Inspector_50
Well-known member
Wow, it seems some are not fans of the pats going off in free agency. I guess its just different to people to how the pats usually approach so they have to see something wrong.
www.nfl.com
The New England Patriots entered the offseason with some of the league's worst position groups. Unlike how it seemed last year, Bill Belichick knows it.
The Patriots' spending spree on Monday -- the first day of the legal tampering period -- was telegraphed, yet still surprising. Belichick ate a huge amount of dead money on New England's salary cap in 2020 to wave goodbye to Tom Brady. That didn't work out well. When the Patriots wound up with a mountain of salary cap space in an offseason where few teams had such flexibility, it felt like it was by design. Belichick started to cash in his chips Monday, in the wake of a 7-9 season where the Patriots' defense and passing game collapsed.
Former Titans tight end Jonnu Smith, former Ravens pass rusher Matt Judon and former Raiders wideout Nelson Agholor are the type of quality starters who get superstar money in free agency. The following two things can be true at the same time: All three players significantly upgrade huge weaknesses on the Patriots' roster and they also are the kind of free-agent contracts Belichick usually avoids. This is not Belichick swooping in to steal Stephon Gilmore or signing Darrelle Revis to a one-year contract. These are not All-Pros.
Smith has a Pro Bowl ceiling and was my top tight end available this offseason, but he's yet to top 500 yards in a season. He will expand the Patriots' playbook, especially in the red zone. And he agreed to a deal that will pay him more guaranteed money than any tight end in history. Judon will see similar money, with $32 million over the first two years of his contract. He and Smith are both versatile, hard-working players who can do a little bit of everything. But Judon is not exactly a pure pass rusher like Chandler Jones; he's closer to a Kyle Van Noy or Rob Ninkovich type who can handle a number of assignments well with great effort and toughness. The contract comes at a premium for that type of player, one the Patriots often try to find on the cheap. Agholor lit up the Patriots in Super Bowl LII and was the Raiders' best receiver last year, but $26 million over two years is a ton for a six-year veteran who hasn't topped 900 yards in a season yet.
Belichick didn't have the luxury to look for value. The team's other Monday deals (former 49ers slot receiver Kendrick Bourne, former Dolphins defensive tackle Davon Godchaux and former Eagles safety Jalen Mills) reflect that, too. If Cam Newton is the Week 1 starter next year, he'll have better weapons to throw to, even if the group of pass catchers is still below league average. Belichick needed guys to play snaps and knew that the last few draft classes weren't providing much help. Most of these contracts amounted to two-year deals in terms of guaranteed money and the presumption is that the salary cap will rise significantly in the future.
(UPDATE: The Patriots continued their aggressive approach to free agency on Tuesday, nabbing tight end Hunter Henry with a three-year, $37.5 million deal that includes $25 million guaranteed, per NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport.)
The signings make sense for the 2021 Patriots, but they are also a reflection of where the franchise is entering 2021. The Pats no longer have a top-tier quarterback and their stockpile of homegrown talent has thinned out considerably. They had no other choice but to spend in free agency, which is the type of predicament that division foes like the Dolphins and Jets have faced for much of the last couple decades. New England's paying a premium for poor team planning -- and if the history of free-agent deals that get done on Day 1 is any indication, this group of Patriots signings will have more misses than hits.
Here are some other takeaways from a busy Day 1 of the NFL's legal tampering period.
2021 NFL free agency: Takeaways from Monday's moves
The Patriots and Buccaneers were both active on Day 1 of the NFL's legal tampering period but took very different approaches. Gregg Rosenthal identifies their paths along with the biggest takeaways from Monday's moves.
www.nfl.com
The New England Patriots entered the offseason with some of the league's worst position groups. Unlike how it seemed last year, Bill Belichick knows it.
The Patriots' spending spree on Monday -- the first day of the legal tampering period -- was telegraphed, yet still surprising. Belichick ate a huge amount of dead money on New England's salary cap in 2020 to wave goodbye to Tom Brady. That didn't work out well. When the Patriots wound up with a mountain of salary cap space in an offseason where few teams had such flexibility, it felt like it was by design. Belichick started to cash in his chips Monday, in the wake of a 7-9 season where the Patriots' defense and passing game collapsed.
Former Titans tight end Jonnu Smith, former Ravens pass rusher Matt Judon and former Raiders wideout Nelson Agholor are the type of quality starters who get superstar money in free agency. The following two things can be true at the same time: All three players significantly upgrade huge weaknesses on the Patriots' roster and they also are the kind of free-agent contracts Belichick usually avoids. This is not Belichick swooping in to steal Stephon Gilmore or signing Darrelle Revis to a one-year contract. These are not All-Pros.
Smith has a Pro Bowl ceiling and was my top tight end available this offseason, but he's yet to top 500 yards in a season. He will expand the Patriots' playbook, especially in the red zone. And he agreed to a deal that will pay him more guaranteed money than any tight end in history. Judon will see similar money, with $32 million over the first two years of his contract. He and Smith are both versatile, hard-working players who can do a little bit of everything. But Judon is not exactly a pure pass rusher like Chandler Jones; he's closer to a Kyle Van Noy or Rob Ninkovich type who can handle a number of assignments well with great effort and toughness. The contract comes at a premium for that type of player, one the Patriots often try to find on the cheap. Agholor lit up the Patriots in Super Bowl LII and was the Raiders' best receiver last year, but $26 million over two years is a ton for a six-year veteran who hasn't topped 900 yards in a season yet.
Belichick didn't have the luxury to look for value. The team's other Monday deals (former 49ers slot receiver Kendrick Bourne, former Dolphins defensive tackle Davon Godchaux and former Eagles safety Jalen Mills) reflect that, too. If Cam Newton is the Week 1 starter next year, he'll have better weapons to throw to, even if the group of pass catchers is still below league average. Belichick needed guys to play snaps and knew that the last few draft classes weren't providing much help. Most of these contracts amounted to two-year deals in terms of guaranteed money and the presumption is that the salary cap will rise significantly in the future.
(UPDATE: The Patriots continued their aggressive approach to free agency on Tuesday, nabbing tight end Hunter Henry with a three-year, $37.5 million deal that includes $25 million guaranteed, per NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport.)
The signings make sense for the 2021 Patriots, but they are also a reflection of where the franchise is entering 2021. The Pats no longer have a top-tier quarterback and their stockpile of homegrown talent has thinned out considerably. They had no other choice but to spend in free agency, which is the type of predicament that division foes like the Dolphins and Jets have faced for much of the last couple decades. New England's paying a premium for poor team planning -- and if the history of free-agent deals that get done on Day 1 is any indication, this group of Patriots signings will have more misses than hits.
Here are some other takeaways from a busy Day 1 of the NFL's legal tampering period.
