On April 26, 2012 the New England made a decision in the NFL Draft that would alter the way of how their defensive unit would be viewed for the next five to seven years. They selected LB Dont’a Hightower from Alabama with pick 25 in the first round. The very next year in they selected LB Jamie Collins from Southern Miss with the 52 overall selection in the draft. People thought they were stretching here but it ended up being classic Bill. These two have transformed into arguably the best line backing core only, to some, behind Thomas David and Luke Kuechly of the Carolina Panthers.
After the 2014 NFL Draft the Patriots took a chance on a corner back out of Western Alabama named Malcom Butler and the rest was history. Butler has turned himself into a top fifteen former in the game. What all three of these have in common is that They all collectively transformed the way people looked at the Patriots defense. It seems like forever ago that we were watching Julian Edelman and Sterling Moore play corner in the Super Bowl. Now they have a reliable, capable and ready defense. It is loaded with talent, athleticism and most of all, potential. All of these players are younger than the age of twenty-six. It makes you wonder just how good this core can be. They have the perfect mix of Veterans wanting to win and young guys trying to make themselves the best they can be.
But there is a problem, all three of the players I just mentioned are all going to need new contracts in the next year or so. The Patriots have a conundrum on their hands. They had an even larger one when you throw Chandler Jones into the mix. Jones was coming off of a career season and was scheduled to be a FA at the exact same time as the other three. But they traded him away to the Arizona Cardinals because there is just no way they could resign him. After seeing Olivier Vernon’s $85 Million deal with the Giants. Jones was better than Vernon which made them believe that he would want similar cash. They couldn’t do that so they shipped him out to focus on Hightower, Collins, and Butler. These three will all want their fair share of cheddar and it’s up to the brain trust of Bill Belichick and Nick Caserio to decide what to do. Here, I’ll give you what I would do if I were put into the position to make these moves.
The most interesting player out of the three is without a doubt is Malcolm Butler. He is coming off of his breakout year, does he deserve a raise? Absolutely he does but not a hefty one. If Butler wants a deal like Josh Norman, he can get lost. I would be happy to give him a four year $28M deal. I think that is reasonable for someone coming off of one good year. If they choose not to resign him after this year, he will be a restricted free agent. Which means that the Patriots would have the chance to match any offer that he is offered. The Patriots then would slap a first round tender on him meaning that any team that signs him would have to give the Patriots a first round pick to sign him. If he signs the restricted free agent tender it would give him a contract of one year four million, giving him another year of playing for the Patriots. But if they do let him walk it gets interesting.
Letting Butler walk would not be the worst thing ever. This would then mean signing the soon to be FA Logan Ryan to an extension. Plus, they just drafted Cyrus Jones out of Alabama, he was not drafted to be the third corner of the future. He was drafted to start at some point. Whether that means letting Logan Ryan or Malcom Butler go, I do not know but it is something to keep in mind. I would feel comfortable rolling with Logan Ryan, Cyrus Jones, and possibly Darryl Roberts or a new draftee in the 2017 draft. I would not be shaken by letting him go but other will be. It is something that needs to be thought about.
Dont’a Hightower and Jamie Collins on the other hand need to be resigned. These two are the backbone of the defense and will carry the team after Brady is done. Hightower has already established himself as one of the leaders of the defense. Collins will probably be in the running for defensive player of the year. These two players are so important to this team it’s tough to put into words just how important they are. Hightower is great on rush defense and Collins makes plays all over the field. You could see Hightower’s presence being missed in Denver this past season. The rush defense was terrible and that’s what cost them the game. It is just so important to lock these guys up long term.
These three make all the headlines, another player that may be more important to than Butler is Jabaal Sheard. He has transformed into one of the elite pass rushers in the game and is in line for a pay day. I value him over Butler.
Locking up Hightower and Collins is vital to the Patriots future success along with Jabaal Sheard. However, Butler necessarily isn’t in my opinion. I could go on forever about this situation but I’m not. That’s what I think they should do with these three players.
After the 2014 NFL Draft the Patriots took a chance on a corner back out of Western Alabama named Malcom Butler and the rest was history. Butler has turned himself into a top fifteen former in the game. What all three of these have in common is that They all collectively transformed the way people looked at the Patriots defense. It seems like forever ago that we were watching Julian Edelman and Sterling Moore play corner in the Super Bowl. Now they have a reliable, capable and ready defense. It is loaded with talent, athleticism and most of all, potential. All of these players are younger than the age of twenty-six. It makes you wonder just how good this core can be. They have the perfect mix of Veterans wanting to win and young guys trying to make themselves the best they can be.
But there is a problem, all three of the players I just mentioned are all going to need new contracts in the next year or so. The Patriots have a conundrum on their hands. They had an even larger one when you throw Chandler Jones into the mix. Jones was coming off of a career season and was scheduled to be a FA at the exact same time as the other three. But they traded him away to the Arizona Cardinals because there is just no way they could resign him. After seeing Olivier Vernon’s $85 Million deal with the Giants. Jones was better than Vernon which made them believe that he would want similar cash. They couldn’t do that so they shipped him out to focus on Hightower, Collins, and Butler. These three will all want their fair share of cheddar and it’s up to the brain trust of Bill Belichick and Nick Caserio to decide what to do. Here, I’ll give you what I would do if I were put into the position to make these moves.
The most interesting player out of the three is without a doubt is Malcolm Butler. He is coming off of his breakout year, does he deserve a raise? Absolutely he does but not a hefty one. If Butler wants a deal like Josh Norman, he can get lost. I would be happy to give him a four year $28M deal. I think that is reasonable for someone coming off of one good year. If they choose not to resign him after this year, he will be a restricted free agent. Which means that the Patriots would have the chance to match any offer that he is offered. The Patriots then would slap a first round tender on him meaning that any team that signs him would have to give the Patriots a first round pick to sign him. If he signs the restricted free agent tender it would give him a contract of one year four million, giving him another year of playing for the Patriots. But if they do let him walk it gets interesting.
Letting Butler walk would not be the worst thing ever. This would then mean signing the soon to be FA Logan Ryan to an extension. Plus, they just drafted Cyrus Jones out of Alabama, he was not drafted to be the third corner of the future. He was drafted to start at some point. Whether that means letting Logan Ryan or Malcom Butler go, I do not know but it is something to keep in mind. I would feel comfortable rolling with Logan Ryan, Cyrus Jones, and possibly Darryl Roberts or a new draftee in the 2017 draft. I would not be shaken by letting him go but other will be. It is something that needs to be thought about.
Dont’a Hightower and Jamie Collins on the other hand need to be resigned. These two are the backbone of the defense and will carry the team after Brady is done. Hightower has already established himself as one of the leaders of the defense. Collins will probably be in the running for defensive player of the year. These two players are so important to this team it’s tough to put into words just how important they are. Hightower is great on rush defense and Collins makes plays all over the field. You could see Hightower’s presence being missed in Denver this past season. The rush defense was terrible and that’s what cost them the game. It is just so important to lock these guys up long term.
These three make all the headlines, another player that may be more important to than Butler is Jabaal Sheard. He has transformed into one of the elite pass rushers in the game and is in line for a pay day. I value him over Butler.
Locking up Hightower and Collins is vital to the Patriots future success along with Jabaal Sheard. However, Butler necessarily isn’t in my opinion. I could go on forever about this situation but I’m not. That’s what I think they should do with these three players.