Hunter Henry sticking around
View: https://twitter.com/ByMarkDaniels/status/1766126027636400319?s=20
View: https://twitter.com/ByMarkDaniels/status/1766126027636400319?s=20
That dog will hunt; Henry back to Patriots on 3/27M deal
- Thread starter boca
- Start date
Assuming its not massive money, this is good. He's not the best TE of all time, but he seemed to be the one consistently above-average pass catcher the last few years.
Good. Let's see the numbers and then let's draft a young TE somewhere in the middle of the draft this year to build the position out for the future.
Hoping it's less than what Schultz got. Will be interesting to see what he can do without Mac/Zappe.
Very good news. Both that we signed him and he wants to be here. That's not a huge deal and he's a good player.
He’s not dynamic and can’t block, but he’s a solid receiver/dependable vet presence at the position. They really need to add talent to the TE room, like every other position on offense, to be sure, but being able to hang your hat on his production is nice.
Yup, the thing with rookie tight ends, even the ones who end up being good, is that they usually suck pretty hard at the start of their careers and may have trouble getting on the field if they struggle to block and that sort of thing. Happy to have a guy that you know will be solid.
$16m guaranteed according to Kyed
View: https://twitter.com/DougKyed/status/1766134441909330428?s=20
View: https://twitter.com/DougKyed/status/1766134441909330428?s=20
Solid deal, only 16m guaranteed, still a good safety valve and red zone weapon, lets you draft one (or more) of the raw athletic freaks this year and develop them to take over.
If he’s only due 16M in guaranteed money (probably the signing bonus plus the first year salary), then he will be easily cuttable after the second year anyways.
Henry is a guy who produced in 2021 when the offense was humming and still produced some even when the wheels came off in 2023 (I think he was largely hurt and/or ineffective in the 2022 Patricia system). Good possession receiver and decent in the red zone. Which is all to say, he's generally reliable.
Now go get a guy who can block, too.
Now go get a guy who can block, too.
Yeah, I think in a better offense, Henry will look better (shocking!). There are skills there and if he can exploit some better matchups if/when we get some other guys in, his numbers should pop a bit.
Nice deal. Kind of surprised his blocking has been so bad, he never struck me as a really poor blocker with the Chargers
If they can ever stabilize the OL, perhaps he will need to do less blocking
If they can ever stabilize the OL, perhaps he will need to do less blocking
Concur with the chorus that this is a good thing at this money. Many holes to fill, and this is one less. At a time when a lot of teams have money, seems like a no-brainer.
This seems like a good deal for the Patriots, I'm also encouraged he wanted to stay in New England despite the struggles on offense last year, speaks well of the new regime IMO.
As mentioned above, there was talk of 3/39, so this certainly seems like a nice deal. Solidifies an area of need where there weren't a lot of other options available.
Seemed like he was described as blocking type when they first picked him up, then it turned out he had the skills you describe as well.
I was being sarcastic, based on that one goofy play against the jets. I think he’s more of an in line blocking type.
This is a fair deal for Henry, the guys making 13 million per are all substantially better players than him and he's also coming off his worst season.
As usual, ostensibly a 2 year deal with a small hit to let him go in year 3 if he falls apart. I do think it's a solid signing. Get Pharaoh back too, and get a fullback that can play TE in a pinch, and we're back in business.
He had fewer yards and YPC but more TDs last season and actually one more catch. I’m not sure his 2023 was conclusively worse than his 2022 and at least from the eye test he looked a lot more spry last season.
I thought there was a chance the Patriots frontload their contracts this year and take the cap hits up front, but this Henry contract is structured with the standard tiny cap hit in year one. If this contract is any indicator, it looks like they are indeed going to be burning that cash this month.
I like that they are continuing on with Belichicks method of having heavy per game bonuses. I like having the players earn that money by being available.
I like that they are continuing on with Belichicks method of having heavy per game bonuses. I like having the players earn that money by being available.
Sure there is.
If there aren't enough players out there that you like that'll sign with you this season, you can frontload the guys who do sign with you, rather than spend more money on lesser players. It would leave more cap space in future years to utilize. I think frontloading would be especially beneficial in a season where you are very unlikely to be competitive.
So they're spending over 10M on Hunter Henry this year, but his cap hit is a bit above 5M. They had the option to spend the exact same amount on him, but take a bigger cap hit now so you will have more at your disposal later. When theoretically, you're hoping to be in contention.
Eh, TDs to me are contextual, don't really like them as a measure of production unless we're talking about a player that's consistently above or below average at getting into the endzone.
But as I said, they won't do that.
They'll still spend it. If they don't get enough good players to spend it on this season, they won't bank it. They'll spend it on lesser players if they don't frontload they guys they got.
You think the Krafts wouldn't hear Felger Nation screaming at them for being cheap if they don't spend to the cap? They spend to the cap every year. They'll spend to the cap this year.
I agree, they probably will.
And I would frontload those extensions and restructures for the same reason.
yeah, I meant it more that I think they aren't going to just sign scrubs to sign them. I think the optimal strategy is the one they have been on so far...
lock up some holes before UFA starts, and do it while using as little cap space as you can. Leaves you flexible to hunt all the top of the market guys, then once that wave is done... you start using the rest of the cap space on extensions/restructures with money in year 1. I really doubt a year 1 GM is planning to build himself a future year timebomb right away. He'll get his big fish early then fill the rest of the space by moving money around.