The “legal tampering period” starts tomorrow and the official 2017 NFL league year starts on Thursday, which means there’s going to be a flurry of things to talk about this week. Some bad, as Patriots free agents take trips and likely sign elsewhere, and some boring, as the Patriots take their usual slow start, which will probably include signing some special teams guy no one has talked about at all. It doesn’t take 888 casino review to tell you that’s a lock.
That’s just how things go in Patriots Nation. And it certainly doesn’t mean anyone is used to it or done complaining about it, even after five Super Bowls. Plenty of new is already starting to slip out, so let’s take a look at what we’ve heard and what to expect.
Even with top 3 WRs returning, Patriots said to explore Brandin Cooks trade https://t.co/y2NXeZdjzN #Patriots pic.twitter.com/9dCRbKxAvF
— ESPNBoston (@ESPNBoston) March 6, 2017
One thing about the Pats, they never stand pat. If they think they can grab a talented player that another team needs to unload they will pounce on it. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t, but I look at it as far less a reflection of the team being dissatisfied with their current options, and more about simply making the team better. Everyone’s always in a rush to figure out the trickle down effect of any signing, but injuries and competition have a way of making those decisions far easier in August than we can imagine them in March.
It also speaks to how the Patriots need to be creatively aggressive about acquiring talent that they either couldn’t afford on the open market or don’t have the high enough picks to select in the draft.
Source with knowledge of Logan Ryan’s market expect significant traffic during legal tampering period. He’s about to make $$$
— Michael Giardi (@MikeGiardi) March 6, 2017
Yup, as we all kind of expected, Logan Ryan’s going to cash in. And we’ll quickly see many Patriots fan revert to their 2014 opinions of Ryan that he stinks.
— I’ve started wading my way into the draft, but didn’t really take a look at the combine this weekend. That’s because of two things — getting ready to move across the country and each year getting a little less enthralled with the draft. It’s such a potent social media subculture now, where everyone’s an expert even though literally no one is expert, right up to the people actually making the selections. I prefer to go at my own pace and avoid the hysteria of figuring out WHO WILL THE PATRIOTS DRAFT. The Top-50 Big Board will make an appearance by April, and despite my malaise toward the draft, I’m still trying to bounce back from a terrible 2016.
@zeus30hightower my dawg what’s good u know it’s better to be needed thAn wanted! #facts
— Bruce Irvin (@BIrvin_WVU11) March 4, 2017
Never fun when everyone’s flirting with your significant other when you might on the rocks. Still, a move like this would be a significant step forward for the Raiders. I think these two teams are on a collision course the next couple of seasons in the AFC Playoffs. Would’ve been this year too if Derek Carr didn’t go down. I am still leaning toward Hightower no longer being a Patriot by this time next week.
Official restricted free agent tender values for 2017:
1st round: $3.91M
2nd round: $2.746M
Low/original round: $1.797M— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 6, 2017
Malcolm Butler about to get a nice raise, but if I’m the Patriots and I have all this cap space, I’m doing my best to make this a long term deal for Butler. They’ve got the money now and likely don’t have enough internal free agents to spend it on, so it makes sense to try to bang some extensions out now, including Nate Solder and Julian Edelman.
