The inbox had a couple Arrington questions this morning, so he continues to be one of the more divisive players on the roster. Of course the thing that is fresh on everyone’s mind is him getting burned and pulled in the Super Bowl, but I still think he’s an important part of the defense.
Look, he was tasked with covering a receiver who is seven inches taller than him. Granted you might hope his experience would help him out against a rookie like Chris Matthews, but still, that’s a tall task.
But against traditional slot receivers, I’m not sure how many slot corners there are out there who are better. Just take a look at how he’s played Wes Welker the last two years for an easy example.
He also brings special teams value (underrated by fans but not the Patriots) and is extremely tough. He tackles well and throws his body around with reckless abandon. I like those elements of his game and his experience in the system cannot be underrated.
That being said, his salary is currently the 11th highest on the team for 2015 and that does seem a bit high, though we have to remember he is a starter since the Pats were had 5+ DBs on over 70% of the snaps last year.
Next year it’s a little more palatable to cut him vs. this year ($3.25 million in dead money vs. $1.6 million), but injuries on defense, especially in the secondary are often prevalent, so there’s still good reason to keep him around.
My big question focuses on Malcolm Butler. Can he compete for that starting slot spot? I’m still not sure if he fits better inside or outside, though I lean he’s an outside guy. If that’s the case, Arrington is really the only guy other than Logan Ryan who can play the slot, and as much as people hate on Arrington, they hate on Ryan even more.
So is there a chance they dump him? Possibly, but I think there are more reasons to keep him. It’s easy to pick on cornerbacks, especially when offenses are avoiding Revis and Browner, but I continue to think Arrington is a necessary piece of the puzzle.
