Even All-Stars Fade Away ~ A Madden NFL 15 Franchise

[patriotway]

[patriotway]

NFL Mentions
Ross Tucker - @RossTuckerEA: Julius Peppers walks away and the NFL will never be the same again.
Matt Miller - @MattMillerEA: Packers legendary RE Julius Peppers to retire. What a legacy.

[patriotway]

The New England Patriots were dealt another severe blow in their offseason as Tom Brady has announced that he will be retiring from the game of football. This announcement, like Bill Belichick's has shaken the team. While Brady was more talkative than his former head coach, the move is still somewhat of a surprise. It's speculated that Brady's teammates were aware that the veteran quarterback would step aside at the end of the season. With the Patriots focus being on team above all else, it seems like it was kept a secret as not to distract players during the season.

Brady steps away from the game of football as probably one of the most successful quarterbacks to have ever played the game. His 63,151 passing yards are fourth all time and his 460 passing touchdowns are third all time. Tom Brady has a playoff record of 20-10 which includes three wins and three losses in the Super Bowl. During his time with the Patriots, they have only missed the postseason three times. Two times with Brady as the starting quarterback and the third time, in 2008, Brady sat out most of the regular season with an injury.

There's no doubt that Brady has cemented himself as one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game. Even though the era in which he played has been more favorable to quarterbacks, there's no doubt that Brady's level of play was far beyond his contemporaries. The Patriots will certainly feel a lot different without Brady at the helm. Brady's play will be the standard set for future quarterbacks in New England to play towards. That sentiment could very well be the same for other NFL teams as well.

[patriotway]

NFL Mentions
Skip Bayless - @SkipBaylessEA: Is K. Alonso REALLY worth this kind of money? If he's healthy, sure, but can he STAY healthy? Not so sure.
Mark Schlereth - @MarkSchlerethEA: The owner of the Buccaneers is going to have a lot of explaining to do next season when they lose Vincent Jackson to free agency.
LaVar Arrington - LArringtonEA: Martellus Bennett signs 6-year contract extension with Chargers.

[patriotway]

Transactions Cont'd

NFL Mentions
Matt Miller - @MattMillerEA: Lions were willing to go above and beyond to re-sign Ndamukong Suh. Monumental signing.
Trey Wingo - @WingozEA: So... who gets Pierre Garcon in free agency this year?
Skip Bayless - @SkipBaylessEA: Not shocked that Cordarrelle Patterson doesn't want to re-sign with the Vikings. I heard the offers they made were not great.
Mark Schlereth - @MarkSchlerethEA: J. Morgan was cut? Almost every NFL'er has been there but that doesn't mean it doesn't sting.

[patriotway]

NFL Mentions
Mark Schlereth - @MarkSchlerethEA: Big pay day for Robert Mathis. He sure would've liked to get a long-term deal done.
Ross Tucker - @RossTuckerEA: Now Dez Bryant knows if he plays well one more year he'll get major contract in free agency.
Robert Flores - @RoFloEA: We'll certainly be talking about the Dolphins franchise tagging Reshad Jones on the show tonight.

[patriotway]

The New England Patriots made keeping linebacker Jamie Collins a priority. The young and talented linebacker out of Southern Miss agreed to a 4-year deal with the team. With Tom Brady's absence, the Patriots felt they needed to keep a core of players that knew the system well.

Brandon Bolden, whom the Patriots also re-signed, is a player that fits that description. Bolden helped the Patriots immensely filling in for the injured James White. While White is expected to return to the role he had, pending the results of a position battle, Bolden will return to special teams.

Another player that can have an impact on special teams is wide receiver D'Andre Royster. The team also wants to see how Royster progresses as a receiver. He did well last preseason and with some changes coming to the wide receiver core this year, Royster may get a better chance to show what he can do.

Offensive lineman Marcus Cannon was a player that the Patriots wanted on their roster because of his familiarity with the system. The team wants to head in a different direction and is not retaining veteran tackle Sebastion Vollmer. Cannon has decided to test the free agent market. His status is one the Patriots will keep a close eye on during the free agency period.

[patriotway]

Interested Teams: NYG, MIN




Interested Teams: DET


KAN, MIN, OAK




KAN, MIN


Interested Teams: CIN, GNB, CAR


Interested Teams: IND, NOR


Interested Teams: NYG, GNB


Interested Teams: NYG, MIN, OAK


Interested Teams: NOR


Interested Teams: WAS, CAR, NOR




Interested Teams: DET, JAC, NYG


Interested Teams: HOU, NOR, IND

Other Top Free Agents
Position	Player	Desired Contract	2016 Team	Interested Teams
HB	Adrian Peterson	3 YR - $24.1 MIL	MIN	--
WR	Cordarrelle Patterson	5 YR - $28.1 MIL	MIN	TAM
WR	Pierre Garcon	4 YR - $18.7 MIL	WAS	--
WR	Jeremy Maclin	4 YR - $13.2 MIL	OAK	--
WR	Deandre Hopkins	4 YR - $9.36 MIL	HOU	DET, SFO, CIN
LT	David Bakhtiari	5 YR - $23.4 MIL	GNB	DEN, NYG, PHI
C	Travis Frederick	5 YR - $27 MIL	DAL	CHI, MIN
LE	Datone Jones	4 YR - $16 MIL	GNB	NOR, CAR
DT	Johnathan Hankins	4 YR - $12.4 MIL	NYG	WAS, IND, TEN
RE	Mario Addison	4 YR $7.48 MIL	CAR	--
MLB	Sio Moore	5 YR - $21.5 MIL	OAK	WAS, PHI
MLB	Manti Te'o	4 YR - $14.6 MIL	CHI	--
MLB	Jon Bostic	4 YR - $8.04 MIL	CHI/PHI	ATL, NYG, KAN
CB	Captain Munnerlyn	1 YR - $8.23 MIL	MIN/STL	--
CB	Kareem Jackson	1 YR - $2.86 MIL	OAK	--
CB	David Amerson	4 YR - $11.4 MIL	WAS	DET, STL, KAN
CB	Dwayne Gratz	4 YR - $10.7 MIL	JAC	ATL, SFO, ARI