Which is why they need to move on. This has been a career year, but the guy isn't even close to being good enough to be a #1 TE.

I'd let him walk and replace him with another Free Agent, (Jared Cook is my favorite of the group).

Again with the move on thing... How about we keep him and get another TE

Because I'm not keeping a blocking TE for 3-4 million per year.

You're assuming he can even get that PR.

If he comes affordable he's worth it.

I agree, Fasano is the only consistent TE we have. If we can afford to keep him, we should. If we feel a need to upgrade the position, we should look to draft someone to compete with Clay, Egnew, and Mastrud next year.

He is not fast or flashy, but he makes some nice catches, and seems to have built some chemistry with RT. He is great in blocking, and as Sherman said he can move around without missing a beat.

I dont know, sounds like a guy you want on a football team to me.

The Patriots are paying Fells 1.4 million

Fasano is a much bigger commodity than Daniel Fells.

How much bigger we talkin' about here? You basically made his stats out to be unworthy of a decent paycheck. So how much more could he command than the 1.4 Fells got?

Same as his previous contracts...3 million.

Got this off a 49'ers website, showing Top 20 salaries for each position.

Zach Miller, Seahawks - $9,000,000 - Signed thru 2015
Vernon Davis, 49ers - $8,017,666 - Signed thru 2015
Marcedes Lewis, Jaguars - $7,200,000 - Signed thru 2015
Tony Gonzalez, Falcons - $6,900,000 - Signed thru 2012
Antonio Gates, Chargers - $6.584,400 - Signed thru 2015
Fred Davis, Redskins - $5,446,000 - Signed thru 2012
Jason Witten, Cowboys - $4,641,000 - Signed thru 2017
Jermichael Finley, Packers - $5,250,000 - Signed thru 2013
Greg Olsen, Panthers - $4,375,000 - Signed thru 2015
Anthony Fasano, Dolphins - $4,275,000 - Signed thru 2012
Heath Miller, Steelers - $4,274,000 - Signed thru 2012
John Carlson, Vikings - $4,000,000 - Signed thru 2016
Chris Cooley, Redskins - $3,900,000 - Signed thru 2013
Kellen Winslow, Seahawks - $3,800,000 - Signed thru 2014
Owen Daniels, Texans - $3,500,000 - Signed thru 2014
Dustin Keller, Jets - $3,052,500 - Signed thru 2012
Benjamin Watson, Browns - $2,880,000 - Signed thru 2012
Daniel Graham, Titans - $2,666,667 - Signed thru 2013
Rob Gronkowski, Patriots - $2,610,000 - Signed thru 2019
Brandon Pettigrew, Lions - $2,336,000 - Signed thru 2013

I'd don't believe Miami can afford to sign a FA TE like Cook & also retain Fasano. If they do sign a FA, then they either have to believe Egnew can step into the No. 2 role or draft another TE in Rd. 4 or 5.

At this stage it is HIGHLY unlikely Egnew is stepping into anything other than continued scrutiny.

Yeah I sure wouldnt want to see us go into next season with him as the # 2..

Fasano is a rock solid TE. He can both block in the run game and is solid as a pass catcher. I would like to see him bought back, and perhaps look to draft a TE in the draft that can stretch the field.

Michael Egnew is definitely an enigma.

Egnew is 4th string right now. He's behind Fasano, Clay, and Mastrud. If Fasano were to leave, we'd simply split playing time between Clay, Mastrud, and whoever we drafted to compete with them.

Unless Egnew magically somehow proves to our coaches that he deserves some playing time late in the season, and he makes the most of that time, it is highly unlikely he cracks the roster anytime soon. The mental aspect of the game seems to elude him right now and it's difficult to gauge whether or not it will ever find him.

Unless something magical happens, I doubt Egnew cracks the roster anytime soon. We're probably better off re-signing Fasano and then looking to draft someone in the middle rounds to compete with Clay and Mastrud for playing time behind Fasano. While I know it's very early to count the guy out, Egnew is a 3rd round pick and shouldn't be the 4th string tightend.

Respectfully disagree. I think Cook will come cheaper then you think. He is well underutilized. And his stats show it. I do like the guy and want him though. Anyone hear that Jermichael Finley may be traded? I'd give a 2nd for him if he would renegotiate his contract for a few more years. Bring him in. Sign M. Wallace and bring back Hartline. Got Wallace blowing tops off the D and making plays while Finley and Hartline are cleaning up. Our offense.. it's absolutely imperative to have a pass catching TE. And a good one. Problem solved. Offensive fire power.

Do you know those two guys have issues with drops??? We'd wind up spending somewhere close to $15+M a season on those two guys and we'd probably lead the NFL in drops next year. No thanks.

I'd rather see us re-sign Fasano, draft a pair of receivers early, and possibly draft another tightend (pass catching) somewhere in the middle rounds to compete with Clay, Mastrud, and Engew for playing time behind Fasano next year.

While I agree that if anyone outside of the Packers organization could make Finley have success it's Joe Philbin, I'm still not completely wild about the idea of us trading for him. I'd much rather wait and see if he gets cut. The Packers are paying him almost double what we're paying Fasano right now.

Now if we are going to go after a free agent TE, I can get on board with Cook. The guy is a freak athlete and is a proven commodity. We'd be able to get 40 catches and 4-5 touchdowns out of him easily behind Fasano next year in my opinion. His skillset would complement Fasano's very well. He'll also cost a lot less than Finley. His size and speed would create nice mismatches. Depending on his pricetag, I wouldn't be against the Dolphins looking at him.

Any FA worth signing as a replacement will get at least 3 million or more per. Fasano makes 4+ now. Don't see him taking a pay cut. I just feel that is more than what Miami is willing to tie up at the TE position, especially since Fasano is not a specially skilled player.

Why would you want to give up a 2nd for Finley? He has been a one year wonder 2 years ago & done little in the Packers O. IMO the Packers will cut him, because of that contract.

I agree that trading for Finley would be a mistake. He's grossly overpaid right now. We're better off waiting for him to get cut and then looking at him.

I'd much rather re-sign Fasano. Fasano's last deal was for three years and $8.776M with a $2.1M signing bonus. He's making $3.6M this year, the most expensive year of the deal. I doubt he'll command much more than that this time around. I see no reason why we couldn't re-sign him for three years $9-10M with a $3M signing bonus. Fasano gets a modest bump, we keep our best tightend.

Depending on how valuable Philbin and Sherman see the tightend position, I do agree with hypocritex that Jared Cook could be an option as well.

I like Fasano, but there's no way he's getting $4 million again. He can thank his previous relationship with Parcells/Sparano for that contract.

Egnew could = Solia

Give the guy a chance to become a pro

How does Soliai's name get dragged into this?


At least Soliai played, he was just inconsistent and had to keep his weight down. The only thing consistent about Egnew right now is that he was miserably prepared for the pros before he got to the Dolphins and it shows .... and by all accounts of what we saw on Hard Knocks lacks a certain toughness required by the position.

What is the obsession with Fasano from some of you guys? Yes he makes some plays in the red zone for us on occasion. We really have no real red zone threats. We need a GAMEBREAKING TE. Fasano can't get YAC if his life depended on it. He's slow.. and goes down too easy for his size. We need more speed and athleticism at the position. Someone who can make BIG plays. Keep defenses honest and make them gameplan for him. You think Defenses build their game plan around worrying about Fasano? Lol. He isn't worth what we are paying him. However, we have the room to keep him around while we bring in a guy who can actually create impact plays. Then we let Fasano go when we feel we have a TE who can adequately block as he can. If he's not already on the team. We need a REAL red zone threat. A guy who can create explosive plays at the position. A guy we can look to on 3rd down.

I'm sick and tired of watching a bunch of slow players who don't make plays on an offense that is designed to be explosive. Jared Cook and Mike Wallace. Drops or not.. How many HUGE plays does Mike Wallace make a year. He changes games. And could have been the difference in several of our losses had we had a player of his caliber.

I don't know one person arguing against trying to find an athletic TE who can run those seam routes.

As for Fasano, despite the fact that he's not a blazing fast, athletic freak he is quite dependable and not one-dimensional. If he comes affordable, he should be kept. In my opinion there is no way in hell he'll get a contract like this one that's expiring. He's older now and his numbers certainly don't warrant it.

well since we have done so well with him ...

I think he's insinuating that Egnew could be a slow player to develop similar to Soliai. While I agree that at least Soliai saw the field, he was virtually invisible his first two years in the NFL. He had a whopping six tackles in 22 games his first two years. He didn't even register a sack until his fourth season in the NFL. Soliai was a 4th round pick too.

Egnew isn't missing out playing because of a lack of toughness like you're referring to. He's not on the field because he can't learn the playbook from everything I've read. I've seen at least two articles saying that Egnew is struggling with learning the offense. The guy is apparently dumber than a box of rocks which is no better than him being a wuss.

Fasano is only 28. He'll get a similar if not bigger contract considering how he's played this year. He's our best redzone weapon and he's basically a key cog in our pass protection at this point. That said, I agree that he won't command a huge contract. He signed for 3 years and $8M or so in 2010. I could see us re-signing him for something like 3 years and $9M this time around.

He's not getting a pay raise. Sorry.

He is definitely not like the new age tight ends out there, but he's an excellent blocker and has dependable hands. I can see this type of contract being offered to him, but there also other options on the free agent list of tight ends:



http://nfltraderumors.co/2013-nfl-free-agents/

His cap number this year was slightly over $4 million.

I'm trying to figure out where you guys think he'll get paid that kind of money .... and this is coming from someone who's been an arduent supporter of the man.