For the Patriots, this was a relatively quiet day. The only move they made that was somewhat unexpected was that they extended a Restricted Free Agent tender to incredibly hard to spell/pronounce backup tight end Michael Hoomanawanui. This adds a little depth behind Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. This might also indicate that Jake Ballard, the Tight End poached off of waivers from the Giants while on Injured Reserve in the offseason after tearing his ACL during the Super Bowl, may not be as far along in his rehab as the Patriots might have hoped. Guard Donald Thomas went to Indianapolis seeking a regular starting job, so some depth has been lost behind Logan Mankins and Nate Solder on the Offensive Line. Safety Patrick Chung signed with Philadelphia. Chung wasn't projected to be a starter and didn't see much playing time after he returned from injury. This is disappointing as another high round secondary pick goes bust for the Patriots. We saw some flashes of greatness from Chung. I recall a Monday Night Football game against Miami in 2010 where he blocked a punt for a TD, blocked a field goal for a TD and had a pick six. Unfortunately, he was oft injured and never justified the 34th overall selection that was used to acquire him in the draft. It wouldn't surprise me if I'm saying something similar about Ras-I Dowling when his rookie deal expires. Other than that, the Patriots "big 3" free agents (Welker, Talib and Vollmer) are all still on the market.
There were a bunch of tiny signings and releasings that I won't bother to get into, but here are some of the bigger things that happened yesterday.
-Hall of Fame Tight End Tony Gonzalez has decided to pull a Brett Favre and stave off retirement for another season with the Falcons.
-The biggest signing of the day was certainly the Dolphins signing Steelers wide receiver Mike Wallace. The deal is worth $60 million over five years and includes $30 million in guarantees. The Dolphins have money to spend and they didn't waste any time with Wallace. We'll see how Wallace transitions to life in Miami. I don't think that this deal makes Miami a contender for the AFC East crown, but they've still got money to spend. I think the Steelers are headed into a salary cap induced rebuilding cycle. They failed to make the playoffs last year and they seem to be losing some of their bigger playmakers with Wallace and James Harrison leaving the team. The AFC North should be interesting to watch next season.
-The biggest release of the day was Pro Bowl CB Nnamdi Asomugha from the Eagles. It'll be interesting to see how another high profile corner hitting the market effects the price on CBs on the Patriots radar like Sean Smith and Aqib Talib.
There's still plenty of quality free agents out there and plenty of teams with cap space to burn, I'd expect to hear of more signings today.
No comments:
Post a Comment