The Chicago Bears are trading Martellus Bennett to the New England Patriots for an undisclosed draft pick. The teams are finalizing the deal but the Patriots will send a 4th round pick to the Bears in exchange for a 6th rounder. The Patriots have always preferred two tight end sets because it creates matchup problems for the defense. The two tight end sets reached their peak in 2011 when Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez terrorized opposing defenses (Tom Brady also threw 39 touchdowns). Last year the Patriots decided to pick up Scott Chandler but he did not pan out. Bennett is 6-6 and 273 pounds, he is signed through 2016 and he due to earn $5.085 million.
The Dolphins are at it again, they are spending money and spending it quickly. Acquiring Maxwell and Alonso will eat up a good chunk of the Dolphins cap space and make their roster top heavy. Regardless of this trade, the Dolphins are still a few steps behind the Patriots and they have a long way to go.
Dolphins, Congrats on winning the offseason championship! See you in September! Well its that time of year again, the Deflategate drama is back with a vengeance.
Today marks the first day in a long appeals process for Tom Brady and the NFL over the alleged deflation of footballs in last years AFC Championship Game. Sadly, things do not seem to be going very well for Brady, today at least. The majority of the arguments today are centered on the destruction of Brady's cell phone and his validity as a witness. Clement, the NFL lawyer, repeatedly stated that Brady lied about his conversations with Jastremski. That is a lie, according to several transcripts from the previous hearing. On top of that, Clement also argued that Wells and Goodell did not see Brady as a credible witness. Kessler, on the other hand, was asked if he thought that the NFL was coming after Brady. Kessler simply stated that Goodell was out to protect his investment in the Wells Report (In case you are wondering the Wells Report cost the NFL $3 million dollars). Judge Barrington Parker did not seem to pleased with the fact that Brady destroyed his cell phone. He stated that," Anyone within 100 yards knew that would raise the stakes." Also, no new evidence will be shown at the hearing. That means the Wells Report is only "credible" evidence that the judges can base their ruling off of. Buckle up for the long haul....the ruling may not come for another 3 months The Falcons are officially moving on from Roddy White, the best wide receiver in the franchises history.
Dan Quinn added, "Decisions like these are always difficult, but this was one of the most difficult decisions I have been a part of in my years of football," general manager Thomas Dimitroff said in a statement released by the team. "We have a tremendous amount of respect and gratitude for what Roddy has meant to this community and organization. He is a great teammate and one of the all-time great Falcons. We thank Roddy for everything he has meant to this organization and we wish him success as he continues his career." White voiced his frustrations halfway through the 2015 as he dropped precipitously on the Falcons depth chart. "For me, at the end of the day, I want to catch passes," he exclaimed," I'm not out here just #)$@ around and just to sit around to just block *$#( people all day. It is not what I want to do." "I've contributed to offenses for this franchise for the last nine, 10 years. It always bothers me when I go out and don't catch any balls in a game because it hasn't happened in so long." White is a cap casualty as he would cost the Falcons $6 million this offseason. Have no fear Roddy there will be plenty of suitors........ Brandon Lafell was crucial part of the Patriots 2014 Super Bowl team but he could not fully recover from a foot injury he sustained over the offseason. Label continued to recover into the season and that hurt his production substantially.
Lafell had fallen under Danny Amendola, Keyshawn Martin, and Julian Edelman on the depth chart and releasing him will free up $2.2 million in cap space this offseason. Scott Chandler, on the other hand, was signed away from the Bills last offseason as a back up for Gronk but he did not pan out. Chandler suffered a knee injury half way through the season and he was never able to fully recover and produce on the field. Sadly, releasing Chandler will only free up $1.3 million in cap space. The Patriots now have $17.3 million in cap space but they still have a major need at wide receiver after informing Brian Tyms that he will not be returning. In other news, Aaron Dropson is the only other true outside receiver on the roster and he has been hit or miss the past few seasons. Chris Harper is also still on the roster but he needs to make up for his terrible muffed punt against Denver, Either way, the Patriots have a lot of work to do this offseason and the 2016 team will look significantly different than 2015 one. We can only hope that megatron comes out of retirement..... |
Author: Isaac FeldmanArchives
April 2017
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