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maybe. but 20+ yrs of watching BB makes me think his most likely response to the Brady exodus is to build him a new one from spare parts. you dont get more Heathkit-TB12 than Josh Rosen and the coach owes him one
Gotta strongly disagree here...whether they like him or not (and no one knows) he is still very much an unknown quantity...he was not a can't miss prospect coming out of college...in a perfect world he is legit and the successor but I don't see the Pats putting all their eggs in that basket so soon...it would be irresponsible.
It's all a plot to get Trevor Lawrence.
At this stage in BB’s career, the Patriots are not going to be in the running for the #1 draft pick. People are making NE out to be in the same tier as CIN or WAS. They’re not.
I don't know if they would, but couldn't they just restructure a couple of guys like hightower, thuney, and Gilmore to make some room? Maybe trade one of them for Dalton.
Hightower is really the only one, but they would have to extend him. Gilmore might convert salary to a bonus, but that wouldn’t save much. Thuney would be dumb to take a deal for much less than the tag number. Dalton would be a potential option in he got released, but I can’t see them trading assets and paying him nearly $18 million. I outlined the options NE has to save money in the Patriots team thread.
I'm joking about Lawrence, but there are others like Fields, Mond, and we know others will pop up this coming season.
NE does not have nearly enough cap room to entertain bringing either one of these guys in.
You can like a guy while not being 100% sure he works out. If he does work out, they don't get the 1.01 but they have Stidham.
For starters, they won’t have any of the three guys you mentioned. They couldn’t win with Brady last year, but a part of that is due to the ton of injuries they had. A BB team is not going to tank.
So they will spend another day 3 pick on a QB? Sure I can see that. I cant see them spending a first or second rounder.
I don't see them simply going with Stidham and a fifth round pick unless they are 100% convinced Stidham is going to be a high-level starter (even if they are they still need a legit back-up)...if that is the case I will be more then happy but I would be shocked if there is not another viable QB on their roster by opening day.
I agree. I think they find the money for a FA. My response was to Anarchy who is working under the assumption that they will not bring in a player other than via the draft.
I don't think they will pursue a name FA with a big contract. I suspect they will wait it out to see who is still available two months from now and offer someone a dirt cheap contract. But it won't be someone like the big name guys that have been listed. It would likely be a former starter somewhere that has been a back up more recently or a retread coming off an injury (someone like Alex Smith). But I don't think the FA they may bring in will be the starter or a long term solution. More of a safety net if Stidham falls on his face.
I think everything is on the table...the bottom-line is no one other then BB and his inner-circle knows what he thinks of Stidham...they could see him as a potential high-end starter or the next Brian Hoyer but we won't have a clue until we see what else they add to the QB position...it's too bad the Jimmy G timeline did not match-up to this...would have been a perfect transition.
If they were anything close to a super bowl contender, Brady would be back.
No worries at all...as a Boston fan who hated teams like the Canadians and Yankees as they dominated I am more then happy to be in this situation...the fact it lasted 20 years is pretty ridiculous in the big scheme of things...especially for a franchise that was once no stranger to competing for worst franchise in all of pro sports.Well, too bad for you. Most of us are loving it.
Maybe, maybe not to all of those. IMO, BB doesn't think Brady is the best man for the job anymore, doesn't think he is worth anywhere near $30 million a year anymore, and knows the useful expectancy of a 43-year-old QB is very short. I don't think being a SB contender or not had anything to do with it. Brady was sick of BB and BB didn't want Brady. Put another way, I don't think TB is any closer to a SB than NE is.
If he plays like he did the time he got on the field against the Jets, they surely get the top overall pick.
And if Matt Flynn played like he did against the Lions in 2012 for an entire season, he would have thrown for 7,690 yards and 96 TD the following year for the Seahawks. Limited sample sizes aren't even worth talking about.
NE might end up with Dalton IF HE GETS RELEASED. But why would they trade Thuney and a pick for him? No one would trade for him last year. Under normal circumstances, a team might dump the salary of a washed up player to take on Dalton (33 years old and 0-4 in the playoffs). But Thuney? He's one of the best guards in the league. This trade doesn't make much sense for NE unless they think Dalton is going to be a long-term solution and lead the Patriots to the promised land (which I don't believe they think that).
Agreed...Thuney is one of the best players on the team...if they are gonna deal him you want long-term assets back...I could see a deal for Dalton but I don't see them giving up too much...right now they have a lot of holes to plug.
It does seem they have a lot of holes to plug, and in the past they were able to do it through late round picks, UDFA's, lower tier free agents, cast offs, and seemingly minor trades. One would hope they can keep doing that, but this time they can't afford to make many mistakes.
Yup...the key to that strategy is having a core group of studs you can rely on as you figure things out...now that Brady is gone that core is a getting real shaky as players like McCourty, Slater, Gostkowski and Edelman are aging, a core piece like Hightower has a lot of wear and tear and players like Cannon, Andrews and Chung have serious question marks as well...at the end of the day their drafting the past few years is really hurting them...they really need to nail this draft if they want to begin the process of remaining a contender for the near future
