Patriots should try to keep heart and soul of defense

By Tim Farmer  |   Sunday, March 12, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

New England Patriots
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The New England Patriots released DE-LB Willie McGinest on Thursday, one day after the NFL owners and players association agreed on a six-year extension on their collective bargaining agreement. The new agreement calls for a salary cap for 2006 of $102 million and $107 million for the 2007 season. The release was expected, as McGinest's contract is earmarked for $7 million against the Patriots cap in 2006.

I think this move was a necessary move for the Patriots, as they have a high number of free agents both this year and next year that they have to take care of during this off-season. Still, the Patriots should try to re-sign McGinest, as he was the heart and soul of the stop unit when it went from being one of the worst defenses in the first half of the season to one the best in the second half. McGinest finished with 3.5 sacks during those last eight games. Also, it was Willie's NFL playoff-record four and a half sacks during the AFC Wild Card game against Jacksonville that helped get New England into the AFC Divisional Game. The Patriots would sorely miss McGinest's pass rushing ability from either the defensive end or linebacker spot if he were to sign with another team.

However, with that being said, the New England Patriots have much bigger fish to fry during this off-season. They have two very key free agents after the 2006 season that they need to re-sign before next offseason, or they risk losing them in free agency, as both will command huge dollars. Those players are All Pro DT Richard Seymour and Super Bowl 39 MVP Deion Branch. Those two losses would be much worse for New England than even McGinest.

So with the extra $7.5 million in cap space given from the new collective bargaining agreement, plus the $7 million they saved in the McGinest cut, the Patriots currently have almost $19 million in cap space available. Hopefully they'll use some of that money to try and re-sign the veteran McGinest. They shouldn't break the bank if a team such as the Dallas Cowboys make an outstanding offer that doesn't make sense for New England in the long run.
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