Looking Over Their Shoulder

A writer had an interesting column in the Boston Globe analyzing players on specific teams who might be impacted by the recent draft.

He mentioned LT Nate Solder and WR Julian Edelman for the Pats. Both are free agents after the end of the 2017 season. Edelman is turning 31 next week and Solder just hit 29.

For Solder, it looks very similar to 2011 when the Pats selected him in the first round while having Matt Light in place.

Edelman night be looking at his replacement in the form of undrafted Austin Carr and or in the recent trade for Brandon Cooks.

Wes Welker was 32 when the team decided to move on and go with a younger Edleman and Danny Amendola.

There will be some great battles in training camp for roster spots and later on during the season for playing time.

Twelve Years and Counting

WR Brandon Marshall has a new team with the Giants, but his goal remains the same. With the clock ticking down, he has never made the playoffs is his 12 seasons. He talks about that and winning a Super Bowl championship with the Giants great offense.

This is probably the last contract of his career. He has 12,061 receiving yards and 82 TD's, but is still waiting for his elusive playoff game.

He knows there is a chance that he will join a list of great players who never saw the post-season.

Floyd Gone

When the Pats signed WR Michael Floyd last season, it was done as an insurance policy for the last four regular season games and the playoffs.

The $1.2 million they paid him was controversial at the time, but it was a good idea in case of injuries to the other receivers.

It was inevitable that Floyd move on, which he did today. He signed a one year deal with the Vikings for $1.5 million. He faces a possible suspension because of his drunk driving arrest last season.

With the way the Pats work, Floyd could be back in 2018.

Money For Nick

Coach Nick Saban has the gig of his life at the University of Alabama. They like him so much that they extended his contract through 2024. He snagged a $4 million signing bonus and will have an average salary of $8.2 million.

We all know how he had a mixed record in the NFL as a head coach. He goes back to the days of  Bill Belichick and the Cleveland Browns as part of the coaching staff.

He has a great system in place that feeds players to the NFL. They are on so many rosters.

First Rounders Gone

Fans hear way too much about the importance of first round picks. Those players continue to get big dollars, but so many of them never pan out. Every team has stories about those who became a bust.

A recent statistic showed that the Houston Texans are the only team that still has all of its first round picks since 2008. This says a lot about the Texans.

The Pats shed first round picks like it's no big deal. They often trade down in the draft to get more value.

A Story for All

It's amazing to watch the NFL coaching changes at all levels. Teams like the Bills released all of their scouts and personnel who planned for the draft. The 49er's are doing their own thing.

There will be guys looking for a job in the NFL or maybe they go back to coaching at the college level.

There are many players wondering right now why they don't have one of the 90 jobs on a team's roster.

Everyone has story.

Money Out The Window

A week after the NFL draft, we can take a look at the winners and losers. Anyone who was drafted ahead of their projected slot made money. A number of players, for various reasons, fell to later rounds. In some cases, it cost them millions.

TE Jake Butt of Michigan was considered to be a first or second round pick before he suffered a torn ACL in the Orange Bowl. He fell to the fifth round before being selected by the Broncos with the 145th overall pick.

Lucky for him, he had taken out a $2 million loss-of-value insurance policy which gave him $543,000 because he was not selected by the top half of the third round.

In the end, after all the numbers were crunched, Butt will end up losing around $2.8 million over the lifetime of his rookie contract.

It's easy to see why some players don't want to play in the post-season. They can lose a lot of money if they get hurt.

Butler Shows

Malcolm Butler finally showed up at the Pats off-season conditioning program. He had avoided it until the draft was over because of the trade talks involving him.

Will Butler be with the team the entire season? Will they sign him to a new contract and avoid him becoming a free agent?

These are two questions that fans will never know the answer to. It remains to be seen what happens with him.

Cruz Not Dancing

Former Giants WR Victor Cruz must be wondering if his career is finished. After being released by them in February. He has been in contact with only Carolina and Jacksonville.

Most players look forward to their first time for being a free agent, but this isn't the case with Cruz. After seven years with the Giants, he is the man without a team.

His injury history and age is working against him. There are many undrafted players out there looking to take his place.

Blount's Landing Spot TBD

The NFL Network crew had an interesting discussion about the free agents still available. They include former Pats WR Michael Floyd and RB LeGarrette Blount.

Teams are probably waiting to see how many games Floyd will be suspended after his drunk driving arrest last year in Arizona.

It's a mystery why nobody wants Blount. Maybe they feel there are cheaper, younger and better running backs who can be signed.

Blount will probably get a job before training camp.

Mixing With Mixon

It only took one team to give controversial RB Joe Mixon a chance to play. The Bengals selected him in the 2nd round as the 48th overall pick.

He comes to Cincinnati with a huge amount of baggage. His video of striking a woman and breaking bones in her face will haunt him the rest of his life.

A local television station is already telling fans to boycott games. There is no doubt that Mixon had a brilliant career at Oklahoma, but this is very hard to overcome.

The team knew what they were getting themselves into. Only time will tell if this was a very bad decision.

Give Them Another Cyrus

It's hard to believe that some fans of the Pats are complaining because the team made so many trades and only selected four players in the recent draft.

I don't understand their logic. The team traded first and second round picks for two proven players. Coach Belichick is taking a different approach this year.

Apparently, fans want another Cyrus Jones like they got in the second round last year.