Life after Wilfork: What's next?
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| AP Photo/Charles Krupa |
Ok, so I'm still mostly really excited about adding Revis. Still, losing Wilfork will be a considerable loss to the Patriots defense, albeit one they can overcome with a few smart moves.
The Immediate Aftermath
- Obviously, cutting ties with Wilfork will leave a massive void in the middle of the Patriots defense. The Patriots gradual transition from a primary 3-4 to a primary 4-3 defense leaves them less dependent on Wilfork as an anchor at the nose, but losing Wilfork still leaves them vulnerable up the middle. Without Wilfork, the Patriots top three in-house options are Tommy Kelly, Sealver Siliga and Armond Armstead. All three have the potential to be good in 2014, but each has some risk involved with injury or inexperience. The Patriots will likely try to add a big run stuffer to supplement this group.
- The financial ramifications help to make a little sense of this move. Wilfork was due an $11.6 million cap hit in 2014, the last year of his five year contract. There was no way the Patriots were going to pay Wilfork that, especially at age 33 and coming off of an achilles injury. With Wilfork reportedly unwilling to budge in negotiations to lower his cap hit through an extension, the Patriots best option becomes cutting ties, saving $8 million in cap space in the process. Wilfork will still count for $3.6 million in dead money against the cap.
Unfortunately for the Pats, the majority of the defensive tackle market got signed while they were waiting for the Darrelle Revis situation to clear up. However, it shouldn't be hard to find a capable (if unspectacular) run stuffer out there for cheap, as one dimensional run down players tend to get devalued in the modern NFL (something Brandon Spikes is about to find out the hard way). The top two guys left on the market, Henry Melton and Jason Hatcher, are more of the undersized, penetrating types, but there are a few big space eaters out there. Many will point to BJ Raji, Green Bay's massive Boston College product, although I'm not a big fan of him. A few other names out there that fit the bigger, run down profile: Kevin Williams (Minnesota), Pat Sims (Oakland) and Mike Patterson (Giants), Fred Evans (Minnesota). Of course, the draft could be another option to fill this void.
Taking care of business
Losing Wilfork is a big loss, but the cap savings gained could have several big ramifications on the Patriots roster. That $8 million saved gives the Patriots some solid breathing room, likely saving the jobs of some New England veterans. For starters, this almost certainly ensures the Patriots will keep Tommy Kelly around, who was arguably the team's best defensive lineman before getting hurt.
The savings also make it much more likely that the Patriots keep Dan Connolly. Rather than cutting the veteran Connolly for savings, the team could move him back to center, filling the void left by free agent Ryan Wendell. This would leave the Pats with a hole at center, but the Pats could easily fill that either by moving Marcus Canon there or through free agency (they met with Rams guard Shelley Smith last night). A in-house transition to Connolly at center and Canon at guard would fill to voids without spending any additional money, freeing up their cap space to fill other needs. If they choose to go that route, they could probably even open up more space by signing Connolly to an short extension.
Most importantly, that cap space provides the team with critical financial flexibility. How the Patriots choose to use it remains to be seen, but they have their options open. Want to sign a pass rusher? You have enough cap space to do it. Want to re-sign Julian Edelman? This gives you plenty of room to do that. Not to mention that flexibility allows them to go in on a bigger move without compromising their ability to address other needs, such as adding a coverage linebacker (Wesley Woodyard?) or a safety.
The Bottom Line
Vince will unquestionably be missed, but the Patriots could be much improved on defense with a few shrewd moves, even without his presence up front. The ideal situation would have been an extension keeping Vince in town at a lowered rate, but the Pats should be fine as long as they play their cards right.
