In examining New York’s wide receiving corps, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com notes that Percy Harvin “clearly” isn’t a $10MM-per-year player, but concedes that the Jets could probably afford to pay him like one, given their excess of cap room. Still, he doesn’t expect the club to overpay out of desperation, suggesting that Harvin will likely be cut by March 19 — that’s the deadline for the Jets to release the wideout without losing their fourth-round pick to Seattle. The Seahawks would receive a sixth-rounder if New York drops Harvin by March 19.
Here’s more from out of the AFC East:
- Appearing on SiriusXM NFL Radio (Twitter links), Bills defensive end Jerry Hughes addressed his upcoming free agency, suggesting that returning to Buffalo is his first choice and that he wouldn’t necessarily be disappointed with the franchise tag, since it would provide a substantial financial reward for at least one year.
- In the view of Tom Curran of CSNNE.com, it’s “absolutely imperative” that the Patriots find a way to keep safety Devin McCourty, though Curran acknowledges that the safety market has “gone through the roof” in recent years. The Pats will have to strongly consider using the franchise tag on McCourty, says Curran.
- Ben Volin of the Boston Globe also touches on McCourty’s situation in a more in-depth look at some of the key offseason decisions facing the Patriots, writing that the club should franchise McCourty, then try to work out a longer-team deal. Volin also suggests extending Darrelle Revis, re-signing Stephen Gostkowski, and restructuring the contracts of Vince Wilfork, Jerod Mayo, and Danny Amendola. As for the running backs, the Boston Globe scribe thinks New England should try to bring back Stevan Ridley on a one-year, make-good deal, and should walk away from Shane Vereen unless he’s willing to sign a team-friendly pact.
All of those thoughts make sense for the Pats. Although I can’t see them resigning everyone if they want to keep Revis and McCourty. Something’s got to give.
Why would they let Vereen walk away and bring back ridley??? Ridley was great this year but he’s coming off a torn ACL and has been inconsistent in the past. Vereen has been Tom’s 2nd or 3rd option in the passing game on most plays and had 52 catches this year and 11 in the super bowl. We bring back Vereen to pair with Blount who is still under contract and we have what we had to end the season, a diverse and productive backfield.