Patriot's trade situation on 3 players: Cap hit too much?

[CarolinaBengalFanGuy]

(04-12-2020, 11:55 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: The title of this thread may be misleading.  However, I am looking at the Pats current situation and believe there is something that has to be in the works.  Here's why:

When looking at the attached breakdown of the Patriot's cap situation, three things jump out at you immediately:

Stephon Gilmore has a cap hit of $18,670,000 in 2020 and $19,670,000 in 2021[/b].  Those are insane numbers and represent almost 10% of the entire cap.  Sure he is a talented player, but that is a ton of money for a team with less than $1 million in cap space (and they have 12 draft picks right now as well that would need compensation).   Could the Patriots be interested in a player trade (I know they almost never happen) for WJIII that saves them $9 million in cap space in 2020? One problem is WJIII is in the final year of his rookie contract...I seriously doubt trading Gillmore for Dalton would make any sense, although Dalton could surely be re-structured.  You could say Gillmore could as well, but he is still going to command a lot on the open market.  Could the Pats be looking at trading Gillmore for a draft pick?

Joseph Thuney's cap hit under the franchise tag is $14,700,000.  Sure, they have until July 15th to get a new deal done with him, but how much cap space will that really free up?  Could the Pats be willing to trade Thuney, pending a contract renegotiation, for the Bengal's 2nd or 3rd round pick?  
[b]
Lastly, Dont'a Hightower's cap hit is $12,445.000.[/b]  It is the final year of his deal.  Could he be targeted as a potential trade for a draft pick to release some cap?   I sure wouldn't offer our 2nd or even our 3rd for him for two years, but he is a pretty solid LB.  

Those three players account for nearly 25% of the Patriot's cap number.  And they currently have no real viable option at QB.  If they start the season with Stidham at QB, I will be shocked.  It would seem logical that something would be in the works to free up cap space and acquire a starting-caliber QB.  Why hasn't it happened yet?  Because there are so many variables that could happen in the draft.  We are hearing now that Tua has been flunked by a few teams in his physicals.  He is being called "brittle".  I would be shocked if Miami passed on him, but if they did....or if Herbert or Love slid down to the Pats...That is the best scenario for them in terms of getting a QB for the long term.  However, they would STILL need to clear quite a bit of cap space to afford their rookie contracts.  Just because it hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean the Pats couldn't still have the potential to be involved in some very interesting business dealings with the Bengals.

Here is the tracker about the Pat's cap situation:

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/new-england-patriots/cap/

I still wouldn't expect anything to happen until after the draft most likely. Or in the middle of it at the earliest. What if a guy like Love or Herbert falls to them, or they draft a Jake Fromm in the first few rounds and decide to just roll with that and possibly a Free Agent addition. If they could get a Newton or Winston on the cheap (if no one else signs them) I could see them going that route,