2017 Patriots FA & Trades Thread

BigSoxFan

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Ha this is exactly what we all said going into 2016. Then Blount ran for ~1,200 yards and 18 TDs.
I'm just getting 2003 Antowain Smith and 2006 Dillon vibes. May be completely irrational at this point but I feel like the cliff is coming soon given his age and body type. We let Smith go at 31. Dillon's last season was his age 32 one. Blount turns 31 in December so definitely possible they go with him for another season.
 

tims4wins

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I'm just getting 2003 Antowain Smith and 2006 Dillon vibes. May be completely irrational at this point but I feel like the cliff is coming soon given his age and body type. We let Smith go at 31. Dillon's last season was his age 32 one. Blount turns 31 in December so definitely possible they go with him for another season.
I don't disagree at all. Just kind of funny that he was an afterthought going into 2016 and did what he did
 

Super Nomario

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I kind of thought the Pats might be interested in Derrick Henry if he'd been there in the second or Kenneth Dixon later (and they traded out shortly after Baltimore picked Dixon). This seems like a good draft to get a big back in the middle rounds - Samaje Perine, Donta Foreman, James Conner, etc.
 

Zososoxfan

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I kind of thought the Pats might be interested in Derrick Henry if he'd been there in the second or Kenneth Dixon later (and they traded out shortly after Baltimore picked Dixon). This seems like a good draft to get a big back in the middle rounds - Samaje Perine, Donta Foreman, James Conner, etc.
Total homer call, but Deveon Smith of Michigan might be another option in the late rounds.
 

Saints Rest

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I'm just getting 2003 Antowain Smith and 2006 Dillon vibes. May be completely irrational at this point but I feel like the cliff is coming soon given his age and body type. We let Smith go at 31. Dillon's last season was his age 32 one. Blount turns 31 in December so definitely possible they go with him for another season.
Smith is a closer comp. By the end of 2002, Smith had had about 1300 carries. LGBT has now had 1168. Dillon, by comparison, was already close to 1900 career carries by the time he came to NE.

I would sign up now for LGBT to have Dillon's 2006 season: 812 yds, 4.1 ypc, 13 TDs;
 

tims4wins

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Latavius Murray is an interesting FA option for the Patriots at RB. He's a big back who could replace Blount's production.
Dude I wrote this an hour ago!

Edit: but what do you think his market will be?

A RB name to keep an eye on could be Latavius Murray. Bigger back at 6'3 220. Caught 41 and 33 passes the last two years. UFA. Just turned 27. Would be a nice signing at the right price, but guessing the market ends up overpaying him.
 

BigSoxFan

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I completely forgot Dillon was that good in 2006.
I need to figure out why I assumed he sucked. Maybe I remember him "looking" slower that year. Or maybe I was blinded by Maroney. Regardless, I think I must just have a RB wandering eye.
 

ZMart100

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I certainly wouldn't use a top pick on a RB, even on a guy like Fournette, but I would like to upgrade at RB. Blount will be cheap and fine as an insurance policy but hopefully somebody else will be brought in to be the lead back.
I would have no problem using a 1-1 on Fournette in a typical draft*. He's the total package- vision, speed, power and elusiveness. To me he looks like a top 15 all time back (I thought Peterson was a slightly better prospect coming out of college, he looked top 5). I wouldn't be comfortable with anything earlier than 1-20 for Cook though.

*I haven't looked closely enough at this draft to say whether I think he's the best player overall.
 

j-man

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u guys need high tower other than SEA and CAR who better at MLB if Bill B does not have a high tower type at MLB u will not repeat even if brady throws 35 td and zero int
 

j-man

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Campbell Ari is going on mr kraft middie east trip i think it going to be NE or DEN for campbell campbell is from col
 

dbn

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u guys need high tower other than SEA and CAR who better at MLB if Bill B does not have a high tower type at MLB u will not repeat even if brady throws 35 td and zero int
I think I agree to an extent. I believe they would be fine with either: Hightower or another Hightower-level MLB; or just a stronger overall LB corps. I suspect it's easier to re-sign Hightower than either replace him or upgrade the entire LB corps, which is where I think I agree with you.
 

jsinger121

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Jared Odrick just got whacked by the Jags. Might be someone worth getting on the cheap.
 

Seels

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A jag in every sense of the word. Not sure what Odrick offers or even where he plays. I guess DE/OLB like Nink? eh. Too small to be DT in this defense and too slow to be an edge rusher. Can't imagine he is anything other than camp fodder at this point in his career.
 

SeoulSoxFan

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Sounds like Amendola is receptive to a pay cut to stay, per Giardi
Tried to tweet this earlier but it failed: Danny Amendola is receptive to having a salary reduction to remain in NE.
This is great news. With the impending Edelman freefall, having Dola back would be a relief.

Not sure which player that has earned more trust as years went on: Dola, Slater, or White.
 

Zososoxfan

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Wasn't sure where to put this, but I was looking up DL pressure numbers and I was surprised that Chris Long led the Pats and was 11th in the NFL in QB hurries with 27 and Sheard wasn't too far behind with 21 (top 25). Alan Branch also had a badass season with top 25 run stuff numbers (FYI Bosa is just ridiculous). Worth noting to this Wolverines fan that Branch and Brandon Graham, who was tied with Bosa for the league lead, played on the same line at Michigan about a decade ago (LaMarr Woodley was on the DL too and David Harris was filling in the gaps at LB). Finally, Malcolm Butler predictably has elite NFL corner statistics with top 10 numbers in INTs + passes defensed with 21.
 

Papelbon's Poutine

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What impending Edelman freefall?
That he will likely get Welkered in the next couple seasons. Guy takes a lot of hard hits and likely has far more concussions than we know about.

I don't see Amendola as much insurance as he has even more injuries with less production and 'willing to take a pay cut' doesn't really mean a whole lot since he was never going to see the $6M+ he was due to begin with. That was just cap restructuring.

If he takes a reduction on what he took home this year, great, but I doubt it. Guy is nails in the postseason but for 23 catches, I'm not sure they should be expending that portion of the cap.
 

Super Nomario

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Not sure which player that has earned more trust as years went on: Dola, Slater, or White.
This is a little silly. Prior to the Super Bowl, Amendola had 136 total receiving yards in 10 games with Brady. He then played great (his best game as a Patriot?) in the Super Bowl, but his resume hardly screams "trust."

That he will likely get Welkered in the next couple seasons. Guy takes a lot of hard hits and likely has far more concussions than we know about.

I don't see Amendola as much insurance as he has even more injuries with less production and 'willing to take a pay cut' doesn't really mean a whole lot since he was never going to see the $6M+ he was due to begin with. That was just cap restructuring.
It would be nice to see a younger guy come in who can push for Amendola's snaps now and eventually take over for Edelman. This seems like a good draft for slot WR, but they've tended to fill that role in FA / trade.
 

tims4wins

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Wasn't sure where to put this, but I was looking up DL pressure numbers and I was surprised that Chris Long led the Pats and was 11th in the NFL in QB hurries with 27 and Sheard wasn't too far behind with 21 (top 25). Alan Branch also had a badass season with top 25 run stuff numbers (FYI Bosa is just ridiculous). Worth noting to this Wolverines fan that Branch and Brandon Graham, who was tied with Bosa for the league lead, played on the same line at Michigan about a decade ago (LaMarr Woodley was on the DL too and David Harris was filling in the gaps at LB). Finally, Malcolm Butler predictably has elite NFL corner statistics with top 10 numbers in INTs + passes defensed with 21.
Off topic but I was at grad school at Michigan for the 2006-2007 seasons and always thought Branch was the best player on that defense (Leon Hall was at CB, too). Lots of future pros. It took Branch a while to find his way, but under BB he has become the player I thought he could become.

Also, Brandon Graham was not on that team. He was drafted in 2010.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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This is a little silly. Prior to the Super Bowl, Amendola had 136 total receiving yards in 10 games with Brady. He then played great (his best game as a Patriot?) in the Super Bowl, but his resume hardly screams "trust."
Trust is hard to define. After watching a bunch of condensed games on Game Pass I did notice that he seems to perform pretty well when things are tightest. I don't know if there are leverage stats for football but I suspect if there were he would do well. He has good playoff stats when the games are tightly contested. I may try to look at snap counts but my guess is that he's a guy who is relied on more when good teams take the other guys away. That he has one fewer playoff TD on a third of the targets as Edelman may be a small sample size issue (and of course one was on a throw from Edelman) or it could mean that this is a reliable guy who can produce against quality opponents who do a good job of game planning in big games for the higher snap count offensive weapons.

That he also has flexibility as a return guy on a team that has had issues whenever Jones or Lewis (or Slater) has to take that role makes me want him back. Your fourth or fifth weapon isn't going to shine in Gillette against the Rams, but when your QB is suspended on the road against a tough NFC team or your top receiver is drawing tricky coverages in the Super Bowl, having a reliable guy with the ability to make tough grabs, seems worth a couple million to me.
 

Zososoxfan

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Off topic but I was at grad school at Michigan for the 2006-2007 seasons and always thought Branch was the best player on that defense (Leon Hall was at CB, too). Lots of future pros. It took Branch a while to find his way, but under BB he has become the player I thought he could become.

Also, Brandon Graham was not on that team. He was drafted in 2010.
He was on the team, but was a true freshman ;)

Future Pats LB Shawn Crable was on that team as was Ravens' LB Prescott Burgess.
 

Van Everyman

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Blount wants to come back:

“I just want to make sure that I go to this free agency with an open mind knowing that I definitely want to go back to New England,” Blount said on NFL Total Access on NFL Network. “I love it there. I love the culture. I love the players. I’ve become close with a lot of the guys. Obviously you know how my running back group is. We’ll cross that bridge whenever we cross it. On that point, I feel great. I’m in amazing shape. I feel like I could play 100 more years if I have to.”
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/02/21/legarrette-blount-definitely-wants-to-stay-in-new-england/
 

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Have to think the vast majority of Blount incentives would be LTBE given the season he just had and the Pats winning the Super Bowl.
 

snowmanny

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There's that moment where Blount got to Brady after the win and screamed "You're the fucking greatest" and then said something like "And we're not done yet!" and I half-expected Brady to say "what do you mean 'we?'"
 

singaporesoxfan

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What are the rules these days on contract incentives, both in terms of the CBA and in terms of the cap? I know there's the whole "Likely to be Earned" distinction for the latter, but I don't know how such things are determined. But it seems like LGBT is a perfect candidate for an incentive laden contract.
Very crudely, an individual incentive is LTBE if the individual achieved it in 2016. Given that the Pats won the Super Bowl almost all team incentives should be LTBE.

This is a breakdown http://www.thefootballeducator.com/sports-negotiations-defining-nfl-contract-incentives/
 
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It's not just that I'd be stunned if Bennett came back, it's that it's CLEAR that he's been seriously unlikely to be back for awhile now. How is this news, Rappaport?
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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The Gronk situation makes things tough. Bennett was idea because he presented a legitimate second threat, but also was good enough to take over the 1 spot. Finding a guy who can be effective along side Gronk but can also take his place is a very tall order. There were reasons to believe on paper for example that Chandler could be that guy but that didn't turn out so well. Bennett is due a good signing bonus and a three or four year contract with at least half guaranteed. Not really in the cards for the Patriots. (Speaking of Cards, that is my guess for Bennett.). Take the comp pick, and just be content with having found the right guy in a Super Bowl year who cost you nothing more, really, Than some bucks you had to spend and likely will secure a comp pick to feel better about giving up the fourth rounder to get him.

Not a lot out there in free agency to be Gronk insurance. Doyle, Luke Wilson. Maybe you take a look at a guy like Gresham. You hope maybe Brady finds something Carson Palmer couldn't, and if not at least you have a great blocker. The kid behind Ertz in Philly is supposed to be pretty good. I think he's an RFA. Mychal Rivera in Oakland has had some good games.

Or maybe you throw some money at Vernon Davis for a year. He just spent a year behind a non-durable, elite tight end, and he also knows how to take the 1 role if he has to.
 

InstaFace

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Or maybe you really like Lengel. Seems to run routes fairly well and have decent hands, though I have no strong recollections about his blocking abilities.
 

Ale Xander

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DDB you're right on Philly's Trey Burton, he's an RFA so probably unlikely to come here but he's 25 with a ton of potential. But his name is a natural fit for Gillette.

That's said, the thing I like about Bennett leaving is it's more likely Gronk doesn't leave in the future.


So I'd selfishly like to see someone who is good, a 1B type, but wouldn't challenge to supplant Gronk, maybe a Jack Doyle from Indy or a Ryan Griffin from Houston. Rivera would work too.

No thanks on Davis he's a bit too old at 33 imho

And there are always old friends Tim Wright and Zach Sudfeld who should know much of the playbook but would cost peanuts I think.
 

Papelbon's Poutine

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If they trade Jimmy for a first, I'd love to see them take Howard or Njoku. If not, take Butt in the third or fourth. This is a deep TE draft. Bennett was a nice player to have, but his production can be replaced for far less money. It was nice to have the dual threat there for a bit, but it never really materialized, due to injuries to both and it was never going to be Gronk/Sweetleaf.
 

tims4wins

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Rumblings that Jason McCourty could be a cap casualty. Could be a perfect veteran 2-3 year signing to replace Ryan and ring chase, if he is willing to take the right $.
 

BigSoxFan

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Rumblings that Jason McCourty could be a cap casualty. Could be a perfect veteran 2-3 year signing to replace Ryan and ring chase, if he is willing to take the right $.
Would be neat to see McCourty bracket coverage. I think he has some good productivity left.