INDIANAPOLIS - Mike Vrabel told us the Patriots roster would look vastly different in August than it does now. He wasn't lying.
Shortly after Patriots Executive VP of Player Personnel Eliot Wolf finished his media session at the NFL Scouting Combine Wednesday came news that the team had granted Davon Godchaux permission to seek a trade. Convenient, eh?
The report, since confirmed, should come as no surprise. The Pats are changing to a more one-gap style of play, meaning they want aggressive penetrators on the interior. Godchaux, who got a slight pay increase last summer, is many things, but that is not in his bag. He is a two-gapper, stout versus the run but virtually non-existent as a pass rusher.
Godchaux is scheduled to count $8.3 million against the salary cap. A pre-June 1st release would cost an additional $2 million if a trade cannot be consummated. If the defensive tackle is designated as a post-June 1st release, the cap hit is lessened by a million and adds another million onto the Pats' cap sheet (as if they need it). If an actual trade does occur, and they'll try to get that done between now and the NFL Draft in April, the team would save $1.6 million.
BSJ ANALYSIS: I appreciate Godchaux's availability - he played all 17 games - and at his best, he was a force against the run. But he wasn't consistently at his best for the past two seasons. Additionally, he proved to be tone-deaf about the state of the defense, often reminding us how well they did against the run even when, in fact, they didn't (see the home loss to Miami, for instance). He was also one of several players (Jahlani Tavai, Deatrich Wise) who were critical of the fans for their "Fire Mayo" chants late in the season.
As this is an incredibly deep draft along the defensive front, and there are several talented interior players in free agency, the Pats should be able to pivot quickly.
I don't expect the Pats to get much more than a day-three pick, and wouldn't be surprised if he ended up being released outright.