Pats sign Cannon to 5 year extension

ragnarok725

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With Vollmer unlikely to return, this is a great signing to solidify things going forward. They need a good back-up tackle in the draft/offseason to pick up Cannon's role on the roster the last few years.

Cannon has been great this year, and I'm glad he's sticking around, but I just hope they're not buying high. I guess we'll wait and see with the numbers.
 

Stitch01

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Jerry Thornton posted an article this morning about how Cannon was the Pats #1 priority this offseason, nice call.
 

Dr. Gonzo

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I wrote this in the OL thread

Cannon is an UFA after this season and really hasn't been talked about as a priority for signing after this season due to the number FA's on the defensive side of the ball. Could you give him a Vollmer type contract to replace Vollmer after this season? Currently, Vollmer has a cap hit of $5.2M which is the 8th highest cap hit for right tackles this year. Signing Cannon long term will also help if Solder walks after the 2017 season.
Curious to see what the money is but anything close to a Vollmer cap number would be great.
 

Shelterdog

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With Vollmer unlikely to return, this is a great signing to solidify things going forward. They need a good back-up tackle in the draft/offseason to pick up Cannon's role on the roster the last few years.

Cannon has been great this year, and I'm glad he's sticking around, but I just hope they're not buying high. I guess we'll wait and see with the numbers.
Just make sure to wait until we see the actual numbers so we don't do the "OMG they're too high [wait 1 day] oh they're fine none of it is guaranteed" dance.
 

Shelterdog

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For posterity's sake some off-season guesses on what Cannon was going to get. (I went with 5/40)
In general I agree that people are focusing too much on Cannon's poor 2015 and not his whole body of work. $40 MM is misreading the market, though. Only one RT has a contact that big. Oher's 3-year, $21.6 MM ($9.5 MM guaranteed) is probably the ceiling. It would not surprise me to see him have a pretty good year and the Pats sign him to like a 3-year, $18 MM deal or something and go into 2017 with Cannon plugged in at RT again. Even the high picks NE has made at tackle weren't day one starters and whoever they draft at 27 or 32 or whatever is probably not going to be a plug-and-play guy - assuming they even go tackle in the first round.
I came up with my 40 million WAG by taking the Austin Howard contract (5/30) and inflating it about 25% to account for cap growth; I'm predicting a generally bonkers offseason in terms of FA salaries; decent starting tackles (and I think that what Cannon will appear to be at the end of the year) just don't hit free agency that often.
 

McDrew

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I have a question about LT vs RT pay scales. I thought the LT was the blindside defender for a right-handed quarterback, so that's why they got paid more. For southpaw QB's, are the payscales of their LT vs RT swapped?
 

GregHarris

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I was ready to run him out of town after last year (as was much of this board). But he's really redeemed himself this year. Perhaps the injury did limit him, and I am sure the coaching and return of Scar didn't hurt.
 

Dr. Gonzo

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#Patriots OT Marcus Cannon has agreed to a 5-year extension worth $32.5M, source said. He gets $14.5M guaranteed. A feel-good story.

 

Super Nomario

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For posterity's sake some off-season guesses on what Cannon was going to get. (I went with 5/40)
Thanks, I was trying to remember this discussion when I saw the news.

I have a question about LT vs RT pay scales. I thought the LT was the blindside defender for a right-handed quarterback, so that's why they got paid more. For southpaw QB's, are the payscales of their LT vs RT swapped?
No, because there aren't enough left-handed quarterbacks to affect the market. The "blindside" distinction is pretty overblown, anyway (as is left vs right in a league where many of the best rushers typically line up on the right side).
 

Tyrone Biggums

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I'd like to see one more year of consistency before giving him that deal but is what it is. Not a bad deal currently. Next get Bennett and Butler locked up then tag Hightower in the offseason.
 

Ed Hillel

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Cannon's turnaround has been amazing and that is a great contract. Nice to get a top priority position covered for 2017.
 

InstaFace

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All Seabass needs to do to stay on the roster is keep his knees healthy. BB and Scar aren't giving up an asset like that for bupkes. Having too many quality OL is like having too much pitching.
 

Ed Hillel

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All Seabass needs to do to stay on the roster is keep his knees healthy. BB and Scar aren't giving up an asset like that for bupkes. Having too many quality OL is like having too much pitching.
He's a free agent.
 

koufax32

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Anxious to see the cap #'s. Seabass level production (is it reasonable to assume this?) at less than the current Seabass cap hit would be a great way to begin building next year's squad early.
 

InstaFace

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He's a free agent.
...oh. And 33 years old, though a lower odometer since he started at age 25. But still, he had two excellent years in 2014 and 2015, and showed he could play LT. Unless some other team goes hog wild with an offer, I can absolutely see him re-signing.
 

tims4wins

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Had an incredibly frustrating text discussion with my dad about this last night. It was like arguing with Felger and Mazz. His arguments:
- Cannon is a JAG
- If they replaced him with Fleming you wouldn't notice a difference
- Why has Cannon received not one but two extensions when he hasn't proven anything
- How could they commit $14.5M to him when they have more important guys to pay
- They only extend JAGs like Cannon and Freeny and sign JAGs like McClellin and Clay Harbor, they don't sign/extend talent
- The talent level simply isn't good enough on D
- They weren't competitive in the AFC Championship game (I especially liked this one; when I said it was a 2 point game that could have been tied if not for a missed PAT, plus the Pats didn't go for field goals and kind of mismanaged the 4th quarter drives he said "you know it wasn't that competitive")
- The D sucks (despite still being middle of the pack by most rankings and even advanced metrics and having basically the same rank the last 3 years)
- They won a Super Bowl with Jones and Collins so they couldn't have been that bad (my response - well Jones was naked and stoned the week of a playoff game and Collins is looking like he will be out of the league in a few years)
- I told him I just can't get worked up about these type of personnel moves - they go to the AFCCG every year, they win 12+ games every year, what is to freak out about. He responded that it doesn't matter it is all about playoff wins. I said they are 8-4 in the playoffs the last 5 years, no one has a better record. He said how many road playoff wins. I said zero, how many does Denver have - oh zero. I said Denver has the exact opposite model and pretty much the exact same success as the Pats - a Super Bowl win, a Super Bowl loss, multiple AFCCG appearances - multiple ways to skin a cat

Ultimately he is an entitled Pats fan super similar to the entitled MFY fans. I for one applaud their personnel strategy that puts them in contention every single year, with 12+ wins, byes, home playoff games, etc. Better than the Baltimores, Pittsburghs, Indys of the world. But I guess it's not good enough.
 

Chainsaw318

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Stop killing my heroes, Tims.

This team has obviously liked Cannon way more than the general fandom since the get go, as draft position and these extensions indicate.

For those more tuned in, does this guarantee that he's the starter going forward, or is he an expensive swing guy?
 

Saints Rest

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To my untrained eyes, I'd give Cannon a C+ in run blocking and an A- in pass blocking this year. I don't remember him being beat too often as a pass blocker, but I don't recall him doing much positively in the run game. It seems like when the Pats run to the right, the onus is on the TE to make the key block.
 

kenneycb

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Stop killing my heroes, Tims.

This team has obviously liked Cannon way more than the general fandom since the get go, as draft position and these extensions indicate.

For those more tuned in, does this guarantee that he's the starter going forward, or is he an expensive swing guy?
I'm not even sure if they liked him more than others with regards to draft position. I always viewed the pick as more of a lottery ticket, which pretty much all late-round guys are, given his pre-illness ability. A little bit with Dante was all he needed apparently.
 

Hoodie Sleeves

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More money than I expected, but not top tier by any means, so probably right.

I can't seem to find the newest numbers, but going into the 2015 season, these were the oldest tackles rostered in the NFL:

Tyson Clabo, 33, HOU
Andrew Whitworth, 33, CIN
Jason Peters, 33, PHI
Khalif Barnes, 32, OAK
Zach Strief, 31, NO

Clabo retired that season, and Barnes has been forcibly retired. Whitworth, Strief, and Peters are still playing.

Vollmer will be 33 at the start of next year's season, and missed all of this year - expecting him to be anything more than roster filler at this point is wishful thinking. They'll sign him for basically incentives.
 

ALiveH

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Is Vollmer too tall / not strong enough to do what other aging tackles do & move to guard?
 

Dr. Gonzo

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More details regarding Cannon's extension

According to a league source, Marcus Cannon received a $7 million signing bonus. Deal is for 5 years, $32.5m, $14.5m guaranteed. #Patriots

 

dbn

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Wow, Vollmer will be 33? As I get older the years go by so fast. Feels like he was just drafted recently!
 

singaporesoxfan

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I'm not even sure if they liked him more than others with regards to draft position. I always viewed the pick as more of a lottery ticket, which pretty much all late-round guys are, given his pre-illness ability. A little bit with Dante was all he needed apparently.
If I were Cannon I'd buy Dante a Camaro emblazoned with flame decals and name it Dante's Inferno.

Ross Tucker has mentioned a number of times on his podcast how in his experience O line coaches teach vastly different techniques (and has opined that some techniques are much better than others). To my untrained eye this seems to be what Dante has done - not just solidified the play as a unit but improve how each player handles the basics of technique.
 

Super Nomario

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Is Vollmer too tall / not strong enough to do what other aging tackles do & move to guard?
He probably doesn't have a great body type for guard, and also this isn't that common. If a tackle loses the athleticism to pass protect on the outside, he will probably struggle with all the movement responsibilities (pulling, blocking linebackers at the second level, etc.) that guards have in the run game. I'm having trouble thinking of tackles who kicked in to guard late in their careers.

Wow, Vollmer will be 33? As I get older the years go by so fast. Feels like he was just drafted recently!
Vollmer was an old rookie - he turned 25 shortly after being drafted.
 

jsinger121

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Had an incredibly frustrating text discussion with my dad about this last night. It was like arguing with Felger and Mazz. His arguments:
- Cannon is a JAG
- If they replaced him with Fleming you wouldn't notice a difference
- Why has Cannon received not one but two extensions when he hasn't proven anything
- How could they commit $14.5M to him when they have more important guys to pay
- They only extend JAGs like Cannon and Freeny and sign JAGs like McClellin and Clay Harbor, they don't sign/extend talent
- The talent level simply isn't good enough on D
- They weren't competitive in the AFC Championship game (I especially liked this one; when I said it was a 2 point game that could have been tied if not for a missed PAT, plus the Pats didn't go for field goals and kind of mismanaged the 4th quarter drives he said "you know it wasn't that competitive")
- The D sucks (despite still being middle of the pack by most rankings and even advanced metrics and having basically the same rank the last 3 years)
- They won a Super Bowl with Jones and Collins so they couldn't have been that bad (my response - well Jones was naked and stoned the week of a playoff game and Collins is looking like he will be out of the league in a few years)
- I told him I just can't get worked up about these type of personnel moves - they go to the AFCCG every year, they win 12+ games every year, what is to freak out about. He responded that it doesn't matter it is all about playoff wins. I said they are 8-4 in the playoffs the last 5 years, no one has a better record. He said how many road playoff wins. I said zero, how many does Denver have - oh zero. I said Denver has the exact opposite model and pretty much the exact same success as the Pats - a Super Bowl win, a Super Bowl loss, multiple AFCCG appearances - multiple ways to skin a cat

Ultimately he is an entitled Pats fan super similar to the entitled MFY fans. I for one applaud their personnel strategy that puts them in contention every single year, with 12+ wins, byes, home playoff games, etc. Better than the Baltimores, Pittsburghs, Indys of the world. But I guess it's not good enough.
He probably was on the give anything to Revis bandwagon after 2014.
 

Hoodie Sleeves

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Is Vollmer too tall / not strong enough to do what other aging tackles do & move to guard?
Not that it would probably matter, but Vollmer would be the tallest guard in NFL history (as far as I can find) - Robert Gallery was 6'7, Vollmer is 6'8. Gallery was nowhere near as good as Vollmer, but he switched to Guard at 27 and retired at 31
 

JerBear

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If I were Cannon I'd buy Dante a Camaro emblazoned with flame decals and name it Dante's Inferno.

Ross Tucker has mentioned a number of times on his podcast how in his experience O line coaches teach vastly different techniques (and has opined that some techniques are much better than others). To my untrained eye this seems to be what Dante has done - not just solidified the play as a unit but improve how each player handles the basics of technique.
Koppen has brought up the same thing on the ExPats podcast. Scar got him back to using his length or something along those lines.
 

Harry Hooper

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I'm not even sure if they liked him more than others with regards to draft position. I always viewed the pick as more of a lottery ticket, which pretty much all late-round guys are, given his pre-illness ability. A little bit with Dante was all he needed apparently.
I thought Cannon was highly regarded by the NFL talent-wise going into the draft, but fell out of the early rounds due to his cancer treatment and delayed availability as a rookie?
 

Hoodie Sleeves

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I thought Cannon was highly regarded by the NFL talent-wise going into the draft, but fell out of the early rounds due to his cancer treatment and delayed availability as a rookie?
That's my understanding too - that he was a 2nd round or so grade, who was available because there was a legitimate concern that he was never going to be able to play football again.

Which is exactly the sort of risks the Pats should be taking - as it's pretty much the only way to get useful non-st talent late in the draft.
 

Super Nomario

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Which is exactly the sort of risks the Pats should be taking - as it's pretty much the only way to get useful non-st talent late in the draft.
I think this sentiment is overblown - Tom Brady and Antonio Brown were pretty good late-round picks, and neither of them had cancer. It is hard for late-round guys to get opportunity, however, and being able to stash Cannon on the NFI list for half a season guaranteed him some amount of time in the system.
 

Harry Hooper

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I think this sentiment is overblown - Tom Brady and Antonio Brown were pretty good late-round picks, and neither of them had cancer. It is hard for late-round guys to get opportunity, however, and being able to stash Cannon on the NFI list for half a season guaranteed him some amount of time in the system.
True enough, though the Pats have some major hits on "damaged goods" going back to at least Curtis Martin.