Free Agency

I expected the Pats to trade QB Matt Cassell, but was shocked when Mike Vrabel was part of the deal going to KC. The Pats needed to move Cassell to free up 14.5M in cap money. Vrabel was due a 1M bonus on March 1 and would have counted 4.5M on the cap. There was talk of his age and decline of play.This allowed them cap space to make additional free agent signings.

Considering the money money gets tossed during free agency, it's easy to see why LS Lonnie Paxtin, WR Jabbar Gaffney and FB Heath Evans signed elsewhere for much larger contracts.

The 53 man roster will certainly look different come game day. To paraphrase Coach Belichick: "The team this year is different from last year. On game day we can only dress 45. If we could dress 53, they would all play."