So Long Ty!

Well, its final. Ty Law has been released by the 2004 World Champion New England Patriots. I can't say I am surprised. Ty had a massive $12 million cap number for 2005 and there was no way he could be brought back without a restructured contract. Ty has never proven to be that accomodating so it seemed unlikely that was going to happen.

This news has been coming for months. Ever since Ty went down in mid-season with a broken foot and the Pats kept winning, people speculated Ty would be cast adrift. Shortly after Law was injured, the Pats patchwork secondary took some hits, but the Law-less secondary gradually imporved and was more then satisfactory by the time the Super Bowl rolled aorund. This did not bode well for Ty's future in New England. Hey, the Pats won without Law and there is no way the Pats were going to take a $12 million hit for a guy who was proven to be replaceable.

I got to say I will miss Law. While he isn't the most cuddly guy in the world, he was a tough guy and huge big game player. Whether it was the three picks against Indy in the 2003 AFC Championship or the pick and run against the Rams in the Super Bowl, Ty always seemed around the ball in big games. Plus, Law was always a sure-handed tackler so I never had to worry that number 24 would miss a tackle that would go for six. And even though he grabbed too much and drew some dumb flags, Law was a huge producer, especially during this recent championship run.

So where do the Pats go from here? I suspect Ty Poole will be following Law out the door and this will leave the Pats with Asante Samuel, Randall Gay and little else at corner. The Pats won with these guys this year and so its hard to claim its a glaring weakness, but I suspect that the Pats will take steps to strengthen and deepen this spot in the off-season. The Pats, at this point, are in need or a corner and a couple of middle linebackers. By releasing Law, the Pats will have money available to address some of these needs through free agency rather then solely through the draft. Moreover, it frees up some money for the Pats to accomplish their number one priority - get Tom Brady signed to a long-term deal!