He Neverrrr Leeeeefffttt (Jalen Mills Signs 1-Year Deal with Pats)
- Thread starter Ed Hillel
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so basically cut him, the re-signed him on a deal with less guaranteed, but a hypothetical higher ceiling if he hits a bunch of unlikely incentives would be my guess?
Yeah, probably said go see if you can find a better offer, he couldn't, and then he came back.
At that peak number, this seems like a no-brainer.
I've seen it reported elsewhere that he's coming back to play safety, which I don't really get. He was never a center fielder as a safety and if you're going to play closer to the line, the need is much greater at corner.
"up to" usually means a lot of NLTBE incentives and roster bonuses, which would reduce his cap hit.
Ah, didn’t catch that part. Makes sense. I’m not a Mills fan so there better not be a lot of guarantees in that deal.
I actually was saying I thought the defense looked better with Mills in it last year. Like a lot of guys, it seemed like it took a while for him to get the scheme and his first year was a wash. But the defense, and J Jones in particular, looked a lot more exposed when Mills went down than they did when he was healthy.
Did the group look worse without him? Yup. Another upgrade. Would still rather have Chauncey but I’ll take it. A ton of interesting DB prospects this year. Let’s see what they do next.
I guess my only question would be "why?". They've been successful with the previous approach, why not bring Mills back to play corner and just bring back Duron Harmon or something?
Turns out he wasn’t released. No dead cap hit.
View: https://twitter.com/ezlazar/status/1638580627200000002?s=46&t=WQi6iqIXzyd2nQDr6B-03Q
View: https://twitter.com/ezlazar/status/1638580627200000002?s=46&t=WQi6iqIXzyd2nQDr6B-03Q
Hard to find a good free safety-they need to be fast and great at reading the field and good at tackling.
EDIT: I'm sure someone is more expert but there's also a lot of projection involved because college teams don't play a lot of single high. There really are only a handful of draft prospects this year who are under 4.5 in the 40 and played much single high.
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Sure, I just don't see why you wouldn't just bring Harmon back, or pay Jessie Bates or something and keep that defensive structure in place. At least as a possibility. They've had top 4 in DVOA defenses in 3 of the past 4 seasons, don't really get the change in approach, but I trust Bill to put together something competent in the secondary regardless of personnel.
Offseason's not over yet, but I'd note that Bates is expensive and Harmon can't run with that giant fork in his back.
That and Mills gives them flexibility, which we all know BB fucking loves. The guy started every game at free safety in Philly the year before coming to the Pats, and then became a cornerback (a bad one in year one, and a decent one in year two).
I would love nothing more for all of the Jones' to stay healthy all year, but is that realistic. Jack Jones got hurt, then got suspended for missing rehab sessions, so who knows where he stands with Bill right now. Everyone loves Mahcus, but he's built like Spud Webb, so counting on him to play all 17 is pretty optimistic, especially if he's still returning kicks and moonlighting as a gadget guy on offense.
Mills gives them depth at corner, and safety. I wouldn't make much out of reports that he's coming back as a safety until we see what they do in the draft. If they go get a safety, he's depth at corner. If they get a corner, then he's a safety...
He's a useful player, which is why it was strange he was cut in the first place place. He can add something to the team and likely won't hit the incentives he needs to earn the full value of the deal.
I think this move (non move really) improves flexibility in the first 2 rounds of the draft to take the best player available from either CB or WR - or even TE?. I just hope they don't draft another OL in the first round...
I read yesterday that was the case--that Rapp is looking for slightly more than they want to offer.
I don't think this 100% precludes that, but it seems to be the case.
