Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots 2025 Salary Cap: How Will it Shape Their Future? Super Bowl 59 Predictions

Episode Date: February 9, 2025

Can the New England Patriots reshape their future with strategic salary cap moves? Discover how the Patriots, led by expert insights from Miguel ‘PatsCap’ Benzan, are navigating the 2025 salary cap landscape with potential signings like Tee Higgins and trade scenarios involving Cooper Kupp. Explore the Patriots' projected cap space and the financial flexibility that could lead to significant roster changes. Host Mike D’Abate  and guest Miguel Benzan break down the implications of these moves, highlighting key players like Patrick Mahomes and Saquon Barkley in their Super Bowl 59 predictions. Will the Patriots' financial strategy lead to a championship run? Tune in for an in-depth analysis and expert predictions that could redefine the Patriots' path to success. #nfl #newenglandpatriots  Find and follow Locked On Patriots on your favorite podcast platforms: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1c5ZxFm... Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-... And follow host Mike D’Abate on X, where he’ll be sharing the latest ne ws about the New England Patriots and talking with fans — @mdabateNFL Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! BetterhelpDiscover your relationship “green flags” with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/lockedon today to get 10% off your first month. LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Terms and conditions apply. PrizePicksDownload the app and use code lockedonnfl to win $50 instantly when you play $5. You don't even need to win to receive your $50 bonus, it's guaranteed! Prizepicks. Run Your Game.Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFL GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms Apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime. FanDuelSuper Bowl 59 is here, And there’s no better way to make every play more exciting than with FanDuel Sportsbook. New customers can bet just FIVE DOLLARS, and if you win, you’ll score TWO HUNDRED BUCKS in Bonus Bets. Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of Super Bowl Fifty-Nine. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

The New England Patriots are sitting pretty financially heading into 2025. What does it mean for the product on the field? And most importantly, what does it mean for the wallet at one Patriots place? Stick around for this Foxborough Finance episode of the Locked On Patriots Podcast. You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful. Thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage.

I'm your host, Mike DeBate. I cover your New England Patriots for the Patriots country. Reach out to me. Let me know what's on your mind on X at MDABATENFL. You can catch me over where the skies are blue on Blue Sky at MDABATENFL.BSKY.SOCIAL. And of course, if you're

looking to show some social media love to Locked On Patriots, please do so on our X account at LO underscore Patriots. And Pats fans, today's episode is brought to you by our good account at LO underscore Patriots. And Pats fans, today's episode is brought to you by our good friends over at FanDuel. New customers can bet just $5, and if you win, you'll score $200 in bonus bets. Download the app or head to FanDuel.com to get started. Pats fans, it may be Super Bowl weekend, but the Patriots are already on to 2025. They have the coaching staff set and now it's time to focus on the product on the

field. More importantly, it's time to focus on finance and that's what we're going to discuss today. A Foxborough Finance Masterclass on the agenda today led by who else? The best in the business. When we need the definitive word on anything and everything related to the Patriots salary cap situation, we seek the wisdom and counsel of my good friend and guest today. The most knowledgeable source when it comes to anything and everything related to the Patriots cap situation. You know him as the Pat's cap.

He is my good friend, Miguel Benzon. It's my honor to bring his wisdom and counsel back to the podcast today. Welcome back to Lockdown Patriots, my friend. Thanks for joining me. Anytime, Mike. It's been a while. I do like listening to Ghosts. And just on, oh, my gosh, what's that show you guys do with the other hosts?

The NFL Squad Show. The NFL Squad Show. Oh, my gosh. I like listening to that one, too. I like the crossover, especially, Steve. You got a new guest. You had Dan Kelly on the other day. I haven't heard his voice.

And I'm on. Cam, all right? His name is Cam? Absolutely. Cam Stewart. The Lockdown Patriots postcast. Yeah, a lot of exciting guests lined up for the next couple of weeks as well. We appreciate your support as always,

my friend. Thank you. You're welcome. And as advertised, folks, if Miguel is on the screen, you know it's going to be a Foxborough Finance Masterclass. We can't wait to get into all of it with him. We will do it in just a second. Yes, Super Bowl previews will happen. Miguel and I are going to be giving you our thoughts on what's going to happen in Super Bowl 59 this weekend, but let's get right into the business of the day, my friend, and that is Foxborough Finance. Miguel, we keep hearing that the Patriots are going to have a treasure trove of salary cap space to work with this offseason. Now, according to your calculations, the most recent that I've seen,

your Patriots salary cap space number has the Patriots right now hovering at about $12 128 million before free agency starts in March. As a matter of fact, your exact number that I saw most recently, 128,735,845 dollars. Now keep in mind folks, this is a projected number at the start of free agency in March. It's important to remember this number is going to be adjusted for the expenses that most of the mere mortals, when it comes to reporting salary cap information throughout the national media, they just can't account for it. They don't have a line of sight for it, or they just choose to look the other way. Not my good friend here. He accounts for every single penny, and he's always right on the mark. So, Miguel, for the benefit of our

listeners today, if you will please walk us through how this process gets started what it means for the patriots heading into the start of the league year all right so what basically mike was referring to is that my number right include it has a 10.3 million dollar adjustment for the incentives and guaranteed salary offsets from last year. Like, for example, some players did not earn the incentives. For example, David Andrews, he did not earn his playing time incentives. So Patriots got a credit. They got a credit for a lot of players not earning likely to be earned active roster bonuses.

All right. So that's why it's 10.3. No other site as of now don't account it's 10.3. No other site as of now don't account for that 10.3. We all have different numbers for the different cap space. We're different using

projections for the lead cap number. There's two unofficial numbers we're waiting for. We're waiting for the official adjustment number. I have it as 10.3. The other sites have it currently as zero. I'm using $275 million for the lead

cap number. I think over the cap we're using $272.5 million. That's why there's a little bit of a difference in our numbers. Sometime between now and the start of free agency in march we'll get those numbers i would um like that that happened see that that happens sooner than later but my experience is

that i'm gonna drag it out all right i've been dragging it out lately um so when i when i say i'm i have them with 128 million, that's depending if I'm completely right on the adjustment number. I'm usually close. I know it's going to be up there and it's not going to be zero. So I'd rather have my number at $10 million and be off like a couple hundred thousand dollars than zero and be off by $10 million. All right. Okay. couple hundred thousand dollars then zero and be off by 10 million all right okay um so right now between what's gonna happen between now and the start of free agents the free the page is gonna

decide on a couple tenders um christian l is gonna be a restricted free agent because he has three accrued seasons all right i've um i'm getting the feeling from people I've talked to that the Patriots will make them an offer. It's not guaranteed, folks. And so that's about a $3 million hit. And then there's Ben Brown, Alex Austin, Jeremy Fombs, and De'Ante Jacobs. They're all going to be exclusive rights free agents. Basically, the word in this case is the Patriots make them an offer. They have to take the offer in order to is like so patriots make them on offer they have to take the offer to play in order to play in the nfl next year right um so that's i've accounted for that

so some of the sites i don't think any of the other sites are projecting those things in there all right um and i know the other sites i know ltc is not including the offseason workout bonus. At the start of the league, I should say at the start, they should do it, the NFLPA, but they usually take a month to increase every team's cap number by $907,200, which is each

90 players will get expected to get 10, 32 sessions and get paid $315 per session. that comes out to even though they never really have 90 players earn earn on the roster earning that much all right money they'll get credit it's a right at the right around august for the unearned part of that um the patriots i was going to say this mike are in such great shape in terms of the cap that they could sign T. Higgins to a good-sized deal

and still lead the NFL in cap space. Miguel just sent Patriots Nation into a frenzy right there. Now everybody is going to be ready to back up the Brink strut, get the checkbook out, and sign T. Higgins. And look, obviously from a logistical standpoint, my friend, this is the guy that a lot of Patriots fans are hoping is going to sign in New England. That number one receiver that Drake May could definitely utilize, that type of take-the-top-off-the-defense receiver that Patriots fans have been clamoring for

really since the days of Randy Moss. They haven't had anyone with that type of skill set that can really do that here in New England um the fact that it is financially feasible is definitely music to the ears of Patriots Nation it's Mike it's more than financially feasible it's I heard Albert Bred talk on the the Zoe and Brent Bertrand show. And he was talking to how the Patriots made Brandon and I, you a really good offer. $32 million over four, for four years. All right.

And, but he turned them down. All right. So, and I hear some projections for T Higgins, right. And I, you know,

somebody had asked me, you know, when I, yeah, it has invited me to go on. I put on, put on blue sky. Sky, I want to answer some questions. Somebody said, what would be my ideal free agent? And it's T. Higgins is my answer, right?

And if we could bring up, and then just read this week, ESPN's Dan Granzoni, he projected a deal for T. Higgins. He had him at $28.5 million a year. But I'm thinking in order to overcome the stigma of being a bad team, that you're going to have to over – and I expect that there will be some competition for him. I think in order to win a bidding war, you can't go $28.5 million. You've got to go up $30, $32. So I think in one of my spreadsheets that I sent you,

I have three different scenarios for T Higgins. All right. So this, the top one is using Dan Granziano. So he's more connected to the NFL than I am. All right. Okay. And so I use his parameters. All right. $61 million, $70 million total guarantee. All right. The next I just did in the next deal is $30 million just

for a round. Like I think agents would like to have a round number. All right. And then the last one is a $32 million. I'm of the opinion that there's going to be a bidding war for him, and that's what it's going to take to win him. All right? And I'll say this about, I know Joe Burrow keeps on saying he would love for Cincinnati to keep their four, that being Burrow, Chase, Higgins, and Hendrickson. All right?

But he never says, you know, because you can because it's always you can always lower players cap number. But are you going to lower your compensation? Right. You're saying is Joe Burrow going to say instead of making 34, I think he's going to make $34 million in cash this year. Is he going to lower that so so they can get T Higgins? All right. I don't know. We'll see. The problem with doing these kind of projections in February, we don't know who's gotten tagged yet. If T. Higgins hits free agency and if he doesn't get tagged,

he is by far the best free agent wide receiver out there. I expect a betting goal for him. And I wouldn't be surprised if he gets 32. I wouldn't be surprised. I know people like Dan and PFF are saying 28 and a half, but I think they're expecting not a bidding war. I do think he's going to be

a bidding war for him. You see that in this number, his cap for this year and all these are just over $17 million. All right. That still leaves the Pats with around $110 million cap space. And that's just an amount.

I struggle to get them to see how they're going to use all that cap space they have, which is okay. They literally carried over $34 million of cap space from last year. No, no, they're going to end up using carryover $34 million from last year. And it's okay if you carry over cap space as long as you spend the money. And if you were to ask the average Patriots fan did the Patriots spend more or less than the cap last in 2024 I bet most people would say they spent less because they ended the cap the season with so much cap space but they actually spent

more in cash by the way the NFLPA accounts for it they spent over 273 million dollars according to my records all right and in cash last year and that money i'll say that that that 273 million includes earned incentives by players and i when a player did not earn an active roster bonus, I took that out of their cash total. All right. And I also adjusted for people who had offset salary. So it's, I tell Mike, they could, like T. Higgins should be, if the Patriots don't give them an offer they can't refuse, another Godfather reference, then I're not going to be so happy.

I want to hear that they gave him an offer and he chose to turn it down and chose to accept some other team's offer because he wanted to play with a coach or he didn't want to move, not because the Patriots offer wasn't the best that's such a good point and I'm so glad that you mentioned that Miguel because all along the narrative with the New England Patriots under Bill Belichick was we can get this guy to come here and take less because he's going to play with Tom Brady he's going to play under Bill Belichick he's going to get the opportunity to compete for a ring each and every year he's here.

It's a long time ago in the minds of a lot of NFL players out there right now. Mike Vrabel said it best when he was introduced as head coach here in New England. Those banners hanging up behind me look pretty, but they're not going to help us win games. If the Patriots are going to be competitive, they have to put a competitive team out on the field. That means big time players. In order to get those big time players, they have to put a competitive team out on the field. That means big-time players. In order to get those big-time players, you've got to pay for them. And it's nice to know, because the question I get an awful lot is, well, yeah, the Patriots are going to make

T. Higgins an offer, but will they go above and beyond? Can they go above and beyond overpay for his services to bring him into Foxborough? It's nice to know that you've laid out a scenario where they can overpay. And in that regard, they'll still be sitting in a pretty spot when it comes to a salary cap situation. So you're not going to have T Higgins looking across at Elliot Wolfe or Ryan Cowden or Robert Kraft or Mike Vrabel and going, what have I ever done to make you treat me so disrespectful? You know, he's going to be, He's going to be happy with the offer he gets. If he wants to go and play with a contender, you really can't fault him for that.

It's about getting the maximum deal and growing with a young quarterback. If New England makes him that offer he can't refuse, then it looks like the Patriots have more than enough in the wallet to be able to do it. Awesome stuff. Great stuff that you laid out here.

Thank you, Mike. All right. So continuing on, someone asked me about roster turnover. And I was just using the Game 17 against the Bills to 53-man roster. And who do I expect to be on the roster still

week one of the 2025 season and so we could bring up that workbook all right so i had i put in sorted right the top of people who i think are battling spots i'm not i didn't say they're not going to make the roster i think they're they're not ross locks but they're battling all right then there's a list of people i think are definitely ross locks but they're battling all right then there's a list of people i think are definitely ross locks if they don't get hurt during the during this pre during the offseason all right i don't think then i got a list of people like jacoby jalen um jalen jason wise who i think are not going to be on another team and i wouldn't be surprised if the bottom list is people i think will be on the roster

throughout the preseason and training camp, but will be cut and then join the Patriots practice squad for the 2025. And that's the bottom list. As you can see, Mike, I got some roster turnover. I got the possibility of people

of the Patriots creating like 20 spots for new people, at least that. And then you're going to have to adjust for people who get hurt during it. Somebody's going to get hurt during training camp. And then this is for the

53-man roster. And then the next sheet is for the people who entered the 2024 season on IR or NFI in Christian Bymore's case. So

I'll just say this. Mr. Jackson here, it's been, and during Bill Belichick's era with the team, if a rookie entered the season on IR, they typically did not bring him back for the following season. Like an undrafted rookie, someone you never heard of, blah, blah, blah. They have no ties. They didn't draft him.

You know what I'm saying? I expect him to get cut, but we'll see what happens. Because this could just be change. That's the thing I'm looking for. This could be one of those things that you look for, for a change in regimes, is that. I've got to keep on Mr. Jackson. And then, like, for example, you know, Bentley,

I think he's going to be, if he's healthy, I think he's going to be on the Game 1 roster. You know, same thing with Christian Barmore, Marcus Jones, and jalen polk i mean who's i don't know why um i'll just say this about jalen polk and i was um folks he's a second he was a second round pick that meant his 2024 salary was guaranteed 2025 salary was guaranteed 2026 salary was guaranteed and part of his 2027 salary was guaranteed. All right. So if you were to cut, even though they have this, all this cups cap space, right?

If you were to cut Jalen Polk, you would lose over $5 million in cap space. So it's just better to play it out and give him a chance to grow, then they swallow all of his guaranteed salary and have it all hit the 2025 cap. Because once you cut a play, if you cut a play with future guaranteed salaries, all right, it doesn't matter if it's after June 1st, all that future guaranteed salaries hits the cap this year. So I've been seeing people talk about how miles um if you're gonna

get after t higgins or or someone else on like a cooper couple we'll talk about later that you might get a bit of a jail and poke i'm like yeah that's a lot of money to eat i mean of course they that's the thing mike they have pages have so much cap space. They could eat some dead money. Oh, yeah, without question. And somebody had asked me about trading for Deshaun Watson and then cutting them. I'm like, what could we possibly get Cleveland Browns to trade for? I'm like, well, I can't see them doing it.

If I was them, I would just play it out. Play the season out and then I could just cut them next year and split my dead money over 2026 and 2027. I'm not giving up in their case. They need to get a

young quarterback. I'm not giving up a lot of draft picks to give it to Sean Watson. So actually, it's two questions in one. I'm so glad that you said that because that's going to be the biggest task right now for that front office. Most importantly, for guys like Ryan Cowden and Elliot Wolfe and even Matt Groh, who are going to be in this fold, they have to figure out a way to balance this team moving forward. Otherwise, they're going to continue to have the personnel problems they have on the field.

So, Miguel, awesome stuff. Already are you breaking the wisdom and counsel meter here in New England, and we've only just begun. We're only scratching the surface. Our good friend, the Pats cap, is going to be back in just a moment with more Patriots salary cap wisdom and counsel when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network your team every day

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Visit BetterHelp.com slash LockedOn today to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P.com slash LockedOn. Patriots fans, thank you once again for joining us here today on LockedOn Patriots. We are joined by our good friend, the Pats cap himself, Miguel Benzon, Patriots fans, thank you once again for joining us here today on Locked On Patriots. We are joined by our good friend, the Pats cap himself, Miguel Benzon, who is already putting on a Foxborough Finance Masterclass here on Locked On Patriots. We've talked a little T. Higgins to New England, giving Patriots fans a lot of optimism there. We've talked about what the roster may look like and some of the medical issues that may impact the Patriots' salary cap. But Miguel has only scratched the surface today

on his Foxborough Finance Masterclass. But it's always an honor, it's always a privilege to share the microphone with you because, as I like to say here on the pod, you see things us mere mortals don't see, especially for someone like me, who relies on finger counting to do a lot of his math. You really, really do a great job in terms of not just breaking down what the Patriots

salary cap means to the Pats, but also in a way that fans and media alike can really embrace, digest, and understand. So when you look at this team right now in terms of the lessons still to come here today on this Foxborough Finance Masterclass, my friend, the chalk is once again yours. Lead us into where the Patriots should be looking when it comes to 2025. They should just look to get better with players who are on the younger side rather than the older side because Drake May is going to be in his second year in the NFL. All right? Besides someone like a Cooper Cup,

I would try to sign players who are in their 20s rather than their 30s just because you want to build around Drake May and you want to develop a core around them. Because if Drake May continues to be what we think he can be, and I was wrong about Mac Jones, if he becomes what you think he can be, you're talking about a 50, 55, 60 million dollar a year contract

for them. I will say this right now, I'll probably be the first one. Drake May, if he's any good, if you put him in the top half of NFL quarterbacks, and the Patriots extend him, his contract will probably be for more money

than Tom Brady ever made total with the Patriots. And that's a function. And that's not because he's better than Tom Brady. It's just because the cap has gone up so much since Tom Brady started in the NFL in 2000. Like a rookie right now is going to get

$840,000. That's more money than a rookie would have gotten in for the first three years of salary in 2000. You know what I'm saying? So it's just a fact of cap inflation. Oh, absolutely. Yeah.

So, but he's got, I wouldn't be surprised if he gets a deal that makes him the highest paid Patriot ever at the end of the, at the end of the deal. That's it's, that's one of the things that blows my mind about this year in free agency. We've seen the last couple of years teams and teams and teams keeping more retaining their own talent.

Why this year free agent class might, has very few stars, elite players in it. I'm going to say that this CBA is the last until 2031. I'll say it right now in 2025. I wouldn't be surprised if the NFL gets rid of the franchise tag.

Not because the owners don't want to control the players. Just to give some oomph to free agency. If the teams keep on this trend of extending their own players, free agency is going to be less newsworthy

and much. And that's it. As it is right now, free agency is pretty much over within the big five. It's pretty much over in the first two days. Right. It could be – they keep this trend up. It might be over in the first eight hours. I'm saying I wouldn't be surprised in 2031 they'll give it to the franchise

just to have it keep the news because that helps the business of NFL is the news that's a good point i'm glad that you mentioned that because right now i mean you've got the legal tampering period it's a good thing we've got that legal tampering period out there because i don't know what we would do if we didn't know that they had that window to negotiate contracts because i don't know about you but i was always amazed how free agency could begin at 12 midnight and by 1202 a multi million dollar negotiated contract was already ready to be signed these are miracles that happen in the nfl uh they get put a little realism back into it but not quite as much but bottom line i

do believe that uh there is uh something to be said about the business of the nfl and how that's going to evolve and the Patriots wanting to remain fluid enough to be able to adapt to it. And with Drake May, obviously coming up in a few years, becoming their franchise quarterback, all the signals point to this kid being in a Patriots uniform for a good long time. You want to build around your franchise. You want to make sure that that franchise player is protected by players around him and a great deal of familiarity around him. We've watched two Super Bowl dynasties in the last 30 years really kind of build up around when you talk about the New England Patriots of the

last two decades and now a team that's going to be competing for their third in as many seasons in the Kansas City Chiefs. What's the common thread between these two dynasties? It's continuity. Well coached, obviously, and they're coached by the same coach, but the core remains the same. And that's something that I think teams are striving for. You want to walk up your own players and build around and make sure that gives you the ability to compete in the future. So again, excellent point. Thank you. Another question I was asked was about who might get cut, right? And this was before June 2nd because after June 2nd, if you cut a play who signed for 2026 and beyond, their future signing bonus prorations will hit the 2026 cap.

Okay. So I just focus on the people who would get cut early this year. Right. Between any time between after the Super Bowl and to June 1st. And I should say this, like the Patriots, even if you wanted to cut a player with guaranteed salary, specifically let's just throw out a name, Kendrick Bourne, all right? He has guaranteed salary.

Right? You can't cut a player. No team can cut a player who has guaranteed salary in a 2025 season before the start of the 2025 league year. Right. Because if you do so, you're hitting that coming league year. Now, we're still in, right now, the 2024 league year, and everybody has zero dollars, zero cap space because they carried it over. All right?

They carried any – that money they owe the Patriots, that $34 million, I carry it on to 2025. It's no longer in the 2024 books. Now the 2004 books, they ended the season with exactly zero. All right? Right. So you can't cut a guaranteed salary player. So if you're looking to think hey

the Patriots might um will they cut a player who has guaranteed salary before to start a free agency they won't right all right very good point they can't yeah excellent insight I'm glad that you dropped that and yeah I mean we can take a look at your list of potential pre-June 2nd Patriots cuts here's what Miguel prepared for us, folks. For the benefit of those of you listening to this podcast as opposed to watching it on YouTube, all of the visual aids that Miguel had provided today here for our viewing pleasure are available upon request.

Definitely check out Miguel's Blue Sky page. You can reach out to him directly at patscap.bsky.social and he'll be able to hook you up with all the information that you need. So once again, my friend, the floor is yours. Walk us through this list of potential cuts. Okay, so I should say the list is by – I sorted it by cap number. So that's why Michael Lano's on top and the guys who's making $840,000 are at the bottom.

All right? And some people i said this is before june 2nd there are some people i said none all right like awanu may gonzalez this i'm get i bet the i help my house your house everybody houses in my neighborhood that these guys ain't getting cut before you know june 2 people who I had said little, I wouldn't be surprised if they got cut, but I would more likely think they're going to be on the roster throughout the entire season. Like Kendrick Bourne.

I think there's some – and maybe David Andrews, if they could find the center, all right, to replace him. Or – and everybody who's got these at the very bottom of the list, who's got a very low salary and no guaranteed money, there's some chance they could get cut tomorrow as soon as they – and right after the Super Bowl, right? Because they got nothing to protect them. All right.

All right. If we – for example, we don't know because you couldn't cut a player right now before the Super Bowl. So if we don't know Mike Vrabel, who he wants out of these 56 players that's on this roster right now, how many that he wants to keep and go forward

just to have him for the off-season workouts. All right. So we don't know. So that's why I have a whole bunch of them listed as some. All right? I don't think anyone's guaranteed to be cut. I don't think anyone's being, hey, I'll be sure. There's no one on this team that says I'll be surprised that he's still on the roster. But I'll be trusted by the cut.

Because some of them, you can see, Mike, in this list, there's a lot of people on this team who've got fully guaranteed salary, which means you've got to eat it. All right? And the question was about cuts, but if you think about trading, it means you're trading away the guaranteed salary, which means that expands the list of people that could be off the roster. All right?

Right. Like, I could see, like see if the Patriots were to sign a T. Higgins, I could see them getting rid of trading away another current wide receiver on their roster. I could see that happen. Just to bring up T. Higgins,

people say, wow, $32 million. That's not a lot of money. I'm expecting that I think about it in this way. There are are five let's say five Wide receiver spots in the 53 man roster He makes acquiring him Makes all five of them better

Because he Now he's your number one which means You know the guy who had his number one is now Number two number two is now Number three and number three is So he makes all five spots better in that way so that's why i consider you know i don't think you could say that's why i consider 32 million dollars a even if that's you say that's a lot of money but i'm thinking i'm

improving five foster plots all right and that and that's um i'll be surprised mike if there's a if they kind of that's we'll go see when when Mike Frabel's stamp imprint is what they do after the... Yeah. We'll see. Listen, you folks, definitely if you see this on YouTube, you want to make some comments, go ahead.

We'll see what happens. That's the best thing about this. This is February 8th. We'll see who's right on March 13th or 14th absolutely we won't it won't be it will please people will guarantee sal will see in early march who's right or wrong yeah a lot of anticipation between now and then oh my god someone with miguel's insight and his ability to break down the numbers to go along with the insight that you receive on these players is so valuable because I think a lot of times fans get wrapped up in the action that happens on the field. We forget about the business end of it. Patriots fans are pretty

savvy. I want to say for the most part, especially the everydayers we have here on Locked On Patriots, it's a very smart listening group. I'm very fortunate that they are my everydayers because they'll always drop pieces of wisdom and counsel that are, I believe, just as valid as the opinions that you hear right here on these airwaves. So you helped to fill in those gaps, my friend, and thank you so much for doing that. Any more financial insight from the pharaoh of Foxborough Finance

could we look forward to today? Things that you think Pat's nation may um benefit from hearing prior to the start of free agency so john belfast our good friend he'd ask like what would be my ideal off season right and i just folks i don't do the draft at all i listen to to you murph steve and balsari and and Derek Havens, and I listened to a couple other podcasts about the draft. I don't listen to drafts at all, so I'm not a good person

to ask about the draft. I'm just about getting the talent, all right? So he had asked me about the raw season, and one thing I wanted to start, it was like the free agents' targets. If we could bring them up, all right? Absolutely. Okay. It was like the free agents target. If we could bring them up. Absolutely.

Okay. I'll just say this. I know the Patriots have a lot of cap space. They're not getting all these players. I just try to pick them. You know what I'm saying? I try to pick names that I thought they could go after that made sense. For example, in cornerback, I don't expect them to get all four, but I think any one of those four would

help the people's roster. Same thing with the edge. God. I should have had Trey Smith in here. I don't know how I didn't have his name. I actually did a projection for him. Oh my gosh. I had to miss it.

All right. Oh my gosh, that's funny. I had to miss it. All right. Oh, my gosh. That's funny. I was laughing at myself for missing that. All right. So I got to, you know, Ronnie Staley. I try to go with the young guys. All right.

And I got T. Higgins at the bottom just because somehow he's alphabetically last, but it's his surname in that list. I could see the Patriots signing like one from each group. They actually have that much cap space. They could sign one from each group, but they wouldn't be, they wouldn't hit. Then they're signing the rest of the free agents would be definitely on the low end of the cap, like somewhere between a $1 million and a $3 million hit.

I could see the Patriots signing, easily signing five of these players. All right? Maybe not if they signed, like example, if they wanted to move on at the center position and move on from David Andrews. And then they signed the best free agent center, and that's Drew Dallman, all right? I could see them maybe not doubling down

and going multiple spots in free agency on the offensive line, all right? And I did try to pick on the offensive line with people, I think it was Devin Jackins and Patrick, players who had experience playing both spots. All right? Right. And I'll show you. I know I did send you a thing about Trey Smith.

All right? You did. Okay. And I don't have him on his list. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We're bringing him up. I was like, I'm thinking about if I go to Trey Smith, all right, this is what I think for a deal for him.

All right? Because somebody had asked me about him and i was like yeah that's the guy i wanted it anyways and this is a deal i think we'll put him on the top of the god market all right um and you notice i signed him for five years they haven't you know so so i wanted to have him stay i think he's that good that you can stay around um so he could build, be one of the rocks around Drake May. The question is then what do you do with Owano? I would then, hey, because he's making $19 million a year. I would reach out and I'm like, all right, I'd reach out.

And I would say I'll put him in a tackle, like right tackle, bump up his salary a little bit, and extend him maybe another year, so that he and Trey Smith are both making around the same kind of money. If you're worried about the locker room dynamic of paying a new guy more money than a current Patriot.

That's the benefit of having a Michael Leonard, because he can play both positions, and you can adjust his contract because of that. Right. We'll see. We'll see. I mean, I think Trey Smith is going to get at least $21 million. All right.

If he's going as the best young guy out there. All right. And lately, the top guards have been signing for five years, at least five years. So I think this is in line with the market. It is, I think it's a doable deal. It leaves you the opportunity to, if he doesn't work out out you can cut him in 2027 and create cap space all right um and then and we'll see you take it from there cooper cup who's been on on a couple of my fantasy teams okay i really It's like, I really, and this is what we'd like to say.

They were trade for him. All right. And this is what his deal would look like on for the Patriots, not for the Rams, but for the Patriots going forward. And I'm presuming that they trade for him before March 17th, because on March 17th, he is due a $5 million roster bonus from the,

from his team. And it's fully guaranteed. So, I'm assuming that the Rams, it behooves them if they want to save cash, is to trade him

before his roster bonus is out. If they want to make Cooper Cup more palatable in a trade, they would eat that $5 million, trade him after the roster bonus, and then his cap number would then be $15 million for the Patriots. But you would expect that whatever you thought they were going to give up in a trade probably would increase because his 2025 cap number

would change by $5 million. Then there wouldn't be no dead money if they were to trade for him after March 17th. He has no guaranteed salary in this year or in 2026. That dead money is a ref reflection of his guaranteed $5 million roster bonus.

All right. This is going to be an interesting one, Mike, because the Rams tend to trade players to where they want to go. And they tend to, I would say, not to be pushy in their trades. I don't know if he's going to come here, but I know they can afford him. I know they can afford him. And that's what it would look like I should

it's going to be interesting to see what happens with him he has no guarantee money next year so you could actually if it doesn't work out this year you could cut him over $19,000 in cash basis I cannot express enough gratitude to Miguel for dropping by today to provide another Foxborough

Finance Masterclass folks he is the best in the business for a reason. Not only does he come prepared with visual aids, he comes prepared with the explanations and the breakdowns that you can find only here on Locked on Patriots. But as Miguel said, folks, we're not done yet. There is a game to be played still in the 2024 NFL season in February of 2025. Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans kicks off tomorrow evening.

Will it be the Kansas City Chiefs gaining a three-peat, an unprecedented three-peat, or will the Eagles fly into the bayou and take that trophy, win their talents, and bring it back to the city of brotherly love? Miguel and I are going to drop our predictions for Super Bowl 59 in just a moment when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast wraps up right here on the Locked On Podcast Network, your team, every day.

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Patriots. My friend, the Pats cap himself, Miguel Benzon, breaking the wisdom and counsel meter from the moment he first started to speak here on the pod today. All the information you could possibly need to get you ready for free agency, the NFL draft. When it comes to Foxborough Finance, Miguel has all the answers. And definitely, we appreciate him bringing his wisdom and counsel here. But, Miguel, we couldn't finish up in good conscience without acknowledging that

there is still a game to be played. It's been a long time since the Superbowl has been relevant here in New England. 2018 is the last time the New England Patriots were able to grasp Lombardi trophy silver here in New England. But there is a team that right now is starting to forge their own dynasty. The Kansas city chiefs led by Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelsey coached by Andy Reed right now are the new iteration of what it means to be a dynasty in the NFL.

They're attempting to go for something that's never been done in the Superbowl era folks. And that is three Pete as Superbowl champions bowl champions but mixeriani and his collection of philadelphia eagles over in the city of brotherly love would love nothing more than to spoil the kansas city barbecue set for next week so when you look at this game my friend you look at patrick mahomes and jalen hurts tale of the tape pretty even as far as we're concerned but you're a football fan just like I am. We're going to be watching this game as fans tomorrow, and it's always a treat to be able to do that.

While you're enjoying your Super Bowl 59 viewing, how do you see this all playing out, and who do you think takes home the Lombardi trophy February the 9th? Yeah, the 9th. Oh, my gosh. I can't go against The team that has the better quarterback The better coach

And the better defensive Interior defender So I'm talking about Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid And Chris Jones The Philadelphia has a better overall roster from one to 53. All right. But I think that this is going to be a close game.

And there's going to be a couple of coaching decisions that are going to affect the outcome of that game. And I trust I have more trust in any Reid than I do in Nick Ceriani. And that basically comes down to it. It's hopefully, and I was thinking about this when I was doing breakfast, I hope it doesn't come to an injury, that some player is out of the game and which affects the game. Same way I'll say, you know, same way during – you lose a player during a game, and if it's a key player, then it changes the game.

It'll be interesting to see how the Kansas City Chiefs deal with the interior of Philadelphia's D-line. If Jalen Carter plays like he has been playing, he's going to be a problem. And you're going to wish that Joe Tooney was inside instead of on the outside. I was thinking about a score, Mike, and I'm going to go 27-24, Chiefs. It's so hard. Yeah, and it's – It's going – Hopefully is as –

This game is – People are tired of the Chiefs. It has some Chiefs fatigue. But I'm hoping this is as fatigue, but I saw, but I'm hoping this is a good game and I'm hoping it's not a bad one. I don't believe in the, in officiating calls. I don't believe in that whole conspiracy there. There.

Um, I hope it's just a great game. I think it's going to be a great game. We'll see. It's going to be, um, I feel bad. I'm not gonna feel that bad for the Giants fans in Buckley

wins because the Giants beat the Patriots twice in the Super Bowl. I'm not going to feel bad for them. It's kind of tough for the New England Patriots to feel any sympathy for the New York Giants or their fans. I think you make a great point. It's so

difficult to pick against a team that is battle-tested, that has championships in their DNA. The Kansas City Chiefs have that now. Patrick Mahomes is clearly a championship-level quarterback, and when the chips are down and when it looks like he is at his last level, he's going to find a way to not only compete but put his team in position to win we saw tom brady do that for so many years here in new england coaching ability of andy reed is so difficult to coach against kansas city right now is looking like the team of destiny in terms of being able to earn that three p but the one thing that continues to give me pause when it comes to this matchup and something that really should give Eagles fans maybe a little bit of optimism is the play of Saquon Barkley you mentioned that

Chiefs front four is going to be licking their chops trying to get after Jalen Hurts and I think they're going to be able to do it on Sunday the Eagles gave up a sack on 9.1 percent of their pass plays that was a rate that was only eclipsed by the chicago bears this year so that team can get after the quarterback but when you look at what saquon barkley brings to the table and how he can take that pressure off he's averaged 147.3 rushing yards in the last three playoff games alone saquon barkley is quote unquote in a zone folks and i think that zone continues on sunday i think the speed, the power to turn those short yardage runs into big explosive plays is something that the chiefs defense is going to

have to hit on every single time. They're going to have to stop him at every turn. If Barkley starts to turn those plays into big gain yardage, that confidence is going to grow. Then you're going to see Jalen Hurts start to utilize him, I believe, as maybe a pass catcher out of the backfield and try to make him a dual threat. If you start seeing these things from Philadelphia, that defense is going to lock down. That offensive line is going to grow in strength. And that offensive line of the Philadelphia Eagles,

one of the best in the league, arguably, and by opinion, the best in the league. Based on that, I think you might see an upset here in new orleans on sunday i'm gonna go with the philadelphia eagles here i'm gonna say fly eagles fly to the tune of 28 to 24 sirianni's group gets their gets their ring and spoils the three-peat party for the kansas city chiefs but again my friend i can't necessarily argue with your choice because the great rick flair says to be the man you gotta beat the man and the philadelphia eagles haven't beat the man just yet no it's gonna be um so the funny one um the wide receivers coach for the eagles is aaron war. One of my sisters taught him in high school. Oh, that's awesome. That's great. I love that.

Yeah, so I know my sister Pamela Rainford was like, I don't think she's going to like this answer. My kid's going to get in the city. Her two daughters are Swifties, so they're rooting for Kansas City. Oh, of course. Absolutely. And of course, you've got the Swifty army that's

going to be out in droves for the Kansas city chiefs on Sunday. Miguel, I completely agree with you. Put all the official talk aside, let this game be decided by the players on the field. And if you do that, I think it's going to be a fun Superbowl to watch. It's an exciting one. I think you have two evenly matched, exciting teams ready to go at it. I, for one, can't wait to watch. I can't wait for it to watch. It's funny because this Super Bowl, no matter what, it's going to be historic. It will.

And it's kind of cool to watch that. But hopefully the game is up to the historic standards. Absolutely. That's all I got. That's all I got. That's all I got. And folks, if you want a copy of the workbook I sent to Mike about this, just reach out to me and Blue Sky, all right? And we'll take it from there.

I'll just email it to you, all right? Absolutely, folks. And thank you, Miguel, so much from the bottom of my heart for joining me today. Of course, for lending the wisdom and counsel when it comes to the New England Patriots salary cap situation. Folks, I know you learned a lot, as I always learn a lot. Every single time we share the microphone, I call this man the salary cap top gun, not just because it sounds cool, but because he really is. The plaque for the alternates doesn't exist because he doesn't have an equal in what he does for Patriots Nation. So a major tip of the cap, my friend, for being who you are. Most importantly, a major tip of the cap for being one of the best guys I know on a personal level, on a professional level. Miguel is the real deal, folks. The work that he does in charitable work for Habitat for Humanity is so inspiring to so many. Check out his Blue Sky page. Check out his Twitter page. The links are still there as well, folks.

Miguel's charity for Habitat for Humanity is such an amazing way to make a difference in the lives of others. And this man does it out of the goodness of his own heart. So bless you, my friend. Thank you so much for all of the contributions you make, not just to Lockdown Patriots, not just the Patriots Nation, but to the community as a whole. We could not ask for more. I love you, my friend, and we can't wait to have you back here

on Locked On Patriots very soon. In the meantime, I'm Mike DeBate, and on behalf of my good friend, the Pats cap himself, Miguel Benzon, I encourage all of you to stay safe, to stay well, to be the change you wish to see in the world. Enjoy Super Bowl 59. We'll see you back here again on Monday. Unlocked on Patriots.