Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staff
What promises to be a tumultuous off-season for the New England Patriots claimed another roster victim.
Surprisingly, Tedy Bruschi (possible retirement announcement coming) is not the first linebacker vacating the position. That honor goes to Rosevelt Colvin, who didn’t exactly go voluntarily. The Pats big free agent acquisition of 2002 would have counted $7.6-million against the salary cap, so the team released him this afternoon. They could always work out a deal for less money, but like Donte Stallworth last week, had they been able to agree on a lower number, they’d have likely done so already.
New England is now very thin at a position that was expected to see more transition anyway. Bruschi is expected to announce his decision soon on whether to retire (I’m guessing yes) and Junior Seau isn’t exactly a spring chicken, even though I think he’ll be back. All signs point to the draft yielding a player or two at linebacker, but Bill Belichick hasn’t exactly been known to draft at the spot, nor does he generally draft where the obvious need is, opting instead to acquire low cost veterans via free agency.
Either way, it’s clear the Patriots need some new blood at LB. I’d be very surprised if you don’t see an acquisition soon AND at the draft.
That’s the view from here…how do you see it? Surprised by the Colvin move? What do you think Bruschi’s going to do? Seau? Should the Pats fill through veteran acquisitions or look to get younger via the draft?
Comments (3)
Colvin never lived up to his contract because he had trouble staying on the field. You'd better be a hell of a LB for 7.6 million, and that rarely includes a broken hip and broken foot. If they give this money to anybody it ought to be Samuel or Moss. They've produced.
Posted by Big Malarky | February 27, 2008 4:28 PM
Posted on February 27, 2008 16:28
I wholeheartedly agree. While I believe there's already a deal in place for Moss, I don't want to see Samuel go. Lockdown corners are simply too valuable to let walk away. Take the Colvin savings and put them into Samuel. Add in the Stalworth savings, trade down from that #7 pick and save some money there, and you've got enough to give Samuel something approaching 10-mil a year, which we all know is a paper figure anyway. They can always cut him 3-4 years from now when his production starts to slip.
Posted by Teddy P. | February 27, 2008 4:51 PM
Posted on February 27, 2008 16:51
Anyone who pays what Asante wants is foolish. They will end up just like the Niners who foolishly blew way too much money on Nate Clements. Samuel will get "his" but I doubt whatever team signs him will win...
Pats would be better served to sign Moss, draft a CB at #7 (or at a spot they could trade down to id the middle-late 1st round), and sign a couple of LBs younger than they have (which is basically anyone on the market- they're all younger than the fossils playing in Foxboro).
No way Samuel would come back to NE- even if they offer him what he wants- I think he's angry with what happened last offseason and is ready to bid adieu to the Patriots. No amount of green is likely to change his attitude and I doubt the Pats are going to offer anywhere near what he wants anyway. They had better re-sign Gay pretty quickly or they'll need to replace 2 CBs. They may have the best offense again in 2008-09 but, boy, is that defense suspect right now.
Posted by dboisver | February 27, 2008 9:21 PM
Posted on February 27, 2008 21:21