Bears have traded LB Jon Bostic to the Patriots for a 6th

[soxhop411]

Adam Schefter ‏@AdamSchefter 51s51 seconds ago
More trades from Chicago: Bears have traded LB Jon Bostic to the Patriots, per @fieldyates.

Adam Schefter ‏@AdamSchefter 14s14 seconds ago
Bears traded former 2nd-rd pick Jon Bostic to Patriots for 6th-rd pick, pending phsical. Bears get back two 6's for Bostic and Jared Allen.

 

[Jed Zeppelin]

Was the 50th pick in 2013 out of Florida (yikes!). Tough to judge guys that play for defenses/teams that are mostly terrible up and down the entire roster but a quick Google tells me he was Florida's run-stuffing replacement for, you guessed it, Brandon Spikes.

 

[MainerInExile]

Adam Schefter ‏@AdamSchefter 51s51 seconds ago
More trades from Chicago: Bears have traded LB Jon Bostic to the Patriots, per @fieldyates.

 
Anyone know anything about him?  He was a high draft pick, has played OLB and ILB and special teams, so he seems to have some versatility.  But the Pats almost always play only 2 LB and have Collins and Hightower, so I'm not sure I get it.

 

[soxhop411]

Adam Schefter ‏@AdamSchefter 14s14 seconds ago
Bears traded former 2nd-rd pick Jon Bostic to Patriots for 6th-rd pick, pending phsical. Bears get back two 6's for Bostic and Jared Allen.

 

[Tony C]

I suspect they're down on Mayo given his lack of playing time, which is a shame. Bostic had a back injury during OTAs and now an ankle injury, but seems more versatile than Spikes even though he has that same hard hitting rep. 

 

[E5 Yaz]

The Mayo thing was the first thing I thought of as well

 

[thehitcat]

Funny the first thing I thought of was that this was Hightower insurance in case his shoulder is worse than we feared.  

 

[dbn]

I suspect they're down on Mayo given his lack of playing time, which is a shame. Bostic had a back injury during OTAs and now an ankle injury, but seems more versatile than Spikes even though he has that same hard hitting rep. 

 
 

Funny the first thing I thought of was that this was Hightower insurance in case his shoulder is worse than we feared.  

 
Either of those is possible, but I'm hoping that BB just saw it as a relatively inexpensive way to add some depth plus run support.

 

[Mugsy's Jock]

154 snaps on special teams in 2014, 9th on Da Bears...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/chi-bears-special-teams-overhaul-20150304-story.html

 

[RoDaddy]

Sounds like either one of the starters is battling injury more than we know about, or they think this guy can do better than Freeny

 

[E5 Yaz]

Bears top tackler in 2014; didn't fit into Fox's system
 
http://espn.go.com/boston/nfl/story/_/id/13766399/jon-bostic-traded-chicago-bears-new-england-patriots

 

[( . ) ( . ) and (_!_)]

How many trades have the Pats made in the past two years now? 7-8? (Sorry mobile can't really research right now).

Do we just not hear about seemingly minor trades around the league or have the Pats come to so e conclusion about the value of later round pick vs. a player with some type of track record in the league that they are now trying to exploit?

 

[SoxVindaloo]

I think its a depth move more than any indicator about a specific LB on the current roster. Last year they added Ayers and Casillas, and lost both to FA in the offseason. Fletcher is still not ready to go and Freeny is the only NFL proven depth option.

 

[ipol]

Freeny was my first thought. He's left me cold so far.

 

[ifmanis5]

Has Mayo's injury effectively ended his career or is it taking much longer than we all expected for him to get back?

 

[Dogman]

Has Mayo's injury effectively ended his career or is it taking much longer than we all expected for him to get back?

 
Back as in more snaps?  He has played in all 3 games.

 

[Tony C]

I think his question is if his low usage rate is a matter of a transition as he returns to full form coming off of injury, or a reflection that the injuries mean he won't return to that form.
 
Not sure that's an answerable question, though with age and injuries I'd reflexively tend toward the pessimistic....
 
P.S.: in re Freeney, the Pats just extended him, so don't think they're unhappy -- but he's more a ST guy.

 

[Mugsy's Walk-Off Bunt]

Sounds like either one of the starters is battling injury more than we know about, or they think this guy can do better than Freeny

They just signed Freeney to an extension.

 

[ifmanis5]

 
Back as in more snaps?  He has played in all 3 games.

Back as in actually good again. He's been pretty much invisible so far and a long way off of what he used to be.

 

[GeorgeCostanza]

If,it is just taking him a while to ramp up, and if he is able to get close to where he was before, then he will theoretically be fresher later in the year. Beats being his usual out with a torn something. And yeah that's a lot of ifs.

 

[RG33]

Per ESPN, Bostic had the 2nd fastest 40 time at the combine (doesn't clarify if they are referring by position).

Mayo also due $4 million roster bonus in 2016 with $11.5 million cap hit, so this might be more about next year than this year with regards to Mayo. I'd be very surprised if they planned on keeping him around at that cost with a healthy Collins/Hightower still around.

Seems like a really good value move to build even more depth in a strong position. BB thinking long-term, as usual.

 

[dbn]

Maybe everyone knew this already, but Mayo was put on IR on the same calendar date, Oct 16, in both 2013 and 2014.
 
edit: removed some stuff that, on reflection, isn't that intelligent.

 

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

That Bostic wasn't seen as part of the future in Vic Fangio's 3-4 isn't a great sign. But there's a lot to like about him in the abstract. He led Bear LBs in snaps last year, has played both Mike and Sam in a 4-3 scheme and, despite coverage being his biggest knock, stayed on the field in many passing situations. He may not pan out but a 6th is a cheap price to pay for a guy with his age and pedigree that we'll control for 2016 as well.

Interesting note: Bostic was selected two picks ahead of Jamie Collins. Given our need for an LB that draft, you have to wonder whether BB/Caserio looked at him long and hard as a potential selection in our spot.

 

[5dice]

 
Back as in more snaps?  He has played in all 3 games.

 
Indeed. Here is the snaps from Jax Sunday from Mike Reiss:
 
Total defensive snaps: 57
LINEBACKER
Jamie Collins – 47
Dont'a Hightower – 41
Jerod Mayo – 17
Jonathan Freeny – 13
Dekoda Watson – 3
 
NOTES: Hightower wore the green dot as the primary communicator, although he came off in the dime package (six defensive backs) with Collins staying on the field. Mayo continues to play solely in the base defense as the No. 3 option. He split some time with Freeny as Bill Belichick has been rotating at certain spots, giving the early part of the regular season a preseason type feel at times.

 

[Kenny F'ing Powers]

Has Mayo's injury effectively ended his career or is it taking much longer than we all expected for him to get back?

Mayo was fairly ineffective prior to his injury last year.

He's significantly worse than Hightower and Collins.

 

[H78]

Mayo was fairly ineffective prior to his injury last year.

He's significantly worse than Hightower and Collins.

Sucks to agree with you here because I've always loved Mayo, but I think you're absolutely right.

Before last season it would have been crazy to think Collins and especially Hightower would leapfrog Mayo, but they did. They're both much better players at this point.

Speaking of Hightower, I don't think he gets quite enough love (he gets some, but not enough) for how big of a leap he took last year. I remember before the season a lot of us thought he was a liability and by the time the Super Bowl ended he was one of the top pmaymakers on the team. he went from possible bust to a likely top-5-or-6 player on the team.

 

[bakahump]

Cant check right now but maybe Mayo insurance MOVING FOWARD?  Can he be cut next year with minimal cap implications?
 
EDIT
 
Or what RG33 Said.
 
Save 7 million next year.
Bostic makes a little shy of a Million.
Net Savings of 6 Mill on the cap.
Which if I am not mistaken is about what the cost of a "NAME" player cut during the Spring normally is. (not saying they will go this route....just that its a sizable amount of money).
 
He is a FA after that though...so only a 1 year "fix" (IE Backup for HT and C) ...unless they work something out.

 

[JohnnyK]

Cant check right now but maybe Mayo insurance MOVING FOWARD?  Can he be cut next year with minimal cap implications?

http://sonsofsamhorn.net/topic/91398-bears-have-traded-lb-jon-bostic-to-the-patriots-for-a-6th/#entry6251685
4.4 dead money, 5.4 savings if cut

 

[PedroKsBambino]

How many trades have the Pats made in the past two years now? 7-8? (Sorry mobile can't really research right now).

Do we just not hear about seemingly minor trades around the league or have the Pats come to so e conclusion about the value of later round pick vs. a player with some type of track record in the league that they are now trying to exploit?

 
Certainly seems like they have concluded that late-round picks are not worth a lot, and thus are happy to flip them for in-season upgrades of almost any size.
 
I'd guess they have concluded that for two reasons:
1. They have a pretty deep roster, so they cut late-round picks each year
2. They have a lot of comfort with UDFA, so they may just have decided that the chance of success with a UDFA is as high as a 5-7th rounder  (or at least that the incremental benefit of a late-round pick vs UDFA is small enough that a very small potential upgrade is worth it)
 
In this particular case, they are buying 2 protected years (this and next) which is already more useful than the late-round pick rights.

 

[Shelterdog]

 
Certainly seems like they have concluded that late-round picks are not worth a lot, and thus are happy to flip them for in-season upgrades of almost any size.
 
I'd guess they have concluded that for two reasons:
1. They have a pretty deep roster, so they cut late-round picks each year
2. They have a lot of comfort with UDFA, so they may just have decided that the chance of success with a UDFA is as high as a 5-7th rounder  (or at least that the incremental benefit of a late-round pick vs UDFA is small enough that a very small potential upgrade is worth it)
 
In this particular case, they are buying 2 protected years (this and next) which is already more useful than the late-round pick rights.

 
Another factor is that they should have three late round compensatory picks this year.  No way five or six late round picks make the team.

 

[Super Nomario]

 
Certainly seems like they have concluded that late-round picks are not worth a lot, and thus are happy to flip them for in-season upgrades of almost any size.
 
I'd guess they have concluded that for two reasons:
1. They have a pretty deep roster, so they cut late-round picks each year
2. They have a lot of comfort with UDFA, so they may just have decided that the chance of success with a UDFA is as high as a 5-7th rounder  (or at least that the incremental benefit of a late-round pick vs UDFA is small enough that a very small potential upgrade is worth it)
 
In this particular case, they are buying 2 protected years (this and next) which is already more useful than the late-round pick rights.

They're also easy to get. In this year's draft, they traded #96 and a 7th for #111, a 5th, and a 6th. Then they traded the 5th, moving back 19 spots to pick up a 7th. If there's someone they like in the late rounds that they don't want to take a chance on trying to sign as a UDFA, they can pick up a late-round pick for trading down a few spots.
 
(Plus Shelter's note about compensatory picks).

 

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

 
Certainly seems like they have concluded that late-round picks are not worth a lot, and thus are happy to flip them for in-season upgrades of almost any size.
 
I'd guess they have concluded that for two reasons:
1. They have a pretty deep roster, so they cut late-round picks each year
2. They have a lot of comfort with UDFA, so they may just have decided that the chance of success with a UDFA is as high as a 5-7th rounder  (or at least that the incremental benefit of a late-round pick vs UDFA is small enough that a very small potential upgrade is worth it)

 
I think this is key.  At that point in the draft its pretty much a crap shoot among a very broad player pool.  This year we cut all four of our 6th and 7th rounders but found a few UDFA contributors like Andrews and Coleman (originally a UDFA elsewhere but signed off SEA's practice squad).  In 2014 we also got very little out of our four 6-7 rounders, but found Malcolm Butler.  And while we've definitely had some bigger successes in the later rounds of the draft in the past, its possible that some of those guys - take Edelman, for example - were so under the radar that we would have been able to scoop them up as UDFAs even if we hadn't drafted them.

 

[SeoulSoxFan]

Not that Bostic would develop into an adequate replacement, but both Hightower and Collins' rookie contracts also run out after 2016. 
 
Not sure if they could extend both studs, so if Bostic hits it could be Collins + Bostic and letting HT go (my bet is to let Mayo go and BB extending both HT + Collins.) 

 

[Super Nomario]

 
I think this is key.  At that point in the draft its pretty much a crap shoot among a very broad player pool.  This year we cut all four of our 6th and 7th rounders but found a few UDFA contributors like Andrews and Coleman (originally a UDFA elsewhere but signed off SEA's practice squad).  In 2014 we also got very little out of our four 6-7 rounders, but found Malcolm Butler.  And while we've definitely had some bigger successes in the later rounds of the draft in the past, its possible that some of those guys - take Edelman, for example - were so under the radar that we would have been able to scoop them up as UDFAs even if we hadn't drafted them.

I think this is true - the talent pool is pretty flat after the fourth round or so, and there doesn't seem to be a big difference in terms of what kind of player you can get in the 5th round vs 7th round vs UDFA, or at least teams are looking at pretty different things at that point and everyone's pretty much guessing equally. The advantage of a draft pick is control. They clearly liked Coleman and probably would have wanted to sign him initally as a UDFA, but he ended up signing elsewhere. That's really the value in a 7th-round pick: getting first crack at a UDFA. Edelman might have gone undrafted if the Pats hadn't tabbed him in the seventh, but they might not have been able to convince him to sign in New England.

 

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

I think this is true - the talent pool is pretty flat after the fourth round or so, and there doesn't seem to be a big difference in terms of what kind of player you can get in the 5th round vs 7th round vs UDFA, or at least teams are looking at pretty different things at that point and everyone's pretty much guessing equally. The advantage of a draft pick is control. They clearly liked Coleman and probably would have wanted to sign him initally as a UDFA, but he ended up signing elsewhere. That's really the value in a 7th-round pick: getting first crack at a UDFA. Edelman might have gone undrafted if the Pats hadn't tabbed him in the seventh, but they might not have been able to convince him to sign in New England.

 
I think that's a good way to put it.  Another factor I guess is the contract.  A 7th rounder will get a 4 year deal while an UDFA will get a three year deal.  While the 7th rounder might get paid slightly more in the first three contract years, it won't be by much.  But his 4th year salary will only be in the 700K range whereas an UDFA will be an RFA in his 4th year. If the player is any good you'll need to give him at least the 2nd round tender (2M) to avoid losing him and if the player is really good - if Butler becomes a real #1 corner we might find this out - then you might either need to give him the 1st round tender (2.9M) or a new deal.

 

[jsinger121]

Not that Bostic would develop into an adequate replacement, but both Hightower and Collins' rookie contracts also run out after 2016. 
 
Not sure if they could extend both studs, so if Bostic hits it could be Collins + Bostic and letting HT go (my bet is to let Mayo go and BB extending both HT + Collins.) 

 
They are in great cap shape to extend both I believe. Mayo will be gone and they can create cap space other ways.

 

[SeoulSoxFan]

They are in great cap shape to extend both I believe. Mayo will be gone and they can create cap space other ways.

 
Agreed. Sidenote -- Lewis is also UFA after this year, so they'll need the cap space (supposedly to go up to $150m?)

 

[jsinger121]

Cadet cut to make room for Bostic

 

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

 
Agreed. Sidenote -- Lewis is also UFA after this year, so they'll need the cap space (supposedly to go up to $150m?)

 
Overall we're in great shape in terms of 2016 free agency.  Lewis is likely to be the most important UFA and he might get an extension this season.  Otherwise we're just looking at guys like Wendell, Fletcher, Brown, Hooman, Wilson, Ebner, and LGBT who are expendable or could be potentially resigned at very low dollars.
 
If we keep both Hightower and Chandler Jones for their fifth years at the option cost and cut Mayo and Amendola, we'll have 45 players under contract for about 133M.  We'll also have the option of saving 3.7M by cutting Cannon, about 4M by cutting Vollmer, 2.4M by cutting Branch, 2M by cutting Nink, and/or 5M by cutting Sheard.

 

[mwonow]

 
Certainly seems like they have concluded that late-round picks are not worth a lot, and thus are happy to flip them for in-season upgrades of almost any size.
 
I'd guess they have concluded that for two reasons:
1. They have a pretty deep roster, so they cut late-round picks each year
2. They have a lot of comfort with UDFA, so they may just have decided that the chance of success with a UDFA is as high as a 5-7th rounder  (or at least that the incremental benefit of a late-round pick vs UDFA is small enough that a very small potential upgrade is worth it)
 
In this particular case, they are buying 2 protected years (this and next) which is already more useful than the late-round pick rights.

 
Late to the party, but I'd also add that the Pats are already really young, which helps the algebra around "should we add a 3rd year player and pass on a rookie?" from both a team age and a cap perspective.

 

[Andy Merchant]

Has Mayo's injury effectively ended his career or is it taking much longer than we all expected for him to get back?

Based on his playing time I've wondered if Mayo lost a step or some lateral movement after his injury. I unfortunately know that for me tendon repairs take a long time to heal and the range of motion is never the same as it was pre-injury. Of course, I didn't have access to the physicians, treatments, rehab, etc. that a professional athlete would have.

It would be interesting to hear DaveRoberts'Shoes thoughts about a professional athlete's recovery from a ruptured patellar tendon.

 

[Van Everyman]

Does the fact that they retained Mayo in the offseason suggest that they think he will recover at some point? Here is Reiss around the time of his renegotiated contract:

Mayo will be guaranteed $4.5 million in 2015, with a chance to earn up to $6 million if he plays in 85 percent of the defensive snaps. Furthermore, NFL Network reported that there is a $4 million option before 2016 free agency that the team can pay to pick up the final two years of the contract.

While it's unclear exactly how much salary-cap relief the Patriots will receive, the team has been tighter to the cap than in previous years and this should provide some more breathing room. Prior to Mayo's restructure, the club had $6.79 million of cap space, which ranked as the sixth-lowest figure in the NFL, according to ESPN's salary database.

In July 2014, Belichick said of Mayo, "I think he's as well respected as any player in the locker room and I'd say one of the best overall team leaders, players, and kind of a glue chemistry guy that I've been around."

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/12741510/new-england-patriots-restructure-jerod-mayo-contract

Even putting aside BB's comments, it's hard to understand why they would dedicate significant resources to him if it were truly a 50-50 proposition that he'd return to full health. Unless they thought his leadership was worth that money – or that Wilfork's performance last year after a significant injury suggested it was worth the risk.

 

[tims4wins]

There is NO way they pick up that $4M option IMO

 

[Stitch01]

They didn't really commit much in terms of incremental resources given Mayos original contract. He won't be here on his current contract next year.