Salary Cap Woes for patriots

Tag – Matt Cassel’s it! That was easy enough to say, but what to do now with Matt Cassel in the upcoming weeks will be an entirely different story. Cassel’s lucrative $14.65 million franchise tag was a smart move for the Patriots in buying some time to ensure Tom Brady’s wellness for next season, but it’s the worst-case scenario still playing over and over that makes some Patriots fans anxious. Should Brady not be well enough to start the season next year, New England will need to keep both Brady and Cassel on the roster and cough up some major dough, leaving other players with expiring contracts out to dry. Several players’ contracts are up in ’09 and ’10, and if the Pats can’t pay to keep them around, the team’s dynasty could be in trouble.

Players set to be free agents in 2009 (aside from the already-franchised Matt Cassel) include Eric Alexander, Rosevelt Colvin, Heath Evans, Jabar Gaffney, LaMont Jordan, Rodney Harrison and Pierre Woods. Some of these players are expected to return next year for cheap, and others will undoubtedly be lost. While this is troubling, the roster of players set to be free agents in 2010 is an even greater problem, as some of the team’s heavyweights are included on this list, including Vince Wilfork, Jarvis Green, Mike Vrabel, Ellis Hobbs, Tedy Bruschi, Stephen Gostkowski, Richard Seymour, Kevin Faulk, Logan Mankins, Stephen Neal, Nick Kaczur, David Thomas and Ben Watson.

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