Patriots Sign WR Brandon LaFell to 3-year contract

[BobDigital]

The problem with this signing IMO is that there really isn't a win in it for us. Likely the best he will do is play up to his contract or below it. I don't think anyone here expects him to play above his contract.

If LaFell makes the team (uncertain) works within the system (uncertain) gets Brady to like/trust him (uncertain) then he will likely have 750+ yards 6 TDs which is what we are paying him to do it seems.

I just hope there is a painless way to cut him next year (or this year) if he does not work out.

 

[condon84]

Looks like it's about 3/$11M

Ian Rapoport ‏@RapSheet 2m
The #Patriots are closing in on a deal with Brandon LaFell, according to a source. The deal is expected to be for 3 years and roughly $11M

 

[Rob0729]

Kinda surprising to see this team shell out 3+ a year, for a sub par #2 WR who's previous team which has no WR's at all just let walk.

Don't like this one at all.

They shelled out a three year contract last year with no guarantees and let the player walk (although for medical reasons). I wouldn't get hung up on the length of the contract without knowing the guaranteed money. If he only gets like $2-3 million guaranteed, it is really just an one to two year deal with a way to spread out the cap hit.

And Carolina let him walk because they have no cap room and look to be building their receiving corp in the draft.

 

[BobDigital]

I don't expect anything more than 2M guaranteed.

If that is the case I am fine with it.

 

[hwc]

Scratches head...is Dobson hurt worse than we think?

Dobson has a broken foot that hasn't heeled. Surgery to get screws last week. There are no guarantees that he'll recover completely, miss the start of the season, or be plagued by recurring foot problems.

I love how people are pencilling in this guy for #1, that guy for #2. How quickly we forget how many frickin' receivers it took to get thru the season last year. We were signing them off the street before games and sometimes still didn't have enough healthy receivers to go three wide.

 

[RayClay]

Guess better safe than sorry. Late last year, we were in dire need of WRs, as ours rookies were dropping like flies, to the point we signed Collie (concussions).

We've got an opening and 3 catches a game, by a bigger receiver in a different zone would be just fine. People act like we're going to have five receivers and two tight ends (draft pick)and Vereen all with close to 100 catches. Brady would need four arms.

 

[Lavictoire]

I want to see more Thompkins and Dobson. They did fantastic last year getting thrown into the fire as raw rookies and will be even better this year. I don't think this signing was necessary. Get a good pass catching tight end or throw more to Hooman..

 

[FoxboroFlyer]

Could be very minimal guaranteed dollars, I still think he makes the roster. I'm not delusional and think he's a great receiver, but he can thrive in our system and give us his 600+ yard average as a 4th receiver behind Edleman, Amendola, and Dobson.

Hope you're right. While I preferred him over Sanders I'm not sure he would have been the choice at that price. Honestly Sidney Rice would have been my choice (assuming J. Jones wants the big contract).

 

[West Philly Patriot]

They shelled out a three year contract last year with no guarantees and let the player walk (although for medical reasons). I wouldn't get hung up on the length of the contract without knowing the guaranteed money. If he only gets like $2-3 million guaranteed, it is really just an one to two year deal with a way to spread out the cap hit.



And Carolina let him walk because they have no cap room and look to be building their receiving corp in the draft.

They recently were trying to bring Lafell back in for a visit. Don't know what that amounted to, but sounded like an Edelman type situation.

 

[Sticky Caulk]

here are the panthers current receiving core. The guys they've chosen to take over lafell who was in the system for 4 years...

If you can't understand how this is taking things out of context and not a valid point, maybe you should go ahead and lurk for a bit. This would be like saying the Patriots let Talib go because they thought Dennard is better. No.

 

[Deus Irae]

Kinda surprising to see this team shell out 3+ a year, for a sub par #2 WR who's previous team which has no WR's at all just let him walk.

Don't like this one at all.

Until I see the final details, I'm going on the notion that the deal has an easy out. This signing reminds me of the year they brought in what felt like 400 TEs. We could see Britt sign, and have a WR contest of

Dobson
Edelman
Amendola

LaFell
Thompkins
Boyce
Britt
Harrison
Others

That's not any kind of murderer's row.

 

[West Philly Patriot]

Apparently you know how much guaranteed money we've given LeFell. I don't. I would be shocked if we guaranteeing $3+M for 2014.

Steve Smith got 3.5M guaranteed.

 

[DropKickFlutie]

Check this out, a little concerning.
Brandon LaFell Stats - ESPN

Now Cam Newton isn't known as the most accurate passer, but LaFell's stats show that he catches a lower-than-avg number of targets. They threw to him a lot and his catch% wasn't that great.

He seems like a big outside speedster who doesn't have great hands or route running.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Absolutely did. Course I don't handle the "crediting" part...in the spirit of googling, here are the panthers current receiving core. The guys they've chosen to take over lafell who was in the system for 4 years...



Carolina Panthers mailbag: Meet Cam Newton's top targets - ESPN

The panthers have one of the worst cap situations in the league, and have Newton in the last year of his contract and a Kuechly extension coming down the pipeline after that. I'm not a big fan of LaFell either, but that reasoning doesn't really add up. They could very well have wanted to keep him but been unable to

 

[zipster9]

From ESPN:

"LaFell doesn't wow with speed and might be summed up best this way -- a solid-not-spectacular receiver with good size (6-2, 210) and versatility. He also boasts potential as a red zone target, and he's been durable in his four years in the NFL (just four games missed). "


Durable is what I like!

 

[Stylez]

They shelled out a three year contract last year with no guarantees and let the player walk (although for medical reasons). I wouldn't get hung up on the length of the contract without knowing the guaranteed money. If he only gets like $2-3 million guaranteed, it is really just an one to two year deal with a way to spread out the cap hit.

And Carolina let him walk because they have no cap room and look to be building their receiving corp in the draft.

Mostly right, their cash is tied up in bad RB deals and defense. They were looking to add Nicks before signed with the colts though so if they could pony that up, I'm still thinking they let lafell walk for the credit he earned.

 

[BelichickFan]

6.81 three cone. His straight line speed isn't great but that's a really impressive three cone for a bigger WR.

 

[West Philly Patriot]

Check this out, a little concerning.

Brandon LaFell Stats - ESPN



Now Cam Newton isn't known as the most accurate passer, but LaFell's stats show that he catches a lower-than-avg number of targets. They threw to him a lot and his catch% wasn't that great.



He seems like a big outside speedster who doesn't have great hands or route running.

Not the biggest Lafell guy but the 1st sentence answers your question.

Whatever he was with Cam, he's better with Tom. Will that be enough to make this team and make a difference.....

 

[bigballas]

That's not any kind of murderer's row.

Aaron Hernando?

 

[Triumph]

His drop rate (7%) was higher than average but it wasn't crazy high. Brandon Marshall was 7.3%, Hartline 6.8%, Stevie Johnson 6.9%.

Dropped Passes - 2013 - NFL Season Statistics

LaFells catch rate was 58% last season. The same as team mate Steve Smiths. FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | WIDE RECEIVERS 2013

But in 2011 LaFell had a 64% catch rate. FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | Brandon LaFell