Colvin signed with the Patriots in 2003, and great things were expected of him. He was even the highest paid player on the team in terms of his cap number. It took him some time, but eventually he emerged as the player we expected him to be.
In 2006, he led the team in sacks with 8.5. And last year, he became a real playmaker. He only had 4 sacks, but he intercepted a ball, and forced three fumbles. Combined with fellow OLBs Mike Vrabel and Adalius Thomas, he was part of a solid trio.
Injury cut his season short, and it hurt the Pats. With him in the Super Bowl, the game may have been different. Had it been Rosevelt instead of Pierre Woods, who fell on that fumbled hand-off, perhaps he would have been able to hold onto the ball.
For the record, I'm not coming up with an excuse, I'm just trying to point out how valuable Colvin is.
But his cap number was way too high. Colvin would have counted for about $7.6 million in 2008, which is about 6.6% of the total cap (estimated to be at $116M for 2008). Considering the Patriots already have Vrabel and Adalius, Colvin was sacrificed in order to appease the salary cap gods.
This isn't good news for the Patriots, but it does have a silver lining. The Pats have more room to acquire new talent, and/or retain guys like Moss.
Also on the linebacker front, the Cowboys signed Zach Thomas to a $3M incentive laden deal.
The Pats also released Oscar Lua, who was drafted in the 7th round last year, then placed on injured reserve, and now he's gone.
Sources:
Pro-Football-Reference.com
The Boston Channel (WCVB)
ESPN.com
AskTheCommish.com
USA Today
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