I’m kind of surprised the Patriots are not pursuing him.
I wonder if they do quietly, and move in after the market is set.
I mean who saw some of their signings over the years, Adalius? not me Chad Brown? nope
I’m more interested in Austin Hooper or Hunter Henry.
https://www.fftoday.com/nfl/freeagents.php?o=1&PosID=40
I think if Brady comes back you almost have to get either Henry or Hooper. Ebron had one great season where he scored a million touchdowns and he would be a huge upgrade over the stiffs NE had at TE last year, but I don’t know if I trust Brady’s last year or two to one flukey year.
I think Olson ends up in Washington with Rivera or in the broadcast booth. But seriously after watching him break his foot twice tge last two seasons on no contact plays I don’t really believe he can stay healthy. No thanks.
As a emergency backup plan if none of those first three wind up in NE Vance McDonald isn’t horrible I guess and would be a decent upgrade over those stiffs.
https://www.fftoday.com/nfl/freeagents.php?o=1&PosID=30
Wish list:
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AJ Green to be the X and to tutor N’Keal
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Emmanual Sanders to be the Y because BB has always wanted him
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Breshad Perriman to take the lid off the defense and be what they envisioned Cordarrelle Patterson being.
Number 3 would have been Robby Anderson but I’m assuming he will kick a puppy or spit on a baby before next season.
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1 year $7 million.
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Huge for Seattle assuming he can stay healthy.
Olson has had a season ending non contact foot injury each of the last two years. I think his bones are disintegrating. The odds of him playing 16 games is pretty close to zero I would imagine. Very glad the Patriots didn’t waste their time with him.
The guy is a complete class act though and it wouldn’t hurt my feelings to be 100% wrong about him.
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From Jeff Howe, theAthletic
The Stefon Diggs saga continues to unfold unfavorably in Minnesota, as the Vikings were reportedly considering dealing the star wideout, who then presumably heard that report before removing all team-related material from his Instagram account. And in 2020, those are fighting words.
The Patriots kept a watchful eye on Diggs and the Vikings last season when things began to sour. The Vikings obviously never traded the 26-year-old, either because their asking price was too high or because cooler heads prevailed or some combination of the two. It’s possible they resolve their differences again while the Vikings bide their time by playing hardball with incoming trade proposals, but priorities could change in the two months before the draft, especially with an absolutely loaded class of wide receiver prospects.
Diggs isn’t the only big move the Patriots should try to make, but he is a worthy starting point. They’ll likely have three third-round picks by the time the league awards compensatory selections. Maybe that pool could entice the Vikings a few weeks into March. If so, the Patriots could try to recoup a mid-round pick and save $6.5 million by wheeling Sanu in a separate trade.
In the event the Patriots needed to spend a first-rounder on Diggs, they should ask for a second-rounder in return. Remember, the Vikings are the cap-strapped team, and they’ll probably need to rework $30 million in cap space in order to tinker with their team in free agency and sign their draft class. It won’t be as simple as trading Diggs or cutting defensive end Everson Griffen, if the latter move is even on the table.
But hey, if a team like the Colts, with their bottomless pit of cap space, wants to fork over the 13th pick for Diggs, Bill Belichick will have to tip his visor and move elsewhere.
And there are other possibilities to take a big swing.
One idea that was recently posed: Why not try to sell Amari Cooper on life in Foxboro as a one-year rental?
This is the pitch. Cooper will turn 26 in June and didn’t necessarily explode last season in Dallas the way some might have expected, even though the Pro Bowler’s 79 catches, 1,189 yards and eight touchdowns were certainly strong.
But convince Cooper what he could do with Brady in one season that pays him roughly $15 million, not unlike Darrelle Revis’ two-year contract. The deal wouldn’t void in 2021, but it could be structured in a way that would massage the cap in 2020 and make it so player-friendly in 2021 that the Pats would cut ties and send him to free agency.
And why would Cooper do that, you ask? Because the collective bargaining agreement expires after the 2020 season, and cap hits will explode in either 2021 or 2022, pending the timing of the agreement on the new CBA. Cooper would have the opportunity to have a Randy Moss-like season, star on the playoff stage and then hit free agency in time to draw a record-breaking contract.
Doesn’t sound like as much of a long shot when it’s put that way now, does it?
If it’s not Diggs or Cooper or even an Odell Beckham Jr. trade, the Patriots still have options. They could try to pry Mike Williams away from the Chargers, although they quickly have to decide on his fifth-year option for the 2021 season.
If these bold ideas all fail, the talent pool in free agency includes wide receivers A.J. Green, Emmanuel Sanders, Danny Amendola, Robby Anderson, Nelson Agholor and Geronimo Allison, and tight ends Hunter Henry, Austin Hooper, Eric Ebron, Jason Witten, Darren Fells and Eifert. It’s also easy to fall in love with a talented wide receiver draft class.
The Patriots are projected to have $41.5 million in cap space, which is more than only 12 teams, and they have yet to re-sign Brady. Clearly, there are a lot of pieces remaining on the chessboard. They could restructure a handful of contracts or devote more assets to the offense at the expense of the defense in 2020 if that’s what it takes to keep Brady and a title-driven team intact.
But before fleshing out that long-term plan, the Patriots should take some big swings with the available pool of high-octane wide receivers.
https://theathletic.com/1620470/2020…shared-article
Man that guy needs to wrap his head with bubble wrap and sit really still for a long long time
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yeah, he should retire, save some eggs from being all scrambled.
I figured he would end up back in NE…
Go.Get.Hooper.
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