Hours Away

With less than five hours before free agency begins, let me get a few thoughts out of my mind:

Be sure to sign the Leigh Bodden thank-you card. He’s not coming back. He’s the second-best corner back available in free agency after Houston’s Dunta Robinson. It shouldn’t take him long to find an offer that he can’t pass up. His gamble to sign a one year deal with a promise from the Patriots that they wouldn’t franchise him will pay off. He erased his years with Detroit, including the 0-16 season, from everyone’s mind. Wish you luck at your next career stop, Leigh, as long as it’s not with an AFC East team.

Want to know what’s the value of LB Adalius Thomas? None. It’s not that there aren’t any teams that want him, but no team will make a trade offer for a guy they know the Pats want to dump. They know the divorce is coming, so they’ll wait until New England cuts him and sign Thomas without giving up compensation. One of those teams rumored to be interested in Thomas as a free agent is the New York Jets, where Thomas would be reunited with his former defensive coordinator, Jets head coach Rex Ryan. Guess which two games Thomas circles on his calendar if he matriculates to the Jets?

If that happens, the Pats should take the Jets’ Thomas. The Jets recently cut RB Thomas Jones to save money. New York says they want to re-sign him, but New England should swoop in and steal him away. I’d like him better than Fred Taylor because Jones is younger (31 to Taylor’s 34) and Thomas has been more durable. He missed just three games since 2004 to Taylor’s 22 games. I’m also concerned about the aging backfield, with Laurence Maroney the only RB younger than 30. Taylor and Sammy Morris (four last year, 17 since signing with the Pats in 2007) both missed games. Because the coaching staff won’t utilize BenJarvus Green-Ellis, he isn’t part of the conversation.

People spend a lot of time talking about the possibility of signing DE Julius Peppers, but he’s going to command way too much money for my liking. Though I prefer the draft route, if the Pats wanted a rush LB, why not Green Bay’s Aaron Kampman? He was trying to transition from DE to OLB before he injured his knee. He’s a two-time Pro Bowler with 40 sacks in the last four seasons. He would come significantly cheaper than Peppers and still have great production. But the question is, does Kampman want to continue trying to play linebacker or does he want to go back to DE? Or is he willing to accept a part-time role like Derrick Burgess as a pass rush specialist?

Looking to the draft, I expect both Sergio Kindle and Brandon Graham by the time the Pats select at 22. I’ve seen one mock draft saying the Pats select Clemson DE Ricky Sapp. Based on one video I’ve seen of him, I hope not. I hold defenders from Clemson in high regards, but that one reel I saw made Sapp look like a player playing in space and doing nothing. I’ll look for more on him, but if nothing changes my mind, I can see the Patriots selecting Florida DE Carlos Dunlap and going for an OLB-type in the second round and/or later.

We know head coach Bill Belichick has a thing for University of Michigan linebackers. But I’d like to see him take a flyer on a Wolverines running back. I didn’t realize that Brandon Minor was in this draft until recently. But I remember him as the best back in Michigan’s rotation. Minor should have a lot of tread left as he had just 331 carries in four years. He’s well built (6-0 214) and could be this year’s Ryan Grant.

 Questions? Comments? Send to talktome@randolphc.com