The Pats met with and reportedly made an offer to LB Zach Thomas yesterday. Thomas will continue to meet with other teams around the league before making a decision on which team he will eventually land with, but I imagine it probably feels nice to have an offer on the table from one of the contenders in the AFC.
Very interesting. Thomas is unquestionably a great player who has always terrorized the Patriots offense whenever they have played Miami. It is certainly exciting to imagine him playing defense wearing a Patriots uniform.
The main concern I have with Thomas potentially becoming a Patriot is his history of suffering concussions. After what happened with Ted Johnson, when I read about the Pats' interest in a linebacker with a history of concussions and migraine headaches, it makes me a little wary.
Thomas' age and his ability to switch to playing in the Pats' 3-4 defensive system are not really that much of an issue for me. I know everyone in Patriots Nation is screaming about how the team needs to get younger at linebacker, and I agree to an extent, but I am also not expecting the Patriots to go out and draft a linebacker, at least not one that can step in and be a starter right out of the gate..
The Patriots are known to prefer seasoned linebackers that have been in the league and already understand their jobs. Thomas will be 35 in September. He is definitely getting close to the end of his career at this point, but as long as the concussions are not an ongoing issue, I could see Thomas in a 1 to 3 year deal for the Pats.
We'll see where it goes.
The Pats are having another Dolphins player in for a visit today, receiver Marty Booker. I don't expect to see Dante Stallworth back with The Patriots next year due to his contract and Booker may serve as a good replacement. The Dolphins get weaker, The Patriots get stronger. Sounds like a plan.
There's also been some speculation that Ty Law could make a return to the Patriots. With Asante Samuel looking for a blockbuster deal, he will likely be gone next season and that means there could be a spot in the secondary for Law.
Of course Law is known for his desire to get paid himself, so it will depend what kind of money he is looking for. I don't know if Ty Law is still the same player that could essentially take away one side of the field from an opponent at this point, but I imagine he's still got a few Manning picks left in him. Cornerback is one area of the team that I'd like to see the Patriots bring in and develop younger players, but I don't think it would be a bad thing to see Ty Law in Patriots blue again. Maybe I'm just sentimental on that one.
It's still really early in the process but it's fun to watch The Patriots navigate the free agent waters as they take the first steps towards building the '08 team.
GO PATS
