Morning sports update: What experts say about the Patriots’ potential of trading for a wide receiver
Several hurdles have to be cleared if the Patriots want to make an addition.
The Connecticut Sun evened the WNBA Finals 1-1 with a 99-87 win over the Washington Mystics. Jonquel Jones led the Sun with 32 points and 18 rebounds while teammate Alyssa Thomas — playing with a torn labrum in each shoulder — contributed 21 points and 12 rebounds.
Elsewhere, the Nationals rallied to defeat the Brewers in the National League wild card game on Tuesday night, 4-3. It’s the first playoff round win by a Washington D.C. baseball team in 95 years.
The decisive moment came in the eighth inning on a clutch hit from Juan Soto:
Looking ahead, the Bruins are set to open the season on Thursday night in Dallas at 8:30 p.m. against the Stars. The Patriots and Revolution are also preparing for a slate of Sunday games.
Why the Patriots probably can’t trade for a high-profile wide receiver: All it took was one strange tweet from Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs, and Patriots fans were ready to see him end up in New England:
😶
— DIGGS (@stefondiggs) September 30, 2019
The talented 25-year-old Vikings wide receiver, who made a memorable playoff touchdown catch in 2018, is off to an inconsistent start in Minnesota this season. Of course, the entire Vikings passing game has struggled for periods of time, stoking speculation that Diggs might want to leave.
But can the Patriots actually engineer a trade, even if Bill Belichick wanted to?
The most recent salary cap figure from Boston Business Journal cap expert Miguel Benzan is a little under $3 million:
My new Patriots salary cap space number after accounting for the releases of Caleb Benenoch, Cameron Meredith and Scooby Wright is $2,851,550. Note that I have Antonio Brown’s cap number as $5M. His cap number should remain on the Patriots books for the rest of the year
— Patscap (@patscap) October 2, 2019
As Benzan alluded to, Antonio Brown — despite his short stay in New England — leaves a large shadow in the form of a sizable cap number. The Patriots may eventually win back that cap space, but only after Brown’s current grievance with the team is ruled on (and that might not happen until 2020).
NESN Patriots writer Doug Kyed also noted that fellow wide receivers like Emmanuel Sanders and A.J. Green have been linked with a possible Patriots trade, but along with Diggs, the numbers don’t necessarily work for New England at the moment.
All three have salaries that exceed $6 million (Green’s is $9.16 million). The only other possibility is that New England opens up cap space by securing a contract extension with a current player, back-loading money on the deal in order to create short-term space.
“So, can the Patriots open up enough cap room to add another wide receiver,” asked Kyed. “Yes, if they want to increase [Dont’a] Hightower’s cap hit in 2020 or if [Devin] McCourty is willing to sign an extension, but it will make their cap situation difficult next season.”
Aside from whatever the asking price would be for Diggs or another available receiver (which Belichick may be unwilling to pay), it’s an impossible trade to pull off until the short-term cap situation is addressed.
Trivia: When the Patriots traded wide receiver Terry Glenn to the Packers in 2002, Bill Belichick used a fourth-round pick he received as part of the package in return to draft a defensive lineman. Who was it?
(Answer at the bottom).
Hint: He had 2.5 sacks on Peyton Manning in the 2003 AFC Championship.
More from Boston.com:
- 3 things to know about the Revolution’s turnaround and playoff berth
- 9 questions with Celtics rookie Grant Williams
- Krejci may miss Bruins opener, Bergeron expected to be ready
- This Bruins team is similar to last year’s. Will their outcome be different?
- Josh McDaniels isn’t worried about Josh Gordon’s slow start to 2019
- Krejci may miss Bruins opener, Bergeron expected to be ready
- 6 notes and observations from the first day of Celtics training camp
- ‘NHL20’ simulation has Bruins winning the Stanley Cup
Matthew Slater has a go-to touchdown celebration. The Patriots had just never seen it until last Sunday
:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B3FXa2JJ0LH/?igshid=1khooqtcyadtw
The Brazilian radio call of Gustavo Bou’s playoff-clinching goal:
https://twitter.com/NERevolution/status/1179184217210535936
49ers cornerback Richard Sherman’s thoughts on California’s new NCAA-related bill:
.@RSherman_25 hopes the Fair Pay to Play Act is the end of the NCAA. pic.twitter.com/nJHdTHOIGt
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 2, 2019
On this day: In 1968, after setting a National League record with a 1.12 ERA on the season, Cardinals ace Bob Gibson established a World Series record with 17 strikeouts in a one-hit shutout over the Tigers in Game 1.
Daily highlight: The goal from Bayern Munich’s Serge Gnabry was almost an afterthought after the pass from Thiago Alcantara and Gnabry’s perfect first touch.
https://twitter.com/brlive/status/1179137011241881600
Trivia answer: Jarvis Green
