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Report: Malcolm Butler looking for a raise

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Cornerback Malcolm Butler was one of 17 players who didn’t participate in Thursday’s voluntary organized team activity. While the reason for his absence is not known, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was related to his contract status. Butler has told teammates and friends he plans to push for an adjustment to his contract before the 2016 season, and staying off the field in voluntary workouts would be a decision that limits injury risk and also could be viewed as a statement to the organization that he’s unhappy with the status quo and/or the movement/specifics of contract talks.

Source: New England Patriots- ESPN

Malcolm Butler Contract Analysis

Mike Reiss reports today in his must-read Sunday notes column that Malcolm Butler’s absence from at least media access to Thursday’s OTAs could be related to that he’s looking for the Patriots to sweeten his contract.

Butler is one of the big four of free agents the Patriots will have to deal with next offseason, the others being Dont’a Hightower, Jamie Collins and Jabaal Sheard. Hightower seemed like the one that most of us thought would get done first since his high cap number could be reduced to open up more overall cap space.

malcolm butler contractNow Butler could change things, or perhaps accelerate the timeline a bit. It’s been a while since the Pats have had a contract hold out during the offseason, and it brings back some bad memories, often in the past this has not ended well.

There’s no question, Butler deserves a raise but as is always the case with the Patriots and money, there could be a disconnect between how much Butler thinks he should get and what the Patriots are willing to pay him.

Butler stepped right into the top cornerback spot last season and despite some hiccups, he always bounced back and had a Pro Bowl season. The Patriots deployed him on the quickest opposing receiver, including the likes of Antonio Brown and Odell Beckham Jr.. Even when Butler gave up catches he was always right around the ball.

I feel comfortable calling Butler the most promising young Patriots cornerback since Ty Law. He has it all — can play press man, has a short memory and is physical in every aspect.

Butler will be a restricted free agent next offseason, so the Patriots were hoping they could get him for both 2016 and 2017 at a far lower rate than a team would have to pay their best corner.

Put it this way — last season Butler was making 1/32nd what Darrelle Revis made. That’s obscene value and Butler surely took note.

So now the Patriots money dance begins once again. We’ve seen both ends of the spectrum — in Deion Branch’s case in 2006 it ended with the player getting shipped out of town long before he should’ve been. Or in Richard Seymour’s case the Pats gave him a raise for the final year of his rookie deal after he held out, then worked out another deal the following offseason.

The Pats have been hesitant to give out top dollar long-term deals to cornerbacks in the past, but Butler is different as is the game now. You need man coverage corners to compete against good quarterbacks and Butler is the Pats best man coverage corner.

Hopefully they can avoid things unravelling like they did with Branch and find some common ground sooner than later. Is Butler willing to keep sitting out into training camp? Or was this a one-time message hoped to spur some early action?

The Pats have plenty of contract work to do on defense and while we thought Butler would get a new deal eventually, it might happen sooner than later now. But Hightower and Collins remain the first priorities and that could complicate things if Butler wants to play hard ball now.

New England Patriots RB Dion Lewis (ACL) on track for season opener – Reiss/ESPNBoston

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The Patriots will take a patient and conservative approach with running back Dion Lewis’ recovery from a torn left ACL, but things are going well.

Source: New England Patriots RB Dion Lewis (ACL) on track for season opener – New England Patriots Blog- ESPN

Obviously this is good news for a player who came out of nowhere to be a critical element for this year’s Super Bowl hopes. I can’t help but imagine how differently 2015 would’ve unfolded if Lewis didn’t go down in Week 9. You need to look no further than James White’s stat line in the AFC Championship — 16 targets, five catches for 45 yards. That was the game where the drop off from Lewis to White was crystal clear.

We’ve seen it plenty of times with past ACL injuries, the Pats will bring him along slowly just like they did with Welker in 2010 and Gronk in 2014. The hope would be the same as it was with those two players in those two seasons — that by December they’re ready to go.

The hard part is assuming Lewis can be just as electric as he was through those first seven-plus games in 2015. Never before has a castoff journeyman stepped in and looked like an all-star quite like that. How did a guy who hadn’t played an NFL game since 2012 slip through the cracks like that? And can we just assume that that’s the player he’ll be once he’s fully healthy? Whatever level Lewis can get back to will determine just what the ceiling for the 2016 Pats offense will be.

 

Report: Patriots interested in Arian Foster

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Patriots Arian FosterArian Foster was in Boston this week. Friday evening,  Foster posted a photo to his Instagram account of his smiling family standing outside Fenway Park before the Red Sox-Indians game. fam at fenway. A photo posted by feeno (@arianfoster) on May 20, 2016 at 3:38pm PDT According to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, Foster’s visit to New […]

Source: The Patriots reportedly have ‘preliminary’ interest in Arian Foster, who was spotted at a Red Sox game

It’s no secret I’ve thought the Patriots really needed to add an early-down back this offseason yet one never came, so I’d be totally fine with bringing Arian Foster aboard. We know he’s coming off a significant injury — a torn achilles — one that players often never fully recover from.

But we did see Vince Wilfork bounce back to form in 2014 after tearing his in 2013, so it’s not impossible that Foster could have something to offer this season.

The Pats would have to put him through a bunch of medical tests long before signing him, so it’d make sense they’d have him in to check him out at this point. Ideally, they could start him off on the PUP list, bring him along slowly and then hopefully have him ready for the playoff push.

Of course, this doesn’t solve any problems for early in the season, where Brandon Bolden and James White are the only guys who’ve played in the system and aren’t coming off an injury. But the Pats are usually all about feeling things out early in the season anyway, with an eye toward pushing all the right buttons when the games really start to matter.

Depending on how the medical tests went this week (assuming that’s why the Pats had him in), we could see Foster signed to a one-year deal that would be good for both sides, just don’t expect any significant contributions before November-ish.

Patriots take closer look at safeties Vinnie Sunseri, William Moore – ESPNBoston

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The Patriots already have a solid group of safeties, but that won’t keep them from kicking the tires on William Moore and Vinnie Sunseri.

Source: Patriots take closer look at safeties Vinnie Sunseri, William Moore – New England Patriots Blog- ESPN

Patriots safetiesNot really that surprised that the Pats are keeping the emergency safeties list up to date. Although Tavon Wilson wasn’t destined for a significant role on defense, his departure this offseason does leave a bit of a void as far as an experienced veteran who could step up if Patrick Chung were to get hurt.

Chung’s had two excellent seasons since returning to the Patriots, primarily playing as a “robber” in the Pats oft-used Cover-1 man scheme. This places Chung in box, usually as a run stopper but sometimes in coverage on tight ends as well. This suits him far better than the Cover-2 deep safety and slot corner roles he was often found playing in his first stint with the Pats.

Chung’s also avoided the biggest deterrent in his first go-round, injuries. If he were to get hurt now, the Pats don’t have an experienced safety who could easily fit into his role. Duron Harmon is a deep free safety, and while Devin McCourty could shift into some of Chung’s duties, it’s not exactly the best use of his talents.

One of the big questions I’ve wondered this offseason is whether Jordan Richards is ready for that kind of role on defense if he was called upon. He showed some promise last year, but I’m still not sure what his best fit is and inserting him into the important role Chung plays could be a bit dicey.

Knowing where veterans like Moore and Sunseri are at gives the Pats some fall back options if they weren’t quite ready for Richards to be playing significant snaps on defense.

 

Scouting Notebook: Matt Miller’s Final Team-by-Team Reports | Bleacher Report

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The Patriots are a hard team to get solid info on, but one scout said strong safety could be targeted with one of their two Round 2 selections. Scouts familiar with New England’s draft plans said the team will target a stand-up pass-rusher to replace Chandler Jones with one of the Day 2 picks.

Source: Scouting Notebook: Matt Miller’s Final Team-by-Team Reports, Jared Goff Q&A

Ah, the final few days before the draft, when the misinformation flows fast and furious. The worst part about it is that I think the Patriots have an active counterintelligence program that purposely tries to fake everyone out. Regardless at this point I’d be shocked if the Pats took a strong safety and a defensive end with their first two picks.

The depth at strong safety is Patrick Chung, who just got his second new contract from the Patriots since returning in 2014. Those signs point to the team be extremely happy with his place on the team. Behind him is second-year player Jordan Richards, who showed some pop in limited defensive snaps last year.

Richards is a key player moving forward, especially if Chung’s injury history catches up to him again after two remarkably healthy seasons. That’s how close Richards could be to starting and playing a significant (early-down) presence on defense.

Tavon Wilson did leave, so I do see strong safety as a need, and while the Pats always have a penchant for drafting the position higher than anyone expects, it’s hard to see the value in taking a Chung backup/Richards competition guy when the value of the talent at vital positions like offensive and defensive tackle should be excellent where they’re drafting.

As for defensive end, I see Jabaal Sheard elevating to the starting spot as he had done in the playoffs last year. Rob Ninkovich is the other starter, but I think we could see some more rotation with him this year as I’m expecting old pal Nink to start declining sooner than later.

That’s where Chris Long comes in, and I think people will be surprised by how much he has left in the tank after two injury-riddled seasons made everyone forget how good he was. Long is ideal for Sheard’s early-season role last year as the designated pass rusher.

Then there’s the three young guys — Trey Flowers, Geneo Grissom and Rufus Johnson. All three had their moments last year, mostly in the preseason, but there’s reason for optimism that one can hopefully emerge to play a role on defense, especially with the top three guys all entering the last years of their deals.

I could see a rookie entering the competition with the other young guys, but I see the defensive tackles as far deeper and far better fits in this rookie class. Seems impossible for even a second-round rookie to get any higher than fourth on depth chart, so I’m not high on a high-round choice at defensive end. Too much redundancy.

Check out my Top-50 Draft Board here and my mock draft here.

The Patriots Are Not on the Clock: Deflategate Fallout Looms Large in NFL Draft | Bleacher Report

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Players, coaches and executives have come to view the Patriots’ situation as a referendum on commissioner power. Many of the sources I spoke to used the same word: “railroaded.” As in, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell railroaded the Patriots. As in, the commissioner used his power unfairly and arbitrarily.They think, in effect, that what happened to the Patriots could happen to any of them.

Source: The Patriots Are Not on the Clock: Deflategate Fallout Looms Large in NFL Draft | Bleacher Report

Oh, so now the rest of the NFL starts to get over their blinding Patriots hate and sees this whole charade for what it really was — a railroading. I’m still so surprised by those who checked out after the Wells Report, assured the Patriots were cheating cheaters who finally got caught cheating. Yes, there are actually still football fans who are Team Goodell in this once single solitary instance, because they hate the Patriots.

Anyone who read any bit of material beyond the Wells Report and the NFL’s court arguments should see that there was plenty about this whole thing that reeked of not just unfairness but of a systematic attempt to win the case both in real court and the court of public opinion no matter what the truth actually was.

And yes, if you can get over how much you hate the Patriots, you’ll see that arbitrary and severe punishment is now the law of the land in the NFL.

Still, for all the hate that Commissioner Goodell gets, and yes, he is uniquely terrible, it’s still the owners that control the NFL. Goodell is, for most purposes, just the figurehead. The one who gets paid a huge salary to take all the flack. And if it wasn’t Roger Goodell it’d be someone else we’d all despise. But it’s the owners that want an 18-game season and games all over the earth and games on Thursday every week and every other shitty addition that’s happened to the NFL under Goodell’s watch.

The NFL is the owners, not Roger Goodell.

So this article is a bit significant, if true. If the owners are starting to see how, even on his short leash, that Goodell is still mishandling every instance of discipline that comes his way, they could actually institute real change. And maybe that’s enough to put punishment in the hands of someone, or someones, who can rule neutrally and fairly based on the facts and precedent, instead of over-correcting and applying broad powers to make up for other past punishments that didn’t go far enough in the eyes of some.

 

FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Film Room: Martellus Bennett

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Source: FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | Film Room: Martellus Bennett

A great X-and-O read that breaks down what I’ve been writing about since the Pats added Bennett. In short, his blocking ability is what sets him apart from the tight end combos of years past. Now, with Gronk on one end Bennett on the other, there’s nothing the Patriots can’t seamlessly do without changing any personnel. Power run game? Check. Spread offense? Check. Your move, defenses.