Could just be that he's played well enough in practice, combined with the upcoming suspension. I can only recall him getting 1st team snaps in the 1st preseason game.

No need to engage that poster ITT.

We need TRAIDS hot take containment thread.

Kelly, Will Smith, and James Anderson cut. Had some hope for Anderson and Kelly was good before getting injured. Still thin at linebackers who can cover.

surprised there hasn't been more Mallett to St. Louis talk recently.

Jimmy G just looks so much more poised. Mallett has had, what, one good preseason game against the Jags like two years ago? He's not a fit for the system, they're going to do their best to deal him in the cutfest time, else who knows. Jimmah hurdling Mallett for the #2 while Mallett still sits on the roster seems a ridiculous situation, and the Pats are too smart for that. Believe it or not, I trust they will make a solid decision with how to proceed into this season with the QBs. And that probably involves Mallett as #2 when no one else wants him.

Was listening to some talk radio and heard a good point that Mallett has the experience to mimic just about every QB the Pats have faced in the league in practice and that provides invaluable experience Jimmy G just doesn't have right now.

PS. Someone needs to settle on a nickname for this guy.

Well, there's the annual preseason stunner.

Figured Mankins was gone next year, but that's a shocker

I didn't know Tim Wright but his stats are pretty damn solid. Second year stud it looks like.

Wow what in the.... Time to go read up on this.

Lol and the Tim Wright best TE ITT starts.....Now!

Please contain homerism!

But yea trading a perennial all pro will be tough to replace but he was getting up there in age. I'm sure BB has something planned.

Uh, he was a UDFA who caught a few balls on a bad team and graded out terribly on PFF. He might be useful, but Id probably pump the breaks on calling him a second year stud until he actually makes the roster. Shedding the salary and the pick are the value in the trade. If they take the cap hit this year they have tons of cap space next year with Hernandez moving on.

54 isn't "a few" for a rookie tight end. That's pretty legit. I get he was undrafted but that's pretty damn solid stats in a rookie campaign. I mean, as I said, I don't know hardly anything about him but him being on a crappy team with a less than elite QB makes those stats MORE impressive, not less.

Pick is a 4th rounder. Wonder if Mankins was getting cut today if there were no takers.

4th roundr

Lol I catch greif for my uncontrollable homerism but Goodie takes the cake on this one. Pretty sure he didn't know Tim Wright but now with Tom Brady he must become a probowler now lol....

Good player, yet another Rutgers. Why does NE gotta steal all my Rutgers players lol.

He's a good player but Goodie...relax :-P

He's less of a TE than Hernandez was. Just stop, saying he looks like a second year stud is absurd.

I absolutely knew nothing about Tim Wright before this trade. Didn't even know he existed. I never said he'd be a pro-bowler. I said "second year stud" before I knew he was undrafted so I that might be overstating. However, am I crazy to say that 54, 571 and 5 TD's for an Undrafted Free Agent rookie TE with a semi-crappy QB isn't pretty impressive?

Seems pretty impressive to me.

Who replaces Mankins now?

I think you are right, so I suppose getting something is better than nothing.

Initially I was annoyed at this trade, but in BB I trust. Hope it doesn't bite them in the ass.

On the flip side, that Mankins $$$ can go towards re-signing Solder, 'Court, Revis, etc.

Yeah, it gives them an additional $6.25MM in cap room since they dont have to pay him this year and allows them flexibility at spreading out the $8MM of remaining bonus money. Im more surprised by it than annoyed, Mankins play had slipped but I thought he was probably worth overpaying as a bridge option for this season at this point.

Agreed. With Scar retiring it seems (to me at least) to be risky, but I can appreciate the logic behind it.

Supposedly Felger (boston radio guy) just said on the air that Mankins agreed to be part of the post game show again this year, in Mankins words, "if he doesn't get cut."

Seems to good to be true getting salary relief, a 4th, and Wright -- who did put up good numbers as a rookie pass catching TE -- for a guy they might have been cutting anyway.

I dont hate the trade. Im convinced that even if Mankins stayed this year that he was getting cut next offseason. I think he is clearly on the decline, still a beast in the run game but was shaky in pass blocking.

Id rather sell high now and get the 4th round pick and a possible contributor at a spot where you are shallow (unfortunately it kind of leaves you shallow at Interior OL now). Hope they put the money saved to good use and extend the likes of McCourty/Solder/Revis

I don't hate it either, probably like it in a vaccum just for the 4th rounder if they felt Mankins had regressed further. Just risky given how much the interior line has been an Achilles heel in recent playoff defeats and the replacement options.

Wonder if they have their eye on another vet.

Belichick is the only GM with the job security to pull this off. No other GM would do this.