MERGED - RB Sammy Morris Agrees To Terms w/Pats

[ladypatsfan]

Pats sign Sammy Morris

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/reiss_pieces/

March 03, 2007
Morris agrees
The Patriots have reached an undisclosed contract agreement with free agent running back Sammy Morris, according to a league source.

The news was reported earlier today by the website scout.com.

Morris enters his eighth season in 2007. He initially drew interest from the Patriots in 2004, when he was a free agent after four seasons with the Bills (2000-2003). He played the last three years in Miami (2004-2006).

Morris joins a backfield that includes Laurence Maroney, Kevin Faulk and Heath Evans. His versatility as a runner, pass-catcher and special teams player fits well in that mix.

The Pats are not fooling around. It will be interesting to see what they do next.

 

[Dan Pires]

RB Sammy Morris Agrees To Terms w/Pats

As per Scouts.com and Jon Scott...
Apparently the Pats jumped at least a couple teams' routes to get him.

http://patriots.scout.com/2/623480.html

 

[Wandering Athol]

Between this news and the Patriots wooing of Welker, I had this pleasant thought this sunny afternoon:

If Dolphin22 screams alone in the Assclown Assylum, can anyone hear him?



p.s. just curious, has he set the record yet for most posts in the AA?

 

[Roman529]

Seems like the Pats are taking scrubs off of the Phins, not starters,,,,and giving up a first day 2nd round pick for Welker is a reach.

 

[bideau]

Belichick statement per Mike Reiss:

“Sammy Morris is a good all-around running back. From his years in the division, we have first-hand knowledge of all his skills; running, receiving, blocking and several roles on special teams."

 

[chef]

yeh, i like him.
Faulk's replacement?

 

[PSC_Pats_Fan]

This isn't a bad pickup...

Now we have:

RB Maroney
RB Faulk
RB Morris
RB/FB Heath Evans

Good depth there, in case of injury. And we all know that one of these guys will miss a game or two at least, this year. (I'm a realist)


Morris is a good back-up RB. He didn't do too shabby when Ronnie Brown was injured this past season.

 

[Wandering Athol]

Seems like the Pats are taking scrubs off of the Phins, not starters,,,,and giving up a first day 2nd round pick for Welker is a reach.

The Pats are building depth at the running back position and special teams here.

I'm sure this signing isn't for megabucks, so I think Morris is a good pickup. He's shown he can step in for a few games if your primary back (which, by this signing, I'm assuming the Pats feel Maroney is a 20-25 carry/game back now) goes down.

I wonder if the 123 rushing, and 162 all-purpose yards, he picked up against the Pats last December was fresh in BB's mind?



As for Welker, although I tend you agree with you that a 2nd is a reach: if the Pats feel he's the next Chrebet or Troy Brown though, a 2nd will prove to be a steal.

yeh, i like him.
Faulk's replacement?

He's a versatile back like Faulk: can run, catch, and puts the ball on the ground a little bit too often.

 

[Wandering Athol]

I was willing to assume Kevin Faulk's spot on the roster was 100% secure until I saw this:

http://www.profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm
Adam Caplan of Scout.com reports that Morris received a four-year deal worth $7 million. He'll make $5 million over the first two years of the deal.

--------------------------------------------------

That's a lot of moola for a backup running back.

Checking www.patscap.com, I notice Faulk's 2007 cap hit is 8th (soon to be 9th) on the team at $3.2MM. He's got a $500K roster bonus and $100K workout bonus due sometime this offseason. Cutting him would count $1.5MM against the cap (accelerated signing bonus).

Methinks this is worth keeping an eye on, especially if Faulk's job as a punt returner is taken by Welker, should he come on board.

 

[#54]

I was willing to assume Kevin Faulk's spot on the roster was 100% secure until I saw this:

http://www.profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm
Adam Caplan of Scout.com reports that Morris received a four-year deal worth $7 million. He'll make $5 million over the first two years of the deal.

--------------------------------------------------

That's a lot of moola for a backup running back.

Checking www.patscap.com, I notice Faulk's 2007 cap hit is 8th (soon to be 9th) on the team at $3.2MM. He's got a $500K roster bonus and $100K workout bonus due sometime this offseason. Cutting him would count $1.5MM against the cap (accelerated signing bonus).

Methinks this is worth keeping an eye on, especially if Faulk's job as a punt returner is taken by Welker, should he come on board.

Who's better qualified to instruct his replacement but Faulk himself?

I've been a big fan of Kevin ever since he joined the at: and I'd really hate to see him go.


Maybe they are thinking about cutting Faulk or maybe Faulk is considerng retirement. Either way, KF will always be one of my most favorite players.

He had some seriously bad screw-ups, but how often has he caught screen passes and turned them into big 1st downs?

 

[Bandwagoneer*]

I think this would more likely be the end of Pass rather than Faulk. Morris is bigger than Pass so he could be used at FB as well and with he and Evans they might see no reason to keep PP around.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

This isn't a bad pickup...

Now we have:

RB Maroney
RB Faulk
RB Morris
RB/FB Heath Evans

Good depth there, in case of injury. And we all know that one of these guys will miss a game or two at least, this year. (I'm a realist)


Morris is a good back-up RB. He didn't do too shabby when Ronnie Brown was injured this past season.

RB/FB Quadrine Hill too.

 

[JD10367]

I wonder if the 123 rushing, and 162 all-purpose yards, he picked up against the Pats last December was fresh in BB's mind?

I'm sure it did.

Funny. Faulk's got better career stats than Sammy Morris, in both rushing and receiving. And Faulk's only 9 months older, with 1 more year of NFL experience. But I get the feeling that the Pats think Morris can do better as a replacement for Corey Dillon than Faulk can. Maybe it's because of his size (Morris is 6' and 218#, whereas Faulk is only 5'8" and 202#).

I think they're going to use Maroney as the main back, Morris as the relief back, and keep Faulk as the third-down back and pass-catcher. I think they figured that if they bumped Faulk up to the relief back role he wouldn't do as well, and they'd need to find a third-down pass-catcher. (Does that make sense?)

 

[#54]

I'm sure it did.

Funny. Faulk's got better career stats than Sammy Morris, in both rushing and receiving. And Faulk's only 9 months older, with 1 more year of NFL experience. But I get the feeling that the Pats think Morris can do better as a replacement for Corey Dillon than Faulk can. Maybe it's because of his size (Morris is 6' and 218#, whereas Faulk is only 5'8" and 202#).

I think they're going to use Maroney as the main back, Morris as the relief back, and keep Faulk as the third-down back and pass-catcher. I think they figured that if they bumped Faulk up to the relief back role he wouldn't do as well, and they'd need to find a third-down pass-catcher. (Does that make sense?)

Makes sense to me. If it ain't broke, don't "fix" it.

 

[Wandering Athol]

I think they're going to use Maroney as the main back, Morris as the relief back, and keep Faulk as the third-down back and pass-catcher. I think they figured that if they bumped Faulk up to the relief back role he wouldn't do as well, and they'd need to find a third-down pass-catcher. (Does that make sense?)

------------------------------------------------------------------

From a plain ole' football perspective I'd agree with you. From a cap perspective, I'm just saying.....

BTW: Morris is a 3rd-down pass catcher - maybe not in Faulk's league, but a 3rd-down pass catcher nonetheless.

 

[Undertaker #59*]

Reiss:

March 06, 2007
RB deals
Here are the details of the contracts signed by running backs Sammy Morris and Heath Evans with the Patriots:


Morris received a four-year, $7 million deal. Morris has base salaries of $900,000 in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010. He received a $1.5 million signing bonus and has a roster bonus of $750,000 due in 2007, and another roster bonus of $750,000 due in 2008. He also receives a $100,000 workout bonus in each season. Morris has a $2.125 million salary cap charge in 2007.


Evans received a two-year, $1.56 million package. Evans received a base salary of $595,000 in 2007 and $720,000 in 2008. His signing bonus was $250,000. Evans' salary cap hit for 2007 is $720,000.

 

[JONATHAN!]

So, according to Miguel's Patscap.com, that leaves just over
$ 11 MM left to stay under. Assuming they need about $7 MM for draft picks and contingency, I would estimate they have about
$ 4 MM to play with.

 

[DearbornDolfan]

That's a lot of money for somebody who's been a career back-up and until this past season hasn't had any big games. Not to say he can't run, I was at the Turkey Day game when he busted out that huge gain on a left off-tackle run, but that's not his MO.

 

[Undertaker #59*]

Doesn't seem like very much money to me for a player like him. :shrug:

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

So, according to Miguel's Patscap.com, that leaves just over
$ 11 MM left to stay under. Assuming they need about $7 MM for draft picks and contingency, I would estimate they have about
$ 4 MM to play with.

That's before they tap the vet contract pool.