As expected, the Patriots parted ways with Martellus Bennett yesterday, a move that opened up over $6 million more in cap space. Now, per the reliable Patscap maestro Miguel Benzan, the team is sitting on $24.4 million in cap space. Other moves that opened up space include the retirement of David Harris as well as the decline of Alan Branch’s option.
Daily Reminder that I created a Twitter moment that answers a good number of patriots 2018 salary cap questions. https://t.co/r27CEBbeJG
If I do not answer your question it may be because I answered it already in the moment😀
— CapSpace=$23,369,188 (@patscap) February 6, 2018
All of this is of course setting the stage for free agency, which opens next week, and in usual Patriots fashion, there hasn’t been much to get excited about, even as we hope for extensions for Trey Flowers and Shaq Mason, and perhaps a couple other moves that could open up some space.
The moves that everyone is clamoring for right now are the potential return of Aqib Talib or the addition of Richard Sherman. I have to be honest, I’m surprised this is what people want after the front seven so was utterly ineffective in 2017. I already wrote a bit on this, so I don’t want to make a whole thing out of it again, but cornerback has always been a bargain basement for the Patriots until they signed Stephon Gilmore last year. It was such a departure from their philosophy and even before free agency starts they already have the 6th-highest cap spending at the position for 2018.
Look, if Talib and Sherman would be willing to take a super cheap deal like the Pats have traditionally done with veteran corners I’d be good with it, but Talib’s lowest cap hit since he got to Denver was nearly $7 million. Sherman has made over $10 million per season since 2015. Are either one of them really going to take $2-3 million? I doubt it. I just don’t understand how the takeaway from 2017 was “add more talent at cornerback.”
It appears that the engine for these rumors are Talib and Sherman’s own interest in being Patriots, not the Patriots interest in them. And we can never forget what a powerful tool “the Patriots are interested in….” rumors are. Often agents simply leak that and watch the Pats’ competitors join the fray if only to prevent New England from getting more talented players.
This all goes back to my fundamental belief that while defenses win championships, it is the front sevens that are most important. No secondary can cover forever, there must be pass rush. You must win up front. And despite pretty good Super Bowl performances from Rowe and Gilmore, the Pats’ defense was still shredded. I really wouldn’t even mind rolling Gilmore-Rowe-Jones-Jones out there next season as long as significant investment came on the edge and at linebacker.
We’re about to embark on a crazy couple of weeks. I never would’ve predicted them giving Gilmore that monster deal last year so who knows, maybe their priorities have changed. But I think the best route is to throw a bunch of front seven players at the wall and return re-stock the corner position through the draft and the kind of discount vets they’ve gone with in the past,