Just so I can understand the Jimmy side better - what would happen if the Pats kept Jimmy instead.Its not nearly as tight as you portray. The odds of either Allen or Bennett being on the team on their current deals next year seem very low: Maybe they'd keep Marty if they were bullish on his post-surgery health but cutting him at that cap figure certainly isn't a big loss. So there's 11.5M. That plus maybe some other minor move (Alan Branch looks like a very likely cut for example) allows you to offer the tag to Jimmy. And at that point you look to sign him long term, which allows you to reduce the 2018 cap number significantly from the ~22M non-exclusive tag. If you trade or cut Brady you eat 14M in dead money, which sucks, but you open up 8M to play with. All in all its not a great cap situation for 2018 but its not impossible and its just a question of how you prioritize that short term hit to competitiveness due to cap constraints versus the potential long term boost to competitiveness from having JG as your signal caller for the next decade or so.
The idea that the cap forced the Patriots' hands in this situation just doesn't wash. They had a choice and they chose the GOAT, which was perfectly understandable although perhaps unwise.
Are the Pats still the one seed this year? Do people think Jimmy makes this team a SB favorite this year or next?
I guess for me it still comes down to championships as I realize this run won't last forever. The best chance for the Pats to win another SB is right now with Brady, at least in my opinion.
So if Brady gets one more title than the right guy was probably traded.
I would definitely take another title for a couple years after Brady when the team doesn't make the playoffs.