The league year starts at 4pm EST tomorrow (Thursday) and with it comes the flurry of activity that always accompanies the start of free agency. Teams have been tampering, legally of course(!), for the last couple days and many will already have contracts in place with the players of their choice.
Meanwhile the Patriots are sitting back and appear willing to let the market dictate what happens with all their key free agent pieces like Dont’a Hightower, Logan Ryan and Duron Harmon. This is the patient economist in Belichick, who knows that even if you lose players to over-priced deals the value will come back around when teams have to cut very good players so they can afford their free agent swings for the fences.
I know this time of year can be a frenzy of excitement and disappointment, but the Pats have over $54 million in cap space at last check (per Miguel Benzan, the @PatsCap guru), so things are going to happen.
Strap up and let’s take one last reset on the latest mostly-bullshit rumors that are flying before reality sets in tomorrow.
Based on all the reports, sounds like #Patriots word on the street is the team will target Bills WR Robert Woods. Doesn’t excite me.
— Andy Hart (@JumboHart) March 8, 2017
Doesn’t really excite me either to be honest. I do love that the Pats are exploring every possible option at wide receiver, at least their agents are making it seem that way. Who knows for sure. Again, the easiest way to light a fire under other team’s asses is to say the Pats are interested. Woods probably makes the most sense of all the other more well-known names that have been floated. He’s been consistent in his four years in Buffalo, which is no easy task. He’s put up 40-65 catches in each of those years. Now, as we always do, imagine what he’d do with Tom Brady. With Amendola possibly a cap (or age) casualty and Edelman getting up there, it would make sense to add another weapon to the receiver stable.
#Saints continuing to talk with #Eagles, #Titans & #Patriots in a potential Brandin Cooks deal. They want a picks or someone to affect QBs
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 8, 2017
I just don’t see the Pats ponying up what the Saints are asking for. As exciting as it would be to add a player with Cooks’ explosion, it’s hard to see the Pats over-extending to get it done.
The Patriots being in on DeSean Jackson sounds fun but unless he’s ready to take a very steep discount, it isn’t happening.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 8, 2017
There’s just no way. Of all the rumors this one feels the most fake to me.
Market for #Chiefs DT Dontari Poe might not be as good as hoped. Might do 1-yr deal w/ team that allows him to rush more, hit market in ’18
— Jason Cole (@JasonColeBR) March 8, 2017
Now this is a move I could get behind and this kind of one-year deal screams Patriots to me. Poe is a perfect fit for what the Patriots do and would fit in well with Malcom Brown, Vincent Valentine and (hopefully) Alan Branch if he re-signs.
New salary cap number for the Patriots = $54,763,343 after accounting for Develin’s extension. H/T to @MikeReiss for Develin’s deal details
— Cap Space=54,763,343 (@patscap) March 8, 2017
If you’re not following Miguel you’re Pats fanning wrong.
Pats and Butler had gone pretty far down the road last season, according to @MikeReiss. Butler has not been happy about low pay. Not at all. https://t.co/wG0kLtoZd7
— Michael Giardi (@MikeGiardi) March 7, 2017
It would be nice to come out of this offseason not having to worry about Butler next offseason. Of all the places I want the cap space to go, Hightower and Butler are the two guys I’d love to lock up for the foreseeable future. They play the way the Patriots want their defense to play, hard and aggressive. They are tone setters and I’m really not psyched to deal with another year hearing how unhappy Butler is from Giardi.
Seriously though:
.@Mac_BZ wasn’t invited to the #NFLCombine
That didn’t stop him from snatching away a Super Bowl win for the @Patriots #MarchMotivation pic.twitter.com/wFQl1F2pwC— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) March 7, 2017