole big bag of Meh from me. An upgrade over Tate, sure but our problem isn't our receiving necessarily.
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andrew8798
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Post by andrew8798 on Mar 2, 2015 21:48:38 GMT -5
The Houston Chronicle's John McClain reports the Texans have given Andre Johnson permission to seek a trade, and if one can't be found, he'll be released.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2015 22:56:13 GMT -5
The Houston Chronicle's John McClain reports the Texans have given Andre Johnson permission to seek a trade, and if one can't be found, he'll be released. Seems counter productive to announce that he'll be released if he can't get a trade, why would any team give up anything knowing that he'll be a free agent after he's released?
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Post by Citizen Grimm on Mar 3, 2015 12:52:19 GMT -5
Eagles cut CB Cary Williams. The move gives Philly an extra $6.5 million in cap.
As an Eagles fan, my reaction was thus:
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Post by Vice honcho room temperature on Mar 3, 2015 13:12:37 GMT -5
The Houston Chronicle's John McClain reports the Texans have given Andre Johnson permission to seek a trade, and if one can't be found, he'll be released. Seems counter productive to announce that he'll be released if he can't get a trade, why would any team give up anything knowing that he'll be a free agent after he's released? Because trading for him guarantees his services while waiting for his release means someone else might make a better offer.
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andrew8798
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Post by andrew8798 on Mar 3, 2015 14:56:48 GMT -5
Andre Johnson says he "laughed at" Bill O'Brien after the Texans' coach recently informed him he would only catch around 40 balls if Johnson returned to the team in 2015.
"They gave me my role, and I just laughed at them," Johnson said. "How do you tell a guy who is used to catching 80 balls a year that he was going to catch 40?" O'Brien also told Johnson he "wasn't even likely to be a starter" in 2015. "So I was real honest with him: 'If that's your role for me, you're going to be dealing with a miserable football player,'" Johnson told O'Brien.
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andrew8798
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Post by andrew8798 on Mar 3, 2015 17:06:34 GMT -5
"Several NFL sources" tell the New York Daily News that the Giants may "(consider) a run" at free agent Ndamukong Suh.
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andrew8798
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Post by andrew8798 on Mar 3, 2015 17:46:59 GMT -5
Wilbon just killed the Browns on TV
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Push R Truth
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Post by Push R Truth on Mar 3, 2015 17:53:38 GMT -5
Wilbon just killed the Browns on TV As if they don't kill themselves enough
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Post by MGH on Mar 3, 2015 18:33:50 GMT -5
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Post by Confused Mark Wahlberg on Mar 3, 2015 18:40:53 GMT -5
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Post by Confused Mark Wahlberg on Mar 3, 2015 18:42:03 GMT -5
"Several NFL sources" tell the New York Daily News that the Giants may "(consider) a run" at free agent Ndamukong Suh. Source: Rajah.com
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Post by BR329 on Mar 3, 2015 18:48:01 GMT -5
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Post by Steveweiser on Mar 3, 2015 18:51:41 GMT -5
McCoy must have done something for the Eagles to decide to trade him. Seems utterly dumb to trade one of the best RBs in the league with no quality back lined up, unless they see one they like in the Draft.
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