We have a thread devoted to 2020 QB talk. I wanted to start this one to talk about the rest of the roster for this year and in next few years.
If it's best to all be merged into a mega-thread, that's fine but i went with the SOSH mantra "New threads are good"
What does Brady's decision to to the rest of the roster in the immediate?
WR - Do they do anything with Edelman? On one hand, he's been Brady's binky so it seems natural to trade him to wherever Brady goes. On the other hand, having a veteran presence in the locker room and huddle could ease the transition to a new QB. Not to mention JE11 is now the biggest "star" on the team from a marketing perspective. There is also a $5 million dead cap hit if they do decide to trade him.
We also have Sanu, Harry, Myers, and Gunner. Not much flexibility there since the last 3 are in their 2nd year and Sanu has his salary fully guaranteed.
TE:
Do we really need to discuss this black hole? You can just release Lacosse and Izzo, save just about $2 million and start completely over. Still probably likely to get as much production from the TE position going with this option.
RB:
Michel has a big year ahead of him. Can he regain his form from 2018 with (hopefully) a more steady O-line and FB alongside? White is in his last year at a reasonable number. Burkhead is probably the most expendable piece with Damien Harris hopefully ready to take on an actual role in this offense.
Devlin's status will be interesting. Hopefully he's fully recovered and can contribute. if he can't, Jakob Johnson did seem to get better the more he played. Failing all of that, Roberts was more than adequate at the end of the season.
O-Line:
They just franchised Thuney. Does it make more sense to shop him or really work for a long-term contract? He's on the books for a big hit this year but if they could get some decent draft capital back (3rd this year & 2nd next?) would it be worth it to move on from him and have one of the "red-shirt rookies" take that spot? You're locked into Wynn, Mason, and Cannon with the aforementioned red-shirt guys, Froholdt and Cajuste there. They also placed a tender on Eluemunor, locking him in for this season. You could save $5 million by re-structuring both Cannon and Mason. Releasing Cannon frees up $5 million. Mason has a $4.9 million dead-cap hit if released.
Secondary:
They secured the McCourty twins for another year and haven't lost anyone from that group this off season. They could restructure Gilmore and save about $4.7 million but that kicks the can down the road for not a ton of savings in 2020. This was a big strength for the team last season and they're looking to bring the whole crew back again for this year. JoJuan Williams coming on could do wonders for flexibility and ability to trade someone like Jonathan Jones.
LB & DE- losing Van Noy and Collins puts a dent in the productivity and athleticism of that group. They still have Hightower, Bentley, Wise, Winovich, Simon, and Rivers (Ha!) This is an area that they need to add to. Very thin and unproven for such an important position in today's league. They don't have much room to do any significant restructures since Hightower is the only one of this group making any money. Simon ($2 million) and Rivers ($1million) are the only ones making over $1 million in that group.
D- Line
Looks like we're going with Guy, Butler, Cowart, and likely a low end FA or 2 plus draft pick(s).
Again, pretty thin (depth-wise!) in this unit. Given the lack of depth, there's not much to do here. releasing Guy would free up about $3.8 million).The only way I can see this happening is if they draft a stud DT, not likely given current draft position.
ST:
Slater is back, Bailey is here. I'll also include Bolden here as this is where most of his production comes from What to do with Ghost? Cutting him saves $3.5 million. How much of his struggles last year were injury related? Folk did a more than adequate job in his time here.
So, there we have it. Work to be done to fill spots and get better at some positions.
I can't ever see a Belichick coached team doing anything that even remotely looks like "tanking" so wholesale releases are off the table.
What moves can they make now to help this season while also setting them up for the next 5 years?
If it's best to all be merged into a mega-thread, that's fine but i went with the SOSH mantra "New threads are good"
What does Brady's decision to to the rest of the roster in the immediate?
WR - Do they do anything with Edelman? On one hand, he's been Brady's binky so it seems natural to trade him to wherever Brady goes. On the other hand, having a veteran presence in the locker room and huddle could ease the transition to a new QB. Not to mention JE11 is now the biggest "star" on the team from a marketing perspective. There is also a $5 million dead cap hit if they do decide to trade him.
We also have Sanu, Harry, Myers, and Gunner. Not much flexibility there since the last 3 are in their 2nd year and Sanu has his salary fully guaranteed.
TE:
Do we really need to discuss this black hole? You can just release Lacosse and Izzo, save just about $2 million and start completely over. Still probably likely to get as much production from the TE position going with this option.
RB:
Michel has a big year ahead of him. Can he regain his form from 2018 with (hopefully) a more steady O-line and FB alongside? White is in his last year at a reasonable number. Burkhead is probably the most expendable piece with Damien Harris hopefully ready to take on an actual role in this offense.
Devlin's status will be interesting. Hopefully he's fully recovered and can contribute. if he can't, Jakob Johnson did seem to get better the more he played. Failing all of that, Roberts was more than adequate at the end of the season.
O-Line:
They just franchised Thuney. Does it make more sense to shop him or really work for a long-term contract? He's on the books for a big hit this year but if they could get some decent draft capital back (3rd this year & 2nd next?) would it be worth it to move on from him and have one of the "red-shirt rookies" take that spot? You're locked into Wynn, Mason, and Cannon with the aforementioned red-shirt guys, Froholdt and Cajuste there. They also placed a tender on Eluemunor, locking him in for this season. You could save $5 million by re-structuring both Cannon and Mason. Releasing Cannon frees up $5 million. Mason has a $4.9 million dead-cap hit if released.
Secondary:
They secured the McCourty twins for another year and haven't lost anyone from that group this off season. They could restructure Gilmore and save about $4.7 million but that kicks the can down the road for not a ton of savings in 2020. This was a big strength for the team last season and they're looking to bring the whole crew back again for this year. JoJuan Williams coming on could do wonders for flexibility and ability to trade someone like Jonathan Jones.
LB & DE- losing Van Noy and Collins puts a dent in the productivity and athleticism of that group. They still have Hightower, Bentley, Wise, Winovich, Simon, and Rivers (Ha!) This is an area that they need to add to. Very thin and unproven for such an important position in today's league. They don't have much room to do any significant restructures since Hightower is the only one of this group making any money. Simon ($2 million) and Rivers ($1million) are the only ones making over $1 million in that group.
D- Line
Looks like we're going with Guy, Butler, Cowart, and likely a low end FA or 2 plus draft pick(s).
Again, pretty thin (depth-wise!) in this unit. Given the lack of depth, there's not much to do here. releasing Guy would free up about $3.8 million).The only way I can see this happening is if they draft a stud DT, not likely given current draft position.
ST:
Slater is back, Bailey is here. I'll also include Bolden here as this is where most of his production comes from What to do with Ghost? Cutting him saves $3.5 million. How much of his struggles last year were injury related? Folk did a more than adequate job in his time here.
So, there we have it. Work to be done to fill spots and get better at some positions.
I can't ever see a Belichick coached team doing anything that even remotely looks like "tanking" so wholesale releases are off the table.
What moves can they make now to help this season while also setting them up for the next 5 years?