Tenders, RFA's, and Benjamins: The 2016 Free Agency Thread

vadertime

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I think Matthews could thrive with the Pats. He's a very good possession/#2 receiver. With Edelmann and Gronk drawing the bulk of the attention, Matthews would be a big step up from a Lafell or Tyms.
What happened in 2014 with him? Went from 41 receptions and 64 targets the previous year to 12 receptions and 21 targets. He played 2 fewer games but that's a big dropoff before rebounding last year.
 

sodenj5

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What happened in 2014 with him? Went from 41 receptions and 64 targets the previous year to 12 receptions and 21 targets. He played 2 fewer games but that's a big dropoff before rebounding last year.
If I recall correctly, he broke out a bit in 2013 when Brandon Gibson blew out his knee. Then they drafted Landry in 2014 and played Wallace and Hartline over him, and Landry slowly took his snaps. He got his first legit crack at starting last year.
 

NortheasternPJ

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Absolutely agree there. I think Butler and Jones are probably goners but if they can sign at least two of the 4 then it allows the Pats to franchise one and transition the other.
Why Butler? He's making 600k in 2016, they can put a first round tender on him for 2017 at 4 million, which they will do. If someone else signs him, they get a first round pick, if not they have him for $4 million.

The Pats are in great position to leverage the 4.6 million over the next 2 years and extend him for 4-5 years at below market and give him a guarantee. This is a guy who had no prospects and no money like 18 months ago. Throw him a good signing bonus and call it a day. He gets hurt, he's earned about $950k in his career. Guarantee him $10 million or so with more if he produces and done.
 

jsinger121

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@FieldYates: Terms of TE Ladarius Green’s 4-year deal with Steelers: $4.75M guaranteed, $20M max value. Cap hit of just $2.44M in 2016.
 

Ed Hillel

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What list? They're basically all gone.

I don't like many of the deals signed, but curious the Pats wouldn't have competed enough to up Pitt's offer on Green. That is a good signing.
 

genoasalami

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What list? They're basically all gone.

I don't like many of the deals signed, but curious the Pats wouldn't have competed enough to up Pitt's offer on Green. That is a good signing.
It's the 'ole ..."Rather sign nobody than overpay for anyone" philosophy.
 

Ed Hillel

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It's the 'ole ..."Rather sign nobody than overpay for anyone" philosophy.
It's not really that simple, especially given the reason the Pats have so relatively little to spend is because they have been right up against the cap the past few years. It's more that the list of WR this year is pretty shitty.
 

SeoulSoxFan

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The sought-after T Mitchell Schwartz signs a 5-year deal with the Chiefs, after the Browns pull their $7.5m/yr offer off the table:
Schwartz' brother, Geoff, another NFL offensive lineman who is a free agent, tweeted, "So proud of my brother on his deal with the Chiefs! Went through some nonsense today, and ended up in a great spot.''
If you missed it, Inside the Pylon's interview with Schwartz is a MUST listen. He talks about various schemes and responsibilities as an OL as Chuck and Mark pepper him with real football questions. I highly enjoyed that episode.

Edit: I think the Sashi Train is derailing quicker than anyone thought in Cleveland
 

jsinger121

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The sought-after T Mitchell Schwartz signs a 5-year deal with the Chiefs, after the Browns pull their $7.5m/yr offer off the table:


If you missed it, Inside the Pylon's interview with Schwartz is a MUST listen. He talks about various schemes and responsibilities as an OL as Chuck and Mark pepper him with real football questions. I highly enjoyed that episode.

Edit: I think the Sashi Train is derailing quicker than anyone thought in Cleveland
This is what happens when you don't have a football guy running the show.
 

j44thor

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What list? They're basically all gone.

I don't like many of the deals signed, but curious the Pats wouldn't have competed enough to up Pitt's offer on Green. That is a good signing.
Perhaps Green was tired of being 2nd fiddle at TE. Agreed it was a good signing but he is going there as the unquestioned #1 after Heath Miller retired. After playing behind Gates for most of his career maybe he decided he wanted to be the #1. Doubt NE would have been interested in paying more than PIT for a #2 TE if that was the case.
 

Gunfighter 09

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Ian Rapoport ‏@RapSheet 4m4 minutes ago
The #Raiders and CB Sean Smith agreed to a 4-year deal worth $40M, source said, with $20M guaranteed
Compared to Jenkins, that is a good, if not great price and a nice two year commitment. Smith is the same age as Josh Norman (29) and at 6'3" with long arms and decent feet, is a perfect fit for the Seattle type system that Ken Norton Jr. runs.

Man, I really enjoy having Reggie McKenzie as my team's general manager. It aint quite getting the greatest QB of all time to take a 33% paycut, but he has done some nice work in the first two days. I imagine the Raiders fill the safety position, sign a left tackle like Donald Penn or Kelvin Beachum and then go bargain shopping. They still have to spend about $15M just to make the floor, so they will be signing 2-4 more players.
 

SeoulSoxFan

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Compared to Jenkins, that is a good, if not great price and a nice two year commitment. Smith is the same age as Josh Norman (29) and at 6'3" with long arms and decent feet, is a perfect fit for the Seattle type system that Ken Norton Jr. runs.

Man, I really enjoy having Reggie McKenzie as my team's general manager. It aint quite getting the greatest QB of all time to take a 33% paycut, but he has done some nice work in the first two days. I imagine the Raiders fill the safety position, sign a left tackle like Donald Penn or Kelvin Beachum and then go bargain shopping. They still have to spend about $15M just to make the floor, so they will be signing 2-4 more players.
I was bullish on the Raiders last year, but this year's going to be really fun to watch. McKenzie is playing this just right.
 
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Bosoxen

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It's both heartening and disheartening that the Cowboys seem to be very closely following the Raiders path. I'm happy for Raiders fans that the franchise appears to have turned a corner and is finally headed in the right direction. I look forward to when the Cowboys make it to that step of the process. But man, Jerry Jones just can't die in a fire soon enough.
 

Sox and Rocks

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Compared to Jenkins, that is a good, if not great price and a nice two year commitment. Smith is the same age as Josh Norman (29) and at 6'3" with long arms and decent feet, is a perfect fit for the Seattle type system that Ken Norton Jr. runs.

Man, I really enjoy having Reggie McKenzie as my team's general manager. It aint quite getting the greatest QB of all time to take a 33% paycut, but he has done some nice work in the first two days. I imagine the Raiders fill the safety position, sign a left tackle like Donald Penn or Kelvin Beachum and then go bargain shopping. They still have to spend about $15M just to make the floor, so they will be signing 2-4 more players.
The Bruce Irvin deal is an outright steal. He got less than $10 million per year, compared to Olivier Vernon's $17 million or whatever.

Reggie is a savy GM. If he puts together another draft like the last two years, the Raiders will be a legit contender soon, perhaps even this year.
 

TheoShmeo

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I'm still kind of baffled as to why NE would sign CJ Anderson to an offer sheet.

Wouldn't any contract that NE could live with be on reasonable economic terms? The Pats don't exactly break the bank for RBs and CJ does not strike me as the kind of transformative talent for whom they will veer from past practice. If all of that is true, then wouldn't the Pats be doing a favor to the Broncos, as they would be delivering to Elway a contract that he can very likely match without doing violence to his team's salary structure.

What am I missing?
 

RedOctober3829

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I'm still kind of baffled as to why NE would sign CJ Anderson to an offer sheet.

Wouldn't any contract that NE could live with be on reasonable economic terms? The Pats don't exactly break the bank for RBs and CJ does not strike me as the kind of transformative talent for whom they will veer from past practice. If all of that is true, then wouldn't the Pats be doing a favor to the Broncos, as they would be delivering to Elway a contract that he can very likely match without doing violence to his team's salary structure.

What am I missing?
The low tender is only for $1.6 million so I don't think they would have to break the bank for Anderson. They just need to structure it so the Broncos have a tough time matching it.
 

Cellar-Door

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The Bruce Irvin deal is an outright steal. He got less than $10 million per year, compared to Olivier Vernon's $17 million or whatever.

Reggie is a savy GM. If he puts together another draft like the last two years, the Raiders will be a legit contender soon, perhaps even this year.
Vernon is also 3 years younger and the more productive player so far.
His deal is ridiculous, but I don't think it makes Irvin's a steal.
 

pappymojo

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Regarding CJ Anderson, part of the Patriots interest could just be due diligence, especially if he were to sign with the Dolphins.
 

SeoulSoxFan

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Oh please, dear Football Gods. Let this happen.

@MMehtaNYDN Source confirms that the Jets are one of the teams involved in Colin Kaepernick trade talks, as @MaioccoCSN said. #nyj
 

DJnVa

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The low tender is only for $1.6 million so I don't think they would have to break the bank for Anderson. They just need to structure it so the Broncos have a tough time matching it.
Yes, but his point is that since the Pats hardly ever break the bank, what exactly could they do to make it untenable for Denver to match?

Can they still do that poison pill stuff?
 

TheoShmeo

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The low tender is only for $1.6 million so I don't think they would have to break the bank for Anderson. They just need to structure it so the Broncos have a tough time matching it.
The bolded part is what I am having a hard time envisioning in absence of some sort of creative Curtis Martin like poison pill contract, which I don't believe is possible any more. But perhaps there are other ways to get there.

Edit: Delayed response while distracted....DD beat me to it.
 

Tyrone Biggums

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Regarding CJ Anderson, part of the Patriots interest could just be due diligence, especially if he were to sign with the Dolphins.
Why do I have a feeling that the Dolphins will do something really really stupid and give him a contract like what Miller got. Despite not even needing to do so since he's only tendered at 1.6 million. God I love these awful NFL franchises.
 

NickEsasky

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Yes, but his point is that since the Pats hardly ever break the bank, what exactly could they do to make it untenable for Denver to match?

Can they still do that poison pill stuff?
Nope.
 

DJnVa

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Didn't think so--therefore it's tough, unless the Pats really want him, to structure something hard for Denver to match.
 

Mooch

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Jets re-sign Bilal Powell and also sign Khiry Robinson. Apparently, going with the Georgia Tech triple-option and no quarterback.
 

Oil Can Dan

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Can someone explain the difference between guaranteed and fully guaranteed as it relates to NFL contracts for me?
 

Ed Hillel

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Oh please, dear Football Gods. Let this happen.

@MMehtaNYDN Source confirms that the Jets are one of the teams involved in Colin Kaepernick trade talks, as @MaioccoCSN said. #nyj
The Jets are likely over the salary cap by at least a few million at this point (depending on Powell/Robinson/Forte deals), how are they going to add Kaepernick's 12 million salary at this point? They don't have a lot of wiggle room to create space, either, unless they plan on playing without an offensive line.
 

steveluck7

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The Jets are likely over the salary cap by at least a few million at this point (depending on Powell/Robinson/Forte deals), how are they going to add Kaepernick's 12 million salary at this point? They don't have a lot of wiggle room to create space, either, unless they plan on playing without an offensive line.
I'm sure Revis would be willing to restructure
 

bradmahn

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The Jets are likely over the salary cap by at least a few million at this point (depending on Powell/Robinson/Forte deals), how are they going to add Kaepernick's 12 million salary at this point? They don't have a lot of wiggle room to create space, either, unless they plan on playing without an offensive line.
There have been rumblings of a trade of DE Wilkerson and his $15.7M cap hit for a first round pick. That would open up enough space for a hypothetical Kaepernick trade.