Why are Pats missing on big name players?

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Why are the Patriots missing out on the big time Free Agents and trade acquisitions? They lost out on Ridley, and now potentially Aiyuk. Wiggy: "It's about the money." Thoughts?

Transcript

00:00If you were an aspiring tight end, already established yourself,

00:04would you ever want to come to a team with no offensive line,

00:08an inexperienced quarterback, and a team, more importantly,

00:13that's averaged a total of 13 points a game over the last four years?

00:18Come on, why does anyone want to come here as a receiver? Nobody does.

00:22It is not about the money, it's about you cannot

00:26further your career in New England right now as it stands.

00:30It's clearly about the money, so he's going to further his career in Cleveland?

00:36Well, he must think he has a better opportunity to do it there or Pittsburgh.

00:42He won't go to Cleveland either.

00:43Okay, so where's he going?

00:45Right in San Francisco. He'll stay right in San Francisco where he has a chance

00:50to continue to be a star. What I'm trying to say is we can't get Calvin Ridley

00:55we can't get T. Higgins, we'll never get C.D. Lamb unless Tom Brady...

01:01No, I'm kidding about that.

01:02What I'm saying is who wants to come here?

01:05It is not an opportunity to continue to be a star. That's what I'm trying to say.

01:11So why isn't he in San Francisco?

01:13But Belichick...

01:16People say he's not going here, he's not going there, he'll stay in San Francisco.

01:20Why isn't there a deal done in San Francisco?

01:22Well, I mean, I'm assuming from his perspective, maybe it's a hold up.

01:29He wants to force them to give more money now.

01:32So then it's about the money, right?

01:34Yeah.

01:34It's always about money.

01:35It's about the money. Can we stop with the nonsense?

01:38Right, but the argument that you can just offer him more here and he will take it

01:44forces you to consider the other things that are around it.

01:48Right.

01:49And it might not be the potential to win.

01:54It might just be that it's not, I don't know, maybe Derek's right.

01:58Maybe it's not an attractive place.

02:01You know, you have to live in Foxborough.

02:03You can't live in the city.

02:05You have to...

02:05A lot of players live in the city.

02:07Right.

02:08Some, but most guys end up...

02:10Yeah, I mean...

02:11What's the difference?

02:11Cam Newton did.

02:12Right.

02:13The younger guys tend to.

02:14Julian Adelman.

02:15Brady did when he was young.

02:16I had Rolls-Royce.

02:17Nelson Aguilera.

02:19In my building.

02:20Yeah, he dropped it though.

02:22Jules, Gronk.

02:24So all of a sudden Cleveland and Pittsburgh is a great place.

02:28I could see if you go in Miami or Cali, but we stop with that.

02:32Like no one wants to come here.

02:33I don't see many people running to Cleveland and Pittsburgh.

02:37It's about the money.

02:39And how many people where you work, thank you, Derek, do anything but take the most money?

02:44I mean, in every field, 90% of all decisions are made based on what is best financially

02:49for the person.

02:51So why do we think athletes are any different?

02:53Right.

02:53Because if it wasn't about the money, he would have took the San Francisco deal if there

02:57was the deal out there.

02:58Right.

02:59Especially NFL wide receivers who are notorious for being the biggest divas in sports.

03:04They only care about the money and the fame.

03:06Those are the two top things on their list.

03:09Yeah.

03:10And so I don't get when people say, I think that it's, I think what his camp is trying

03:17to do, whether it's Cleveland, Pittsburgh or New England is push them up to the highest

03:24bid and to whoever the highest bidder is, that's where he's going.

03:28As long as the package is good enough for San Francisco.

03:33I guess Pittsburgh's not offering a good enough package.

03:36And so that's why San Francisco is like, nah, we'd rather deal with Cleveland and New

03:41England, but that's where he'll end up.

03:43And if he doesn't end up here, it is part of the millionaire's tax, which means you

03:47got to go above and beyond.

03:48And I think what I think it was Tom Pellicero, I don't know, maybe Mike Reese, but the reporting

03:53on this last night was that he wants to go.

03:56Brandon Ayuk wants to be in Pittsburgh for whatever reason.

04:00And they've been bringing up the Browns and the Patriots as a means to get the Steelers

04:05to give more because they clearly didn't have the same trade package that the Patriots

04:10had.

04:10That's what I believe is at the bottom of all of this.

04:12And the money is going to be relatively equal.

04:15But it's not really saying that Brandon Ayuk doesn't want to come here.

04:17It's saying that the Patriots fell off of the deal.

04:21So like, it seems like it was on the Patriots side, not on San Francisco side.

04:25No, I think the Patriots realized that the deal had been agreed to with the 49ers, but

04:29the player wasn't going to sign here.

04:31So they weren't going to just keep doing this roundabout, if that makes sense.

04:34That they were just being used by Ayuk to try and get more money or more things out

04:40of the Steelers, because he's not going to sign here anyway.

04:43This is Charlie from Boston.

04:45Hey, Charlie.

04:47Hey, great call.

04:48Sorry, not great call.

04:49It's going to be a great call, but great show this morning.

04:53God, it's early.

04:54Simon, early.

04:56But yeah, so it's a combination of the money and the situation.

04:59It's like, it's one of those things where like no amount of money will get me to the

05:03pass because the situation is terrible.

05:05It's going to kill my career.

05:06This is where I come to die.

05:07No money's worth that.

05:09Wait a minute.

05:10This franchise, this legendary franchise has become where you go to die?

05:18Right now, because he's not young, is he?

05:20Yeah, he's only 25.

05:23Yeah, but I mean, it's peak value right now from somewhere else where he can actually

05:26play well.

05:27If he comes here and stinks, it's toast.

05:29Yeah, but it's peak value for him to make the most money.

05:33So this is his best opportunity to make money because after he hits 30 years old, they're

05:36not going to pay him this kind of money.

05:37Right.

05:38So for the next five years, because he'll probably sign a four-year deal is when he's

05:42really going to maximize his potential, his potential earning.

05:45So you're going to go to that.

05:47And what does Pittsburgh have to offer?

05:49You have a bit.

05:50When you say your quarterback potential is better here than it is in Pittsburgh.

05:55I mean, potential.

05:58Russell Wilson.

05:59I know we can't stick.

06:01We can't stand him.

06:03But I mean, he's been in the league for no, but I'm saying your potential amount of time.

06:08Greg, you saw him in Denver.

06:10He's terrible.

06:11He lost to Bailey Zappi.

06:12He's so bad.

06:14I know he didn't start Denver.

06:16Steady is penciled in as the starter.

06:19Yeah, it's OK.

06:20Bone X will start on week one of the regular season.

06:22It's fine.

06:24That's going to be a friggin train wreck over there.

06:27Greg, all I'm saying is potential.

06:29Like where like if you look projection wise on where the quarterback for the Patriots,

06:36Drake may will be versus the quarterbacks of Russell Wilson and Justin Fields in the

06:44next three to four years, I would think projection wise, people would say New England has the

06:49better of the quarterback.

06:53So I don't like I can see if it was Kansas City or if it was the charges or if it was

07:01Cincinnati where you were like or was even Buffalo and you go, OK, well, it's Josh Allen

07:05or even Baltimore.

07:07But Pittsburgh and Cleveland, I'm not buying that.

07:11He doesn't want to come to destination issue.

07:14Yeah, I'm not buying that.

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