Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Trending Tuesday: PatsCap Sets the Record Straight - 2/25/2020

Episode Date: February 25, 2020

As has been the case since the 2019 NFL season ended, the hottest trending topic in New England is the future of Tom Brady. Amidst all of the varying reports about the Patriots’ ability to afford Brady’s asking price, host Mike D’Abate welcomes the PatsCap, himself, to set the record straight. Miguel Benzan gives his take on the misconceptions surrounding the Pats’ salary cap, the feasibility of trading for a high-profile wide receiver, and his outline for a potential deal for Brady to stay in Foxboro.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello to all of you Foxborough faithful. It's Trending Tuesday here on the Locked On Patriots podcast, your daily dose of news, notes, and analysis infused with the occasional opinion on your six-time Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots. I'm Mike DeBate, your host of Locked On Patriots, a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. And because it's your team every day, that means your questions, your comments, your feedback is always welcomed and always appreciated. Please feel free to reach out to me and follow me on Twitter at MDABATEFPC. And please follow the Locked On Patriots account on Twitter as well at LO underscore Patriots. Folks, again, it is trending Tuesday here on the Locked On Patriots podcast,

and that means I have two sharp ears to the ground when it comes to the hottest and most trending topics in Patriots Nation. And speaking of sharp ears, folks, I have not forgotten that I did say starting this week there would be a new opening of Locked On Patriots. Well, that is still very much going to happen, folks. A couple of minor behind-the-scenes setbacks have prevented that from happening, but fear not, that opening is coming your way. But rather than talk logistics, let's talk business. And of course, being Tuesday, it is day

two of media access for the 2020 NFL Draft Combine, yesterday being the day for weigh-ins and measurements. Today, collegiate hopefuls met with the media. And fear not, folks, your New England Patriots may not have had a formal speaking participant in this year's Combine, but they're doing plenty of scouting, glad-handing, and meeting down in Indianapolis. Players like Jake Fromm, Thaddeus Moss, Adam Troutman, just to name a few, have all met with the New England Patriots representatives. And the Patriots have a pretty strong scouting contingent down in Indianapolis.

And it's headlined from a guy you might not expect to have made the trip, but once you hear the man's name, it makes perfect sense. And that is former offensive line coach Dante Skarnecchia. Even though Dante announced his retirement in January, he's still very much a part of the Patriots scouting contingent, and he will continue to scout and even mentor some of the young players coming along. Dante has truly been a gift to this organization, and he keeps giving back year after year, both in active duty and in retirement. So the Patriots are very well represented in Indianapolis this week. And even though the NFL Draft Combine is a trending topic across the NFL platform, it's still not the hottest trending topic when it comes to your New England Patriots. And for that reason, we're going to take a little bit of a combine break today,

and we're going to talk about the trending topic. And I know, folks, the hottest topic in New England is Tom Brady. But if you really think about it, folks, the trending topic is a little more than just Brady's return. It's about what weapons are they going to surround him with? Will the Patriots go two years or more to satisfy that want? And of course, the most important question, can they afford to sign Tom Brady for the money he wants? A lot of financial questions there. So when the topic is finances, who do you bring in? You bring in the best financial guru in the business. And that's exactly what I've done today here on Trending Tuesday.

Miguel Benzon, aka The Pat's Cap, joins me right here on Locked On Patriots today via his own request. And Miguel is going to set the record straight when it comes to the Patriots' salary cap. Which numbers are accurate? Which numbers are not accurate? Is there a chance that the Patriots will trade for a high-profile wide receiver? And last but certainly not least, if the Patriots and Tom Brady can come to a contract agreement, what will that deal look like?

And Miguel will even offer his opinion on whether or not the Patriots might be wise to wait and see if a new CBA can be agreed upon before the free agency deadline. So sit tight, folks. Miguel has got a lot to say. I'm honored to give him the platform to do it. And as always, I sincerely hope that you enjoy today's podcast. However, before I welcome in my good friend Miguel, I just wanted to take one quick moment to address you. Yes, you, listening out there. If you've been a listener of this podcast, I'm sure you've heard all of the great advertisers working with Locked On to reach sports fans. But you may not know that Locked On Patriots is a great way for your local business

to reach passionate Patriots fans, just like you. Unlike any other podcast, Locked On gives your local company the unique ability to reach your local podcast listeners. Not just any podcast listener, a Locked On gives your local company the unique ability to reach your local podcast listeners. Not just any podcast listener, a Locked On podcast listener. If your company wants to connect with Patriots fans and a predominantly male audience that is well-educated with disposable income, then let's put your company right here on the Locked On Patriots podcast. Local fans love to support local businesses. Text the word ADVERTISING to 33777 or visit lockedonpodcast.com

slash advertising and let us know who you are. We'll get our team to help your team achieve Locked On advertising success. Once again, text the word advertising to 33777 or visit lockedonpodcast.com slash advertising. We look forward to hearing from you when there is a trending topic in patriots nation pats fans you can bet that the salary will almost always be a factor and my guest today is the most knowledgeable source when it comes to anything and everything related to the patriot salary cap situation He's among the best followers on Twitter that you can find anywhere. He is my good friend, and you know him as the Pats cap, Miguel Benzon. It's my honor to bring his wisdom and counsel back to the podcast today.

Welcome back to the Locked On Patriots podcast, my friend. Thank you so much for joining me today. It's always a pleasure. Obviously, you guys are listening to this, so you know. You probably already listen and listen to the podcast. I try to listen to this podcast every day, but I get caught up on my walks. So I listened to two episodes yesterday. And for me, because you're such a great host, and the guests you're running are so nice.

And I love live tweeting when I'm listening to the podcast. And Evan, Evan, it's all good. It's all good. The boo was just in jest because you booed my tweet about Steve. Well, like I said on Twitter yesterday, my friend, the word of the day when it comes to, you know, Lockdown Patriots is mediation. We're all about bringing worlds together.

But you know what we're also about here on Locked On Patriots? We're all about setting the record straight. Look, Miguel, I've said often, I use the term best in the business to describe you. That's not an exaggeration in the least. Whenever I have a question on the salary cap, you're my first choice, and

quite honestly, you're the only one I need. So let's get down to it, my friend. As we live and breathe here today, the number that you're reporting on the Patriots cap is $29,069,286. Now, there's a lot that's always floated around when it comes to cap numbers and what cap hits are going to be, releases, possible freeing up of cap space, cap hits in terms of what salaries are going to be each and every year. But a lot of what's out there is either uninformed information or it's misinformation or it's that type of snowball effect that you see with things like this where people will report

a number, they'll latch onto it, and they'll keep reporting it without going above and beyond to try to correct the number or make sure that the information is the latest and greatest. Again, you're the best in the business at doing that. You live and breathe this stuff. Miguel, set the record straight for our listeners today here on Locked On Patriots because there's so much information that's going on out there from a lot of good

people, a lot of reputable sources, friends of ours that are reporting things that may be not the most current information. So the floor is yours, my friend. I'm going to let you enlighten my listeners here today on what exactly you can take to the bank, so to speak, when it comes to the Patriots

salary cap. Thank you for this opportunity to get the record straight. All right. So there are several, like Mike has said, there's several things out there that's been out there tweeted, reported about the salary cap, especially the Patriots' salary cap, that's just wrong. So I'm here to set that record straight.

I'm not going to do it in any particular order. I just wrote it down off the top of my head. Over the weekend, someone reported the Patriots only had two players on the contract for 2022. That's incorrect. They have a dozen. I think the person wanted to say

they had two players with 46-man active roster bonuses signed for the 2022 season, but they said two players on the contract. That's incorrect information. It's 12. The funny thing is, I don't know how it passed their editor because

they missed the entire 2019 draft class. I can understand missing Joe Cardona as a veteran because he's a longstop and has a very small cap number, but how do you miss the entire 2019 draft class? Okay? So that was one thing I wanted to get record straight.

The other thing I've been hearing is that Marcus Cannon can't be cut this year because of his contract. Of course, the person doesn't say why, explain further why, but I'm just telling you, he can be cut this year and he wouldn't be able to be cut because he could create cap space. He could create

over about $5 million in cap space and it would be very little dead money. Alright? It would over about $5 million in cap space, and it'll be very little dead money. It'll be about $3 million in dead money. So I don't know why that person's saying that Marcus can't be cut this year because of the contract. That's incorrect information. None of his money that's due to him in 2020 or 2021 is guaranteed. So he can be cut this year. So I want to straighten that out.

The other thing we heard incorrectly over the weekend was Devin McCourty's tag number. All right? And I don't blame the person for getting it wrong, but I'll just, because they got part of the franchise tag number wrong, how it's calculated. It's a long, it used to be when I first started, Donald, it used to be the average of the five-half cap numbers at that position in the prior year. It's a different formula.

But it also says in the formula in the CBA, the tag number will be the higher of the formula or 120% of the player's salary cap number of the prior year. Devin McCourty had a high cap number in 2019. 120% of that is $16 million. So his cap number is not going to be $11 billion as it was reported. You can't see me, but I got air quotes for reported. It's actually going to be over $16 million. That's a big difference. All right?

And the other thing I want to say is about the CBA being the last year of the CBA and what's going to happen next year. This is the last year, all right, of the current CBA. And so it talks about we're going to get into Brady. Obviously, every podcast Mike talks about is about Brady. We'll talk about Brady at the end of the current CBA. And so it talks about we're going to get into Brady. Obviously, every podcast Mike talks about is a bit about Brady. We'll talk about Brady at the end of the podcast. But the thing is about being here is you can't have voyable years, and that's going to help the Patriots.

That's incorrect. You still could have voyable years in deals this year, all right? They just can't void in 2020. And the thing that people say about voidable years is helping Tom Brady. Why is there a voidable years in Tom Brady's contract? They're not talking about that.

And the reason there is, is because they wanted to have that $13.5 million of dead money to force the Patriots and the Brady to come to a decision before they start a free agency. All right? There are other ways around the cap, even with being a last year, without even using voidable years, and I'll talk about that later with Brady,

but there are some things you still can do. There's a goofy something called a completion bonus that you could do, work around the CBA, all right? And that's about it, setting the record straight. Oh, and the other thing is about my number, all right? I say it's $29 million. People put down it's $41.5 million, right? And I get it from other sites that, $41 and $44 million,

alright? I'll tell you this, I have it because I have $29.5 million because I'm including Brady's number of $13.5 million. I think officially he's on the books for $6.75 million, alright? But the reason I have him as $13.5 million is because there's no chance

that it's actually going to end up in 2020 to be $6.75 million because there's no chance that it's actually going to end up in 2020 to be $6.75 million, all right? Because if he gets his void deal contracts and he signs someplace else, his number is going to be $13.5 million, all right? If he does sign with the Patriots, it's far likely that his new cap number is going to be closer to $13.5 million than $6.75 million. And some of you guys might have seen my tweet last weekend about why it's important.

Some people have been reporting the number is 6.5 and 13, and I corrected the numbers. And the reason I corrected the numbers, even if you say it's just a half million dollars correction, a half million dollars is a rookie salary, or a couple of players on the practice squad. So it does make a difference. You see that half million, especially for a team that's up against the cap, that half million dollar difference does make a difference.

All right? So that should square why I wanted to come up. The reason I actually reached out to Mike and said I wanted to clear this, get the record straight, because I think as fans, we should get the right numbers. All right? Because all of us like to have, like, create off-season ideas and toss in ideas what the Patriots should do.

But you should base it on reality, on the right numbers, all right, on the truth. And that's why I started, basically, bottom line, this is why I started doing Covenant of the Southern Caps, because I realized the beat writers, I could do a better job of doing the beat writers, because I could just focus on one thing, like, with laser focus and do that.

Like, I don't go, I'm not a beat writer. I've never been to the Patriots locker room. So, all right. So that's my, I'm going to off my soapbox now. Well, it's an honorable soapbox to occupy. I can guarantee you that. And first of all, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for reaching out to me and choosing Locked On Patriots as the platform to set the record straight

because you set me straight on a few things as well, numbers and things that I had been reporting or hearing or things that have been even retweeted or, I don't want to say regurgitated. I think that's a pretty vile word to use. But things that have been re-shared, I guess, is best way to put it, here on Locked On Patriots. And especially when it comes to numbers, you know, things like McCourty, things like the numbers of, you know, Patriots that are under contract for 2020. It's definitely something that helps our listeners.

It helps me out a tremendous amount. So I thank you for that, and thank you for setting the record straight on your number. Playing along those lines for just a second, Miguel, before we get into the big trending topic today, which is always Tom Brady, let's face it. We know that it's going to be until probably March 16th or 18th, unless they can get something done in the interim. But another trending topic is upgrading the Patriots' wide receiving core via trade. And we've seen a couple of different names thrown about the last couple of weeks,

namely Stephon Diggs and Odell Beckham Jr. You've been pretty active on Twitter with your feelings on both Diggs and Beckham. When you look at this, and you're laughing because you know it's true, and you've been absolutely beating the drum like crazy on this. The floor is yours, as always, my friend. When you look at both Diggs and Beckham, is there a better potential fit between the two, or are we really tilting at windmills when it comes to both of these options,

Miguel? All right. I don't think either of them are joining the Patriots, all right? But if I was to pick a better fit, holy cow, I'd want probably Stephon Diggs. I just don't... If you're trading the player

for Beckham, that means two teams have traded him in two straight years. I don't think you could say he's going to join the Patriots. I know he loves... He's been throwing rose petals at Tom Brady on social media. I just, I don't trust him to behave when he comes in. I just, I really don't.

I would think the better fit would be Diggs because he's cheaper. I think he's younger. And that's why. And I just – like this idea, like people throwing out, like the offseason plan includes getting Beckham or Diggs. And they don't talk about – like there are other teams who are ahead of them in a draft, Patriots draft. Why won't they be interested in them?

And then why wouldn't they beat out the Patriots in a bidding war? And, you know, that's my problem. That's a couple of problems I have with the Patriots trading for Diggs or trading for OBJ. It's just like, hey, the world is going to just make

this plan and make it fit for the Patriots. And the Bills are just two spots ahead of them. So if it's okay, if it's a smart business decision for the Patriots to trade for Diggs or trade for Odell Beckham Jr., why isn't it the same smart decision for the Bills to do it? Absolutely, and I think a great point. Please, go ahead. Yeah, yeah, and then that's my main point.

I just wish people would say, yeah, I'm willing to give up. They just say just a first-round pick. But they don't say the other way. If you think you can get him for less than the first-round pick, that's fine. You don't have to agree with me, but I'm just saying just put it out there. Tell me what do you really think that Odell Beckham is worth. You know what I'm saying? I'm saying out there if the Patriots trade for him,

they're giving up more than a first-round pick. And I'm willing to be wrong on that. But if you think I'm wrong, put it out there. They're saying, tell me what you think he's going to get. And I don't get, like, why you say that. And then I don't get, like, for example, why would Minnesota trade for him? And that was one of the things that Evan had said, like they were cap strapped, for the Vikings were cap strapped.

But they could create cap space easily, and they already started doing so. And the thing is, the best way to be a great, win a Super Bowl team, become a winner of the Super Bowl, is to have great players at a cheap price. All right? Stephon Diggs, great player, cheap Price for the rest of the way for them. Why do you get rid of him? He helps. Getting rid of him doesn't help them become a Super Bowl contender next year

in 2020. Ditto for, I mean, I don't think the Browns have a chance of winning a Super Bowl, make a field as a quarterback. So, you know, I can see why the Browns, your miles and Browns' miles just blow up and try to get a better quarterback. But that's here or there or there. I think the Vikings could win a Super Bowl with Cousins. I don't think he leads them to a Super Bowl.

I don't think he makes the rest of the team better, but he has enough good players that he can win with them. Yeah, I agree with you on both counts when it comes to both Diggs and Beckham. And the reason why I agree is the draft capital, and I think you sum that up perfectly. A negotiation with either one of these teams is only going to begin with the 23 pick in the draft, the first rounder. They're not even going to listen to a package unless that's included. And it's just going to take a lot more than that to pry either one of these

players away from their current teams, especially when there's not an extreme motivation to deal either one of them. I know they say Diggs is a little bit of a malcontent, but we don't have that much evidence of that, to be honest with you. Just some social media posts and some, you know, deletions of social media content, which, in my opinion, is really sketchy at best. It's really what they would call, in legal legal terms circumstantial evidence. I don't think it's really necessarily indicative of his unhappiness or his unwillingness to play for that team any longer. So I happen to agree with you.

I know Evan came on on Friday and made what I felt to be a pretty decent case for it, but when it comes to the cap strapping that you've put in, I think that's a very good point and a very valid point because if the Patriots are going to be able to shed cap and they're up against it with the cap, let's face it, with the amount of free agents and the amount of holes that they have on this team that need to be filled, they're going to need to create cap space as well.

And that leads me quite nicely into my final point. And the big question, the trending topic on everybody's mind, Miguel, is Tom Brady. In your estimation, when you look at this, the floor, once again, my friend, is yours, as it always is here on Locked On Patriots. What is it going to take to get Tom Brady back to Foxborough in a logistical circumstance that works within the cap

and that fits within the parameters of what the Pats need to do? All yours, my friend. Have at it. Let's just say that they agree on a number. I come up with a couple of scenarios where you can get his cap number at $25.75 million, which is going to be, you know what I'm saying?

So, frankly, and I'll just talk it out, and I'll probably share it all in a tweet after you tweet out the link to this podcast. All right? So, for example, how do I do that? All right? I give Brady $11 million salary for this year. I give him an $18 million signing bonus. I tell him the same thing he did last year. He can earn $1 million and 46 active roster bonuses.

I'm going to pay him $1 million to show up in the offseason. So his cap number for this is going to be $31 million in cash this year and $16.9 million next year. And if I had to make the deal happen and I had to guarantee that $14.9 million so he plays two years under that deal, I'd come close to either guaranteeing all of it or most of it. And then I would put in that $18 million, I would spread it over three years. So he plays for two, and then you have $6 million of dead money in 2022, all right? I can even get that lower, that $24.75 million lower by going out to another year.

So the contract goes out through the 2023 season, all right? We could do that. I don't need a voyable year's contract. I don't need a voyable year's contract. I'm just going to be – Brady's going to be willing to have to say, I'm going to get my $50 million or $54 million in the first two years. My relatively low salaries in 2022, 2023, I'm not going to care about. All right?

Because I might not play those seasons. So his deal, he's going to have relatively low salaries for a top 10 quarterback in 2022-2023, but he might not be a top 22 quarterback anyways at those years. All right? So I don't think he actually should care about those numbers. He should let the Patriots put them out there and have that money. Quarterback anyways, at those years, all right? So I don't think he actually should care about those numbers. He should let the Patriots put them out there and have that money. And the best thing about doing that, like for four years, right,

let's just say we do that. He plays for the Patriots his entire career. So in 2022, all right, what he could do is instead of – he could retire, right, in 2022, all right? But he could say to the Patriots, I'm going to retire this year, but not officially retire until June 2nd, all right, which will allow the Patriots to have dead money some some dumb money in 2022-2022, and some dead money in 2023. You split that dead money over two years, lessening the impact. All right? So he would just, like, for example, then he would do like a redo his deal for 2022,

lower his salary to the minimum for a player of his age and experience. So that would create about eight, whatever number it was. Let's say $15 million in cap space then, okay? And then when he retires, the rest of his salary comes off the cap. That's what they could do. And if I'm thinking this, and I'm an amateur, I'm not the Patriots, right? I thought about this, and it was relatively easy for me to do it. I'm sure that the Patriots front office, the cap guys, have done the same thing.

It's just like I've said this several times. I've probably said it in my prior appearances. How much dead money are you willing to eat? And I'm saying at the end. And if you can split it up over two years, it's even better. Now, people might say, hey, Miguel, well, wasn't there a lot of dead money in one year? I'll just say this. Think about what happened in 2014. Aaron Hernandez was on the Patriots cap as dead money for $7.5 million. They were able to win the Super Bowl in 2014. 2014's cap was much smaller than what it was going to be in 2020. So Aaron

Hernandez's dead money percentage of the cap will be much larger than Brady's would be in the future years. If the Patriots could win in 2014 with Aaron Hernandez's dead money, they definitely could win with dead money, a relatively large amount of dead money in 2022, 2020, because it would be a much smaller percentage of the cap. That is an amazing, amazing point to make, and I'm so glad that you brought up Hernandez in that point about 2014.

We talked a little bit offline about that, but the way you articulated that was, really that was an eye-opener for myself as well, in terms of what the Patriots could do with a smaller cap back then, being able to maneuver, put a Super Bowl-caliber team on the field, and then go out and be able to win it. It's something that I don't think is reported enough, either by beat writers or people like myself who cover the team or anybody,

that really understands the cap parameters of what a Brady deal would do and how they're able to put a competitive team on the field. Because a lot of people are making the argument that, oh, yeah, it's all well and good. You sign Brady, but then you're going to have a bunch of also-rans out there with him. It doesn't necessarily mean that, folks. And I think Miguel has outlined a very interesting scenario. Based on that, we've got a lot of information out there about the two sides meeting this week during the combine. In all likelihood, do you think these negotiations are only going to be jumping off at this point,

or is there a potential for a deal to get done there in Indianapolis by the end of the week or shortly after that, maybe into next week, because of the contract negotiations that might go on? I think they could. how about this, Mike? I think they could come to an agreement, but they'll wait to see if the CBA gets extended to finalize it. And the reason I say that, because then the 30% rule goes away. All right? So I have, holy cow, how many on the spreadsheet do I have?

I have different scenarios. I can get, if we don't have the 30% cap hit, 30% rule in that, and that's the other thing that I wanted to talk about. Alright? Our good friend Evan kind of

underestimated the impact of the 30% rule. He had used, like, said yesterday on, well no, he was on Friday, excuse me. I listened to it yesterday. Sorry. On Friday, he said, okay, $20 million, and then that means the next year's cap would be six, the highest could be 26, because $6 million is 30% of $20 million. That's incorrect, and I'll say that, because the 30% implies the cash, not cap number.

So for Tom Brady, he already has $6.75 million in signings and bonus preparation. So the 30% would be off that $13 million in cash. Now, of course, we're going to give him a signing bonus. So let's say we give him a signing bonus so his total signing bonus preparation for this year is $10 million. So he's got $10 million signing bonus preparation and he has $10 million

in salary, 46-man active roster bonus, and off-season walk-around. And that adds up to $10 million. That's the 30% of that. So it goes from $10 million, 30% of that is $3 million. So that's where Evan was underestimating the impact of the 30% rule. You would say, well, geez, Tom Brady's cap hip can go up by $6 million if his cap hip is $20 million. No. It can only go up by three. Because of the...

On Evan's scenario, his 2021 cap hit could only be 2023 and not 26. So that's, you know, saying that... Interesting. So if we get rid of... If the CBA gets extended, the 30% rule goes away.

Alright? So then you can make Tom Brady's salary in 2020 the minimum. So let's just use, from round numbers, let's just say $1.5 million, all right? If you do that, all right, and you give him a large signing bonus, his cap number could be close to like around the low 20s, all right? So maybe six to five, you know, even lower, maybe even the high teens, all right? So you increase his cap number about $5 million to $6 million. So that takes my number down to around $22 million,

and that's before my cuts, all right? You cut some players off the roster. You've got enough money to get the weapons. Okay? That's how big the 30% – give it a 30% rule. And the other thing that's big for them, if you give it a 30% rule, you can redo. And I think I tweeted this out that a Gilmore restructure was a given. I should have thought more about the – when I did dig more in the numbers.

I should have said a Gilmore Restruction when the 30% rule goes away is a given. Because right now there's no reason for him to take a deal or for the Patriots to even offer him a deal right now because it would be hard for them to really lower his cap number. All right? But that 30% rule that goes away, boom, you could drop his cap number significantly. All right?

Because you can't do, like, for example, folks, what people like – what people's Patriots did before with Stephon Gilmore, convert salary into signing bonus. They can't do it this year because – literally because they can't do this because of the 30% rule. So they can't drop the salary to like a million dollars and then have $11 million salaries in 2021. That's just not allowed. They just can't do that. Right. that.

Let's pretend we want to reach a deal with Stephon Gilmore, and we just want to pay him a new money deal of $13 million. I think that's low for him. I could not only create $1 million cap space in 2020. So why reach the deal? All right? You know what I'm saying? So if you think he's a top-of-the-market cornerback and he's going to get 15, maybe if he's going to do a real new deal, 15, 16 million dollars in cap, you need that 30% rule to make a deal and still create cap space. All right?

Oh, my gosh. I'm really talking so long about that. But that's what it is. Can I just do one more thing? One more thing? Absolutely. Absolutely. Okay.

So I was asked by Claire from the West Midlands United Kingdom to talk about free agent targets, right, in the tight end position, right? And, man, I started digging into it, right? And people have been, you've probably heard this already, folks, but there really aren't that many good tight ends out there, free agent tight ends. Like most of them, I would say I would do this. Like literally most of them, I would not sign them. The only ones I would actually give money, go after,

how many were there, 30? 30, yeah. I always like five of them I would have to go after. I expect one of them to get tagged, Hunter Henry. I think Haas and Hooper is going to be priced out. Haas and Hooper is going to be priced out. All right? Likely.

Highly likely. So the only ones I would go, that would pay more than the veteran minimum, all right, would be like Tyler Eifert, Eric Ebron, Darren Fels, Nick Vignette, and, okay, and Nick Vignette. And that's it. That's it. So the question then becomes, I don't know if you want the numbers of what I would pay those guys. With Tyler Eifert, I would go no more than $3 million. Same with Eric Ebron. Darren Fels, I would go no more than $3 million. Same with Eric Ebron.

Darren Fels, I would go no more than $1.5 million. I think Hunter Hendry is off the table. I think he's going to get tagged. I'd be shocked if Haas and Hoover doesn't get at least $12 million to $13 million. He's definitely going to go over $10 million. So I think he's going to be outside what the Patriots will. I think they're not going to win a bidding war. I think he's going to be outside what the Patriots will. I think they're not going to win a bidding war. I think he's going to be signed, actually.

I think there are going to be reports of him signing a deal on March 16th, which they're not supposed to be signing and agreeing to a deal, but he will agree to a deal on March 16th. So, like I said, I think that the only way is they'll sign a couple of these guys, I think, that they can send to veteran minimums, like maybe Richard Rogers or Lance Kedricks. I'm just throwing out a whole bunch of names, okay? Logan Thomas.

I wouldn't be surprised if some of these guys' names are in camp. I don't think they might. They would have to show out in camp to make it. I think they'll sign out for the very minimum. So you give them a small signing bonus. If they cut them, it's very small. Have very small impact on the cap.

So that's what I think. So they have to target somebody either in a restricted free agent like a Ricky Seals Jones or a Anthony Eclair or go after or trade for somebody like the Hurst guy from the Ravens or O.J. Howard from the Buccaneers. So those, I think that's, or they're definitely going to have to draft, I think, the double

dipping at the tight end position. And I think you said that on, you do mock Mondays, mock draft Mondays, so you would have said that, probably listened to it on Thursday. You had mentioned a couple names on your podcast. I think the guy you said, oh, my gosh, from Notre Dame, I forget his name. Cole Komet from Notre Dame. Steven Sullivan, to me, is an interesting one out of LSU because he's a hybrid receiver type tight end,

so you could possibly slot him into either one of those cores, and I think that could be an interesting option. I know a lot of names are being bandied about this week with regard to the combine. Adam Troutman of Dayton is a pretty popular name right now that they may target. Bryson Hopkins, obviously, is another one from Purdue. So there's a lot of different names out there, but I agree with you on Hooper. I think he's going to be massively priced out. I do think that the Chargers will franchise Henry.

I think he's the type of player that they like, and the franchise tag to put him under contract for another year while they work out a long-term deal is maneuverable for a team like Los Angeles, so I think that it's an interesting point as well. Miguel, I can't thank you enough for coming on, setting the record straight today, but also being the voice of reason when it comes to guys like Stephon Diggs, guys like Odell Beckham Jr., the Patriots salary cap, but most of all, you give our

listeners hope and really strong hope and hope that you can count on, folks, when it comes to the hope of having Tom Brady back in New England here next year. I, for one, hope that you're absolutely right. Absolutely. And I hope you're right on that. Oh, you know, one more thing I wanted to say, all right? Sure. I said, I think I said on you before on the earlier podcast,

I talked about what I thought the percentages of Patriots winning the Antonio Brown case, Cleveland case, all right? I think I might have said then 51 to 49, all right? I listened to a podcast the other day. I think it was Tom Carman's podcast, Patriots Talk podcast. He had on Mike Florio, and Mike Florio talked about the Miles Garrett interview with Mina Kimes. If I mispronounce her name, I apologize for that.

All right? So literally he talked about how Miles Garrett, a day after he got reinstated from the NFL, goes on an interview and practically accuses the NFL of hiding stuff, about hiding the audio, all right? Which kind of, you know, so that made me think, let me, why, I keep on saying this, like I keep on saying this, if the CBA can be interpreted to favor the Patriots, it will be,

because I think the NFL will want to avoid this particular situation, this being the hand, the order of the Patriots, the order to give Antonio Brown a $9 million check. The next day you find out Antonio Brown does something that's embarrassing to the NFL. I don't think they want to be in that position. You give the man $9 million, and then you're actually trusting him not to screw up.

It's true. And when you consider past behavior, too. Yeah, so I think I've increased my thing of winning that grievance from 51 to, like, 60 now. Okay? Because that Miles Garrett thing should be throwing, like, singles at them. Do not repeat. Do not repeat this. Learn from your mistake.

Because literally, I don't get, like, I don't know who heard that interview, but he sounds like someone who believes in, oh, my gosh, I don't want to offend the viewers, but if you believe in I don't believe in the flat earth. If you believe in the flat earth, you believe in the Area 51, whatever crazy theory you believe in, he sounds like that

because it's like he's on that he's committed to that thing. It was just embarrassing for him to say that. I'll doubt that he that Mason Rudolph had a microphone in his helmet. Come on. That's not even true. Sorry.

But that's why I think I wanted to change my, I think I said in my last appearance, 51-49, I want to go from 60-40 now. You absolutely did. And 60-40 is definitely encouraging, especially when the Patriots are looking for extra cap space the way we do. When free agency is set to begin, you know Miguel is going to be back on here on Locked On Patriots. We love having him on.

It's the week. My friend, I love talking ball with you. I love talking Pat's cap. I love talking the salary situations because, again, you bring the knowledge that only you can bring, and I mean that. Only you can bring that type of knowledge. You brought it here today. You set the record

straight. My friend, thank you. Follow him on Twitter. He is the most dynamic force when it comes to salary cap information, when it comes to New England Patriots, folks. You listen to Miguel, you're going to get it straight from the truth. You're going to get it straight from the hip,

and you're going to get the most accurate and up-to-date information, as always. Have a great day, my friend, and thank you so much for gracing Locked On Patriots with your wisdom and counsel. Thank you so much for having me, Mike. I'm hoping I'm going to tweet this out, the heck out of it, because we want to beat Murph out for the most downloads. Oh, there'll be fighting words. And Murph will be a guest here on

Locked On Patriots this week, so you know he... You know what? When it comes to all matters, I think even the king, I think even Mr. Hashtag Locked On Murph would defer to the wisdom and counsel of the salary cap for you, my friend. Miguel, thank you for doing that.

And thanks for calling Murph out because, you know, he needs that every once in a while. You've got to light that big green fire. And I think we just did that. Oh, no, you know what? I don't want to get the green man angry. I've seen Hulk too many times. I'm a big Marvel fan. He won't be angry with you. But you know what? I've seen Hulk too many times. I'm a big Marvel fan.

He won't be angry with you. But you know what? He'll elevate his game to the point where it just would be impossible to ignore any longer. But, again, my friend, thank you so much. I'm sorry, go ahead. No, no. See, like, Murph and I both live in Connecticut. Like, I literally want to go on and meet the guy. I've never met the guy.

So I'm dying to meet him one time in real life. Well, I tell you, it will live up to the expectation. I promise you that. And again, folks, at Pat's Cap on Twitter, you will not be disappointed. You will be informed. You will be a smarter person as I am every time you read the Twitter feed and any of the work that this man does. He's a great friend of mine, but he's the best in the business of what he does, and that's why he's a frequent guest here on Locked On Patriots. Have a great week, my friend. Thanks, and we look forward to doing this

again as soon as we can. All right. See you in the middle of March. And go Patriots. Absolutely, buddy. Looking forward to it. Go Pats. Take care. So there you have it, folks. The Pats cap giving the information, like I said, as only he can do it. Miguel is the best source when it comes to all things related to the Patriots salary cap. I learned a whole lot from him today, and I'm sure you did as well.

As for me, I will be back tomorrow to bring you the latest news notes and analysis from Foxborough, as well as being joined here by a special guest with boots on the ground in Indianapolis. A live look at what's going on with the Combine, including what we can expect to see when the workouts start on Thursday afternoon. As always, please be sure to join me each and every day here on the Locked On Patriots podcast. Subscribe and download via your preferred podcast provider.

Once again, I'm Mike DeBate. I thank my good friend Miguel Benzon, a.k.a. the Patszon, aka ThePatsCat, for his time, his wisdom, and his appearance today, but most of all, I thank you so much for listening and for staying locked into Locked On Patriots. Have a great day, everyone.