Alan Branch signs 2 year deal with Patriots

ProFootballTalk ‏@ProFootballTalk 8s9 seconds ago
Alan Branch returns to Pats on a two-year deal with a max value of $6.6 million.

from his agent:

blakebaratz
Congrats to Alan Branch on agreeing to return to the world champion @patriots. This is a great fit & his best football is coming in '15!

Good. A nice sign.

Happy to hear this. Thought he played really well for us last year.

Nice! I was hoping the team would re-sign Branch. $6.6m seems like the right amount assuming that some of it is tied to incentives.

I am going to start a blog predicting patriots moves, just believe the opposite and you'll be correct!

from his agent:


Blake Baratz‏@blakebaratz
Congrats to Alan Branch on agreeing to return to the world champion @patriots. This is a great fit & his best football is coming in '15!

BB liked what he saw.

I know NE has been successful turning other people's junk into real treasure, but 2014 was unreal. So many mid-season pick ups that ended up working so so well.

Siliga, Branch, Easley, Jones

Solid situation entering the draft

Does this mean Vince is gone?

The connection, beyond the obvious, is that it's hard to imagine both Vince and Branch hitting a lot of incentive if Easley and Siliga both perform too.

Fencer said:

Does this mean Vince is gone?

The connection, beyond the obvious, is that it's hard to imagine both Vince and Branch hitting a lot of incentive if Easley and Siliga both perform too.

Click to expand...

I'd still expect another interior DL added, either in FA or in the draft. Vince is still on the table imo.

As for the signing, I'm happy he is back again. Played well for us last year.

The New England Patriots should be set at the defensive nose tackle position for training camp:

Branch, Alan
Siliga, Sealver
Johnson, Antonio

http://www.patriots.com/team/roster

Adding a collegiate UDFA at the defensive nose tackle position would be a bonus.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/prospectrankings/2015/DT

Good signing. I am still waiting for a bigger impact DT via draft or FA or trade but this is a solid depth move as Branch can play starter level snaps and not be out of place.

It is a good thing. I like it.

Fencer said:

Does this mean Vince is gone?

The connection, beyond the obvious, is that it's hard to imagine both Vince and Branch hitting a lot of incentive if Easley and Siliga both perform too.

Click to expand...

The writing may be on the wall that VW will end up somewhere else, and it's quite possible that Belichick realizes the possibility through a difference of opinion that occurred from negotiating.

That said, I still believe that Wilfork would be more than welcome to return as long as he accepted a bit less from some of the other supposed offers that are out there. For example, would Belichick still be interested in Wilfork at something around 3.5--4.0 m dollars? I would certainly think so.

patsinthesnow said:

Siliga, Branch, Easley, Jones

Solid situation entering the draft

Click to expand...

Solid but not enough IMHO. The Patriots have offset the 'wins by way of complimentary football' to some extent already. The offense is starting to, not has, shape up as more potent than last year. It offsets the loss of our starting CBs somewhat. The job is not complete, however, until the LBs are more potent and the DL is more potent (LBs may be there, maybe).
The good news is it's eminently doable. The good news is there is a lot of offseason to go. The good news is BB is heading up this rebalance.

@AlbertBreer: Patriots giving Alan Branch $6.6 million (max, as PFT said) over 2 years could well be a sign Vince Wilfork's market has become too pricey.

Or Albert, Branch's play with a whole offseason projects to be better than a 34
year old Wilfork.

supafly said:

The writing may be on the wall that VW will end up somewhere else, and it's quite possible that Belichick realizes the possibility through a difference of opinion that occurred from negotiating.

That said, I still believe that Wilfork would be more than welcome to return as long as he accepted a bit less from some of the other supposed offers that are out there. For example, would Belichick still be interested in Wilfork at something around 3.5--4.0 m dollars? I would certainly think so.

Click to expand...

So we have Siliga and Branch. Do we need another large body run stopper? If so do we need one at 4million?

VW is the man, a consummate Patriot. But I think we can add one more wide body on the cheap and use that 3.5 million to strengthen the LB group. With our two starting CBs gone, I would LOVE to see BB go with an emphasis on the LB group -- put together a fearsome foursome that make plays, give other teams fits and generally kick ass. This would make the loss of our CBs a passing thought.
However, I'll defer to BB on the matter

This is welcome news. Branch resigning makes the depth chart at DT in a pretty good place heading towards the draft.