The New England Patriots are coming off their fourth Super Bowl victory in franchise history, but what many might be forgetting is that they still have a lot of work to do before next season. With the franchise tag deadline and free agency approaching, the Pats need to be prepared.
If teams wish to, they must apply the franchise tag by March 2. Free agency begins that following week on March 10. The 2015 draft is a little over two months away. What do the Patriots need to do before these dates?
While team scouts are in Indianapolis checking out the talent headed for the draft, the front office has plenty on their plate. New England has crucial players slated to hit the free-agent market, including cornerback Darrelle Revis, safety Devin McCourty, guard Dan Connolly, kicker Stephen Gostkowski, running backs Shane Vereen and Stevan Ridley, among others. The first step is to decide who will be slapped with the franchise tag.
According to sources, the top candidate for the tag is McCourty. While signing the safety to a long-term deal might be the best option, the Patriots probably cannot do that yet without knowing where they stand in terms of the 2015 salary cap. The number is projected to be between $145-$150 million and New England already has $155.86 million committed to next season, according to Ben Volin of the Boston Globe. Volin suggests they tag McCourty to guarantee they don't lose him via free agency, begin negotiating a long-term deal with him and come to an agreement by the July 15 deadline.
"The official tag costs for each position haven't been established and won't be until the 2015 salary cap is locked in (that should happen in the next few days), but the safety tag is going to be in the neighborhood of $9.5M," writes Tom E. Curran of CSNNE.com.
"McCourty has reason to seek top-five safety money over the long-term. The cost for that will probably in the neighborhood of a contract that would average $9M per year and guarantee around $4M per year over the life of the deal."
Let's not forget they need to figure something out with Revis as well. The star corner has a $20 million option ($12 million option bonus and $8 million salary) for the 2015 season, but it's almost certain the Patriots discard that and work on an extension. However, that won't be cheap either because cornerbacks Patrick Peterson and Richard Sherman already set the bar high for the elite players at their position. Unfortunately, the Patriots only have until March 9 before they need to make a decision on Revis' option and it wouldn't be in their best interest to let him hit the free-agent market. Look for a deal before that date.
While McCourty and Revis remain the top priorities, the other aforementioned names are also crucial. Gostkowski shouldn't have too much of an issue landing another deal after finishing up his previous five-year, $13.6 million contract, and as for the rest, here's what Volin suggests:
"Let RB Shane Vereen walk in free agency unless he is willing to come back on a team-friendly deal . . . Sign RB Stevan Ridley to a one-year "prove-it" deal as he returns from ACL and MCL surgery . . . Consider a long-term deal for LT Nate Solder to lower his 2015 cap number from $7.438 million . . . Consider re-structuring Browner before paying him a $2 million option bonus March 10."
It's crunch time for the Pats and we'll see what they do in the coming weeks.
