I'd rather sign Ridley than trade picks for one of those guys. I don't think they are in a position where they should be spending draft capital on short-term veterans.
Patriots' 2024 Free Agency Thread
- Thread starter Jake Peavy's Demons
- Start date
Right, then I'd just move on to another FA and use the pick to draft someone instead of trading draft picks for veterans. I don't think they're in a position to burn draft picks.
I guess maybe Tee Higgins but I don't love the idea of trading 34 and handing out a huge contract to him with the current state the Pats are in. That feels like something to do down the road if/when they get the guy at QB.
oh I agree. Maybe I'd send a late round pick for Keenan Allen and hope to get a comp pick out of it after this year, but I have no real interest in Williams and overall seems like a position where a 1 year fix does nothing for us
Edit- Courtland Sutton interests me some on the trade front, if it cost a mid-round pick, he's 28 you get 2 years at reasonable money. But I think DEN holds him now that they moved Jeudy
Been having this thought recently. Even this free agency period has gone like that. They've done pretty much exactly what I was hoping - got rid of the bums, signed their mid-tier free agents to very reasonable deals, brought back Onwenu (and maybe/probably Dugger).
The thing I struggle with is that, and this very well could be my Pats-centric view, but it seems like FA WRs are one of the poorest investments. Maybe it's just the typical age when NFL players become FAs and that WRs might decline more rapidly than other positions in the NFL - but it seems like every FA WR we get ends up being a disappointment. I feel like I'd rather spend our cap on best available LT (be willing to overpay for a shorter deal), and then draft a WR and OT project in the 2nd and 3rd round. Just need someone to prevent our new QB from getting wrecked while our new WR and future LT learn to play their positions.
We have the cap space to do both but I agree that LT and RT should be the priority here. But a guy like Marquise Brown would be a nice upgrade and he’s only 26 (27 in June).
I’d trade a mid/late round pick for Allen in a heartbeat. I get that the team is rebuilding, but you want to have some pieces on offense. We’ve seen several examples across the league of what giving a young QB some weapons can do and should be thinking about team building through the lens of what will drive the development of whatever guy they get at #3. They should be adding talent both in the draft and through FA/trades.
At $23 million, Allen probably only a touch more expensive than Ridley will be, but is a much better player. And if he’s great in 2024 you can conceivably franchise him. So then you have two years of Allen for something like $48-50mn (e.g. basically what Mike Evans got) over which period you hope the guy you draft develops into a bigger piece of the offense.
At $23 million, Allen probably only a touch more expensive than Ridley will be, but is a much better player. And if he’s great in 2024 you can conceivably franchise him. So then you have two years of Allen for something like $48-50mn (e.g. basically what Mike Evans got) over which period you hope the guy you draft develops into a bigger piece of the offense.
I think it's just the nature of the position and what it takes to actually get an elite receiver in their prime.
- Draft one and hold on tight, reassessing when it's time for their 3rd contract
- AJ Brown/Diggs/Hill route—trade for one looking for a monster contract and pay a hefty price (usually a FRP + the contract)
- Older guy on his last legs
- Reclamation project
- Overpaying #2/#3 guys in FA
I would be much more into it if they could somehow sign and extend. That's a really big chunk of our remaining cap. With a free agent we could do some cap tricks.
18M isn't terrible, not sure how much you want to extend him for in terms of years, he was excellent last year, but he's 32 and missed 1 in 3 games over the last 2 years.
I'm pretty sure that it's $23.1 actually. Spotrac has him at $18.1 million base and $5 million roster.
This would be a bit of a surprise -
View: https://twitter.com/JFowlerESPN/status/1767948963196317834?s=20
View: https://twitter.com/JFowlerESPN/status/1767948963196317834?s=20
I feel the opposite. He has had some success here, and there was no way he was returning here on that monster contract he signed with the Chargers. I'd also be completely fine with it. I thought he played well enough here to get another look.
He played pretty well but still had the reliability/behavior issues. I would keep in contact but probably do this post draft or something, if at all.
Thing changing on the Ridley front?
View: https://twitter.com/thepatriotsbeat/status/1767967836591333803?s=46
View: https://twitter.com/thepatriotsbeat/status/1767967836591333803?s=46
Not really. We were talking yesterday about how going back to Jax after 4 p.m. reduces the draft pick the Jaguars owe ATL
Yes, and this is saying he doesn't think he is returning to JAX. Which was what everyone was assuming...
Everyone? Who's everyone?
I was on an island, but made my feelings pretty clear about the social media misdirection.
Okay, fine, "A lot of people on twitter seemed to think Ridley/Jax were waiting it out, however, not 100% of people thought this."
Which is "rarely". That said, he's a legit WR when he plays and might be worth the gamble.
No one knows anything I guess. Not sure what this is adding.
View: https://twitter.com/jfowlerespn/status/1767975436795928742?s=46&t=bsTHbtMSqHXbNGi0vWP8hw
View: https://twitter.com/jfowlerespn/status/1767975436795928742?s=46&t=bsTHbtMSqHXbNGi0vWP8hw
Mike Williams, Hollywood Brown, and Gabe Davis do similar things as deep threats. I think they're all a little less refined route runners than Ridley.
That said, if they got Williams or Brown, I'd be OK with it. I also think that, if there's not an actual agreement in place with the Jags, this might spur Ridley to make a decision quicker. Williams can do 85% of what Ridley can do, and will probably do it a lot cheaper.
Games played over 7 years with the Chargers are 10, 16, 15, 15, 16, 13, 3. Initially I thought he missed more games, but it is just the last 2 years. If the money is right, I think he is worth it.
The question I have about signing Mike Williams is all about which version is going to show up.
Are you getting the USC, Syracuse or Clemson version?
Are you getting the USC, Syracuse or Clemson version?
This feels like an agent doing everything they can to drive the market up, by keeping "everyone" in play, when everyone knows he's likely going to Jax unless someone overpays.
Considering Schultz is the only one giving these updates and they are a bit contradictory (1 minute he's at 13-15M, the next his market is robust)... strkes me as Schutlz farming attention on a slow day
it will be interesting to see how much he gets compared to Ridley, I think I would actually prefer Williams due to his size
The 13 is a little misleading because he had the back injury in the last game of the season that left him out of the playoffs. So he missed a few games and then also missed the playoffs. So while he was fine before 2022 a WR coming off a fracture in his back and an ACL tear worries me.
According to Bedard, Patriots have a substantially better offer on the table. (He said this on 98.5).
View: https://twitter.com/mattcouture5/status/1768003018681663864?s=46
View: https://twitter.com/mattcouture5/status/1768003018681663864?s=46
If true it's definitely not helping Ridley's negotiating position with Jax to have this out there. He at least has to convince them he's considering other destinations.
I know that draft picks are assigned points but does anyone have any sense of how teams might value draft picks in terms of dollars?
To sign Ridley the Jags need to essentially use pick number 79. I imagine that puts pressure on the offer they can make. It feels like if their offer was good enough that he would have taken it by now.
Unless there is a third team involved, I guess one question is how long the Patriots are ok with their offer being on the table. I assume as some point they need to call the question. Maybe they feel confident enough that their offer is right that they don't care. That is if they are confident they are on a number where they would not feel materially different if he walks or says yes, then maybe they just let it sit there and let him do what he is going to do.
Edit -- or I guess I don't understand. It sounds like the Falcons get the 3d round pick either way.
To sign Ridley the Jags need to essentially use pick number 79. I imagine that puts pressure on the offer they can make. It feels like if their offer was good enough that he would have taken it by now.
Unless there is a third team involved, I guess one question is how long the Patriots are ok with their offer being on the table. I assume as some point they need to call the question. Maybe they feel confident enough that their offer is right that they don't care. That is if they are confident they are on a number where they would not feel materially different if he walks or says yes, then maybe they just let it sit there and let him do what he is going to do.
Edit -- or I guess I don't understand. It sounds like the Falcons get the 3d round pick either way.
Relatedly, every clip I have seen of Bedard on Felger and Mazz convinces me that they (perhaps not so) secretly hate the guy. They constantly ridicule his reporting and analysis and make fun of his conclusions.