Tag: Patriots contracts

Lawrence Guy believed to be holding out at Patriots minicamp

Lawrence Guy is reportedly believed to be holding out of minicamp for contract reasons.

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Not everyone is in the building for the start of the New England Patriots’ mandatory minicamp on Monday. Count veteran defensive tackle Lawrence Guy among the absences, and his reasoning is believed to be contract-related, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss.

Guy is reportedly looking for an adjustment in his 2021 contract, which is a four-year deal with an $11 million base value and extended upwards to $24 million.

Reiss wrote:

Guy, who has since changed agents, is believed to be looking for an adjustment to the contract after what sources had previously described as a challenging negotiation.

Guy, 33, has been a key cog along the Patriots’ defensive front for the last seven years. He has won a Super Bowl with the organization and even earned a nod for the Patriots’ All-Decade team in the 2010s.

The addition of second-round draft pick Keion White is sure to make things interesting for the veteran defensive tackle, especially if the rookie is ready to contribute right out of the gates. There is no more guaranteed money remaining on Guy’s deal.

As for the punishment for no-showing mandatory minicamp, Guy could be forced to pay upwards of $98,753 in fines, if he skips all three practices.

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Contract incentives for Patriots OT Riley Reiff revealed

Staying on the field will be key for Riley Reiff to hit his 2023 incentives.

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The guaranteed money on New England Patriots veteran offensive tackle Riley Reiff’s contract was always a clue that he was being brought onto the team as more than just another camp body.

There’s a strong likelihood that he’s being positioned as the man to replace Isaiah Wynn as the starter across from left tackle Trent Brown.

Reiff, 34, is a bit long in the tooth, and he didn’t start every game when he was with the Chicago Bears last season. But in a world where offensive tackles are hard to come by, Reiff might end up being the guy in New England.

The 33rd Team’s Ari Meirov recently listed the $4 million in incentives Reiff could potentially earn with the Patriots in 2023.

  • 53% of offensive snaps – $800,000
  • 60% of offensive snaps – $750,000
  • 65% of offensive snaps – $700,000
  • 70% of offensive snaps – $650,000
  • 75% of offensive snaps – $600,000
  • 80% of offensive snaps – $500,000

Reiff has only logged in less than 90 percent of the offensive snaps twice in his career, and one of those seasons came last year in his one-and-done stint with the Bears.

Assuming he stays healthy, there should be a clear path for him to rack up on incentives this season for a tackle-needy team like the Patriots.

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Breaking down Patriots TE Mike Gesicki’s extensive contract incentives

Mike Gesicki could rack up on incentives if he has a big year for the Patriots.

The New England Patriots moved on from Jonnu Smith in the offseason and signed former Miami Dolphins tight end Mike Gesicki to a one-year, $4.5 million deal.

It’s clear the Patriots are determined to get back to dual playmaking tight ends on offense. Gesicki is less versatile than Smith, but he might prove to be more reliable in the receiving department considering he’s basically a wideout in a tight end’s body.

Those playmaking abilities will come in handy in helping him rack up on the many incentives laid out in his contract, per the 33rd Team’s Ari Meirov.

The incentives in Gesicki’s contract could scale as high as $4.5 million. So he could double his salary if he’s able to hit every number. Of course, that might prove to be a challenge in an offense that already has quarterback Mac Jones’ go-to tight end target, Hunter Henry, on the field.

But it’s also important to note that Gesicki’s career-high season wasn’t all that long ago. In 2021, he hauled in 73 receptions for 780 yards and two touchdowns with the Dolphins.

We’ll see if he can tap back into those playmaking abilities in New England. Here are the incentives in his 2023 contract:

Patriots salary cap: Tracking New England’s $18 million in dead money

Here’s where the Patriots’ dead money situation stands ahead of the 2023 season.

The New England Patriots have made it past June 1, which means the team’s salary will be less impacted by any trades or contract releases for the 2023 season.

When it comes to dead money, the Patriots are sitting at the middle of the pack in the NFL, mostly due to all of the money they had tied up in former tight end Jonnu Smith’s contract.

Dead cap is money or any guaranteed salary still being paid to players that were moved from the roster. The Patriots are currently sitting at $18,174,272 in dead money, per Over The Cap.

Here are nine former Patriots players eating up a portion of the team’s salary cap ahead of the 2023 season:

What does Ex-Patriot Shaq Mason’s new contract mean for Mike Onwenu?

Will Shaq Mason’s new deal impact ongoing negotiations between the Patriots and Mike Onwenu?

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Former New England Patriots offensive lineman Shaq Mason signed a brand new, three-year, $36 million contract with $22 million in guaranteed money with the Houston Texans on Wednesday.

Mason, 29, was acquired by the Texans in March, almost a year after the Patriots shipped him off to Tampa Bay to shore up the line in front of Tom Brady. With Brady now retired and the Buccaneers likely in a rebuild, they shipped off an elite guard to a team looking to protect their young quarterback, who we now know is C.J. Stroud..

With Michael Onwenu entering a contract year after performing well above his sixth-round pick status, the Patriots may have an understanding of the guard floor for that next contract.

In a previous article, I mentioned that the Patriots may be planning for life without Onwenu, but if they wish to retain young, homegrown talent, it feels like a contract of four years, $48 million is the starting point for the team in negotiations.

Onwenu is at the top of his position in terms of play and will likely cash in during the 2024 free agency period. However, with the Patriots only having 39 players under contract for 2024 and an estimated $100 million in cap space, they have the means to make it work. Even more so, the NFL salary cap continues to rise year after year with new money. So a $12-$14 million guard contract may seem silly now, but in a few years, the market will eventually even out.

The only thing that may hinder any contract negotiations is if the Patriots philosophically believe in their approach to draft the next guy and replace outgoing linemen, like they did with Ted Karras and Joe Thuney.

Frankly, I find that to be a good approach when you’re getting close to the cap, but with a 25-year-old, elite guard that has tackle flexibility sitting on the roster, they should do right and extend him early.

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