The Cap, the Depth Chart, and the Injury Report

The conclusion to the Stephon Gilmore story in New England reminds us once again; everything ends badly or else it wouldn't end.

Fanboys and trolls complaining about the ROI on Gilmore seem to forget the Super Bowl win in totalling the credits. No, a 6th round pick in 2023 isn't a whole lot, but much like a bag of magic beans, we have no idea how that will turn out. 

It takes two to tango and it takes two to make a deal. Every other team in the NFL had all day Tuesday to come up with something better than a 2023 third day pick Carolina offered. Some of those teams (I'm looking at you, Tampa Bay) had rather desperate needs in their defensive secondaries. 

But they didn't. 

Not a 5th rounder in 2023. Not a conditional 6th in the upcoming 2022 draft. Sometimes, the market is what it is. (Or something like that.) One of my friends once tried to explain Net Present Value to me, but I didn't understand a word he said, and yet, I'm pretty sure this all has something to do with that. And Schrodinger's Cat. Somehow, everything is related to Schrodinger's Cat. 

Then again, how much can you get for a thirtysomething defensive back coming off a season-ending injury that has him still on the PUP list, a man who's definitely going to get Top 5 dollars from somebody not named Bill Belichick after the 2021 season is in the books? 

Speaking of cash, the trade does free up cap space for the Patriots, of which, they previously had none. So there's that. (Welcome home, Jamie Collins!) As for me, I'd just like to say, "Thanks Stephon. We'll always have Atlanta and that pass interference penalty you got away with in the 4th quarter. All the best."

Meanwhile, the opening sequence from the Mac Jones biopic from last Sunday night may well cut to yet more adversity in Act II for the Patriots QB of the Future. ("Future" being the obvious key word in that sentence.) The starting offensive line - well, four starters plus the ghost of Trent Brown - wasn't doing Jones or Patriots running backs any favors. The Houston Texans may be football frauds but I'm not feeling particularly good about a game where New England puts four backup offensive linemen on the field. 

Sorry. I just needed a moment after writing that. 

I want to believe what I saw last Sunday night from the rookie QB is a sign of great things to come. Monday morning I was thinking a 300 yard, 4 TD game for Mac against a Texans team that doesn't always look like they know what sport they're playing. That was before I heard about the COVID-19 diagnoses for Isaiah Wynn and Mike Onwenu. Or the injury report that followed with Shaq Mason and Trent Brown listed as DNP. I've seen highly regarded young quarterbacks literally broken, physically and/or mentally, by the punishment of large, highly motivated, unsympathetic men paid to legally assault said quarterbacks.

I fear for Mac Jones' life. 

Yes, even against the pigskin disaster area known as the Houston Texans.

I know Bill Belichick is a pigskin MacGyver but what do you do when you run out of gum wrappers, crazy glue, and paper clips? I have no idea if the backups are actually healthy. Could a starting O-Line of Yodny Cajuste, Ted Karras, David Andrews, Yasir Durant, and Justin Herron surprise me?

I mean, in a good way, of course.

I guess, as some Pigskin Yoda once said, this is why you play the game. 

Go Pats!