Tag: Marqise Lee

Analyzing the terms for WR Marqise Lee’s contract with Patriots

Marquise Lee’s deal with Patriots is extremely team-friendly.

The New England Patriots got an absolute steal with the signing of wide receiver Marqise Lee this offseason.

Lee, 28, was drafted in the second round of the 2014 draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars. He came into the league with an extremely high ceiling, but injuries have put a halt on his success. Lee missed the entirety of the 2018 season with a knee injury and he was only able to suit up for six games in 2019.

Because of this, the Patriots were able to get him on a tremendously team-friendly contract. He signed a one-year deal for the veteran minimum — giving him $300 thousand guaranteed and it’s worth up to $1.05 million, according to The Boston Globe’s Ben Volin.

Chances he makes the roster: 40%

The Patriots are lacking firepower at the wide receiver position and Lee could bring a much-needed outside threat if healthy. He was durable in his first four NFL seasons and had two years to work through and recover from his knee injuries.

The players with who could likely make the roster right now are Julian Edelman, N’Keal Harry, Mohamed Sanu, Damiere Byrd, Lee and Jakobi Meyers. Edelman will be 34-years-old by the time the season starts and he was beat up the majority of 2019. Lee’s health will obviously play the biggest role in whether or not he makes the roster — because the team needs help.

What it means for Lee:

This story has been written before. A high ceiling player coming off an injury joins the Patriots for a year and increases his stock. Then, they leave for a much larger deal elsewhere after helping New England work toward its annual goal of bringing the Lombardi Trophy home.

He’s already earned $14.4 million in his NFL career so far and those earnings won’t increase if he can’t prove his value. The Patriots’ championship mindset won’t change with the absence of Tom Brady and a healthy Lee will get opportunities. It’s a win-win situation for both parties involved.

Lee’s best season was in 2016 when he recorded 63 receptions for 851 yards and three touchdowns. The Patriots would be better off this year if they could even get half that production.

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Why the Patriots signed WR Marqise Lee

Bill Belichick made a low-risk, high-reward decision with the signing of Marqise Lee.

The New England Patriots added some talented depth at wide receiver before the 2020 NFL Draft.

New England signed former Jacksonville Jaguar Marqise Lee on Thursday to a one-year contract. He was released by the Jaguars on Monday after spending six years with the team. Lee, 28, missed most of the past two seasons with knee injuries and will remain a mystery going forward with his health status.

How will an oft-injured receiver make an impact for the Patriots? There’s no guarantee he will, but Bill Belichick wouldn’t bring in a player with his injury history without a team-friendly contract. Lee’s upside can be tremendous if healthy, and the Patriots could release him if his health isn’t up to par.

The Patriots have some serious holes in the offense right now and they don’t have Tom Brady to cover them up. Talent at tight end is nonexistent and the wide receiver group isn’t anywhere near elite. New England has Julian Edelman, N’Keal Harry, Mohamed Sanu and Jakobi Meyers as its primary weapons.

Lee is a speedster who proved his capability in 2016 and 2017 before going down with the knee injuries. He totaled 116 catches, 1,553 yards and six touchdowns during those seasons. Lee has a total of 174 receptions, 2,184 yards and eight touchdowns in the 59 NFL games he’s played in.

He’s a highly recruited player who’s value dropped immensely because of injury. Belichick has made moves on free agents in Lee’s situation throughout his entire coaching career and it always results in a low-risk, high-reward scenario.

The Patriots didn’t find their guy to take the top off and lead the receiver group, but he can be a solid depth guy if healthy.

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3 things to know about Patriots receiver Marqise Lee

Here are three things to know about Marqise Lee the Patriots newest wide receiver acquisition.

The New England Patriots acquired wide receiver Marqise Lee on Thursday, adding veteran depth to the wide receiver room before the first round of the NFL Draft. Lee has Lee has battled injuries recently. However, he has a chance to provide depth and veteran leadership to the wide receivers room.

From his college days at USC, Lee showed he could be an impact playmaker. Now, he is looking to revive his career and start anew. New England could be the perfect spot for him as the team itself is in a similar situation. They are looking to revamp the offense as they prepare for a new era of football.

Here are three things to know about New England’s newest acquisition.

Lee is a bit of a wildcard

There is a little bit of a wildcard factor when it comes to Lee. He is productive when he sees the field. In 2016 and 2017 combined, he had 119 catches for 1,553 yards and six touchdowns.

The 2018 and 2019 seasons were a different story. He missed all of 2018 due to injuries, and was only able to play in six games in 2019 due to knee problems. He is a bit of a wildcard in the sense that he has been hurt a bit over the past couple of years, but is productive when healthy.

If he can get back to those 2016 numbers, that would certainly be beneficial for New England. That year, he caught 63 passes for 851 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 13.5 yards per receptions. He played in 16 games that year, starting six of them.

New England would also be happy with 2017 production. He started in all 14 games, and caught 56 passes for 702 yards and three touchdowns.

It would certainly help New England’s depth at the wide receiver spot if he is able to say healthy and record the numbers of prior years.

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Report: Patriots signing WR Marqise Lee

A veteran addition for New England.

The New England Patriots are signing receiver Marqise Lee, according to a ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The Jacksonville Jaguars released Lee earlier this week after he spent all but six days of the 2019 season on injured reserve.

He logged just three receptions for 18 yards last season, but had three touchdown catches and over 700 receiving yards in each of his previous two seasons.

Lee joins a receiver group which includes Julian Edelman, Mohamed Sanu, N’Keal Harry, Jakobi Meyers, Gunner Olszewski, Devin Ross and Quincy Adeboyejo. The Patriots also have 12 picks in the upcoming draft. It’s likely the Patriots’ list of wideouts will grow in the coming days.

Lee’s upside is solid, considering he was, at times, the No. 2 receiver in New England’s offense. Though the Patriots won’t count on him doing the same in 2020. This signing is an attempt to give Lee a shot at a revitalizing season, with the recognition that he isn’t likely to make a big impact. It’s not clear what the terms of his deal are, but New England has practically no money left in terms of salary cap space. They can’t have spent much on Lee.

This is a low-risk signing, with the potential to net a starting caliber talent. That said, New England probably won’t be surprised or enormously disappointed if Lee doesn’t stick on the roster.

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Free agent WR Marqise Lee a perfect fit for Jets

The Jets need all the help they can get at receiver and the former Jaguars pass-catcher would be the perfect fit for Adam Gase.

Former 2014 second-round pick Marqise Lee could be a simple solution to the Jets’ wide receiver woes and might make their draft decisions a little easier.

Wide receiver remains one of the biggest question marks on the Jets roster even with a depth chart that includes Jamison Crowder, Breshad Perriman and Quincy Enunwa as its starters. Lee, who the Jaguars released Monday, would be a perfect fit in Adam Gase’s offense given his experience, size and skillset, but it’s hard to buy into a player who’s only played 16 games in the past two seasons. 

The Jets have their big-play threat, slot receiver and big-bodied targets in Perriman, Crowder, Enunwa and tight end Chris Herndon, but they’re lacking a receiver who excels in the middle of the field on short-to-intermediate passing yard situations. Lee is that missing piece on the offense and proved he can be that with Jaguars over the past six years. At 6-foot-1, 196 pounds, Lee could become for the Jets offense what Jarvis Landy and Danny Amendola were for Gase during his time with the Dolphins.

Lee was one of the better receivers on targets of nine yards or less from 2016-2017, the best two years of his career. On those plays, he tallied 9.7 yards per reception, 5.7 yards after the catch, forced a missed tackle rate of 18.6 percent and had an explosive play rate of 14.8 percent. He caught 119 receptions for 1,553 yards and six touchdowns in 30 games.

Lee isn’t known as a deep-ball pass catcher – he finished as one of the worst receivers on passes of at least 20 yards – but he excelled in the middle of the field, particularly on crossing routes. Almost a quarter of Lee’s targets and 31.5 percent of his yards between 2016-2017 came on crossing routes, where he caught 80 percent of those targets. 

This bodes well for a Jets offense that thrives on short passes. Darnold threw short passes on 78.45 percent of his passing attempts in 2019, while 77.63 percent of Lee’s targets came on short passing attempts. Both Darnold and Lee favored the right side of the field for passes as well. If Lee joins the Jets, he’ll have a role that fits his skill set perfectly, as long as he can stay on the field.

The biggest worry with Lee is his health. He missed all of 2018 and most of 2019 with severe knee injuries and missed time at other points in his career due to shoulder, foot, ankle and hamstring ailments. The talent is there, it’s just a matter of durability that might keep Lee from seeing action.

That shouldn’t stop the Jets from taking a flier on Lee, though, and it shouldn’t change Douglas’ draft strategy with finding a receiver. If anything, signing Lee alleviates the pressure on the Jets to find a starting receiver with one of their early-round picks. The Jets would be able to focus on other positions of need like offensive tackle, cornerback or edge rusher earlier on rather than wideout if they sign or plan to sign Lee. Douglas should absolutely still look at taking a receiver as early as the second round, but the pressure to draft at that position with a premium pick is lessened when you have a roster littered with experienced pass-catchers.

Douglas already said the Jets will be buyers in free agency again once the draft is over and that could very well mean adding a starting-caliber wide receiver like Lee.

NFL salary cap for 2020 set at $198.2M for 2020

The NFL Management Council has informed each team that they will have just short of $200 million in available cap space.

In December, it was reported that the NFL’s salary cap for 2020 would be anywhere between $196.8 million to $201.2 million per team, and now with the NFLPA voting to approve a new CBA, we now know the exact number.

Per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the NFL Management Council informed all 32 teams that the salary cap will be set for $198.2 million per organization.

The news of the league’s salary cap comes as the new league year is still scheduled to begin Wednesday, March 25. However, per NFL insider Ian Rapoport, the league and players union are currently discussing the matter as it isn’t solely up to the NFL.

The increase marks a rise of $10 million as the salary cap was set at $188.2 million last year. With Yannick Ngakoue’s franchise tag factored in, that would put the Jags at an estimated $12.4 million, according to Spotrac.

Heading into free agency, the Jags are expected to cut a few more players like tight end Geoff Swaim and receiver Marqise Lee and if those transactions are completed the Jags would be at approximately $21.4 million. If Ngakoue is traded as some suspect, the Jags would add a projected amount of $18 million, which is an approximation of the non-exclusive franchise tag amount. Add that in with the releases of Swaim and Lee and the Jags would have an estimated $39.4 million in available cap space according to Spotrac’s calculations.

The Jags could add an additional four million by releasing veteran Abry Jones then another $3.1 million if there are any willing suitors to take quarterback Nick Foles in a trade. So in other words, the key will be to get Ngakoue’s cap hit of their books through a trade or extension, and if they can, they’ll be in good shape this offseason.