Breer: Patriots' Hightower Deal Reflects Injury Concerns
The Jets‘ decision to withdraw their mammoth Dont’a Hightower offer after the linebacker’s physical may not represent an isolated view of where the linebacker is at in his career. Entering his sixth season, Hightower is viewed as a risk physically, and Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com notes his Patriots contract illustrates this (video link via CSNNE.com). Breer notes the four-year, $35.5MM (base value) contract contains more per-game roster bonuses than any other Patriot performer’s while also including sizable incentives based on playing time and potential Pro Bowl or All-Pro honors. He adds the Steelers shared the Jets’ concern about Hightower’s health, with Gang Green worrying Hightower wouldn’t last three or four more seasons. Hightower has missed 11 regular-season games the past three years.
Reiss: Patriots Open To Bringing Back Danny Amendola On Paycut
The Patriots‘ addition of Brandin Cooks would seem to further diminish Danny Amendola‘s role in New England, but the team kept him on the roster despite his impending $6MM base salary and $7.791MM cap number for 2017. New England will reduce that salary if Amendola comes back for ’17, per Mike Reiss of ESPN.com, but the team is open to the possibility of the veteran returning at a lower rate. The 31-year-old wideout failed to surpass 250 yards receiving for the second time in his Patriots tenure last season, but Reiss notes the door seems open for a fifth Amendola Patriots year if he’s willing to work for less money. Amendola’s five-year deal runs through 2017, and the former Rams target accepted paycuts the past two offseasons. He made $1.25MM in base salary in each campaign.
Latest On Revis, Garoppolo, Butler
- As Volin notes in the same piece cited above, the Patriots’ apparent desire to trade Malcolm Butler is reflective of the team’s usual philosophy of getting rid of a player a year too soon instead of a year too late. However, the Pats have notably departed from that philosophy with respect to Jimmy Garoppolo, whom the club has been reticent to trade despite the haul of picks they could acquire in return. Volin says the Patriots’ stance with Garoppolo is simply based on the fact that he plays quarterback, and they believe that if something were to happen to Tom Brady, they could still compete for a title with Garoppolo under center. The team took a similar approach in 2014, when they held onto Ryan Mallett throughout training camp and did not deal him until they were confident that Garoppolo could handle the backup role.
Criminal charges were dropped against free agent cornerback Darrelle Revis earlier this week, which ostensibly opens the door for him to find a new employer soon. Ben Volin of The Boston Globe reports that one league executive believes a Revis reunion with the Patriots is the only thing that makes sense, and while he would likely not serve as a starting corner in New England, he could be used as a strong safety or as cornerback depth. Interestingly, though, Karen Guregian of The Boston Herald tweets that Patriots head coach Bill Belichick told Revis several years ago that Revis’ skill-set did not translate to the safety position. While that does not preclude a New England reunion, it does add an interesting twist to the Revis saga, as many have taken it for granted that Revis will wind up playing safety for whoever signs him in 2017.
- As Volin notes in the same piece cited above, the Patriots’ apparent desire to trade Malcolm Butler is reflective of the team’s usual philosophy of getting rid of a player a year too soon instead of a year too late. However, the Pats have notably departed from that philosophy with respect to Jimmy Garoppolo, whom the club has been reticent to trade despite the haul of picks they could acquire in return. Volin says the Patriots’ stance with Garoppolo is simply based on the fact that he plays quarterback, and they believe that if something were to happen to Tom Brady, they could still compete for a title with Garoppolo under center. The team took a similar approach in 2014, when they held onto Ryan Mallett throughout training camp and did not deal him until they were confident that Garoppolo could handle the backup role.
- Some Patriots fans are wondering why the club is willing to trade Butler but handed Stephon Gilmore a mega-deal this offseason. As Dan Hatman of The Scouting Academy (via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com) notes, Gilmore is simply bigger than Butler, and his size and length can create more flexibility for defensive coordinator Matt Patricia when matching up against some of the game’s bigger receivers. Simply put, Gilmore is a premium man corner, and those players get paid.
Harmon Did Not Want To Leave Patriots
Duron Harmon wasn’t connected to many teams during his first instance as an NFL free agent. Part of that may have stemmed from the fifth-year safety’s desire to stay with the Patriots. Although he’s only started 12 games in four years, Harmon received lower-end starter money from the defending Super Bowl champions.
Latest On Jets’ Offer To Dont’a Hightower
The Jets offered linebacker Dont’a Hightower a deal with a maximum value of $62.5MM over five years, but grew reticent after seeing the results of Hightower’s physical, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
While New York didn’t officially drop out of the running for Hightower after the physical was concluded, it essentially ceded negotiations to the Patriots, who re-signed Hightower on a four-year pact worth $35.5MM. For what it’s worth, Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com (Twitter link) says the Jets did in fact pull their offer to Hightower after his examination.
The base value of the Jets’ proposal was $55MM, reports Rich Cimini of ESPN.com, while the max value could have only been attained had Hightower played in every game and made the Pro Bowl in every year of the duration of the deal. At present, it’s not clear exactly what details of Hightower’s physical bothered the Jets, but as Cimini details, Hightower has dealt with recent knee and shoulder injuries.
Ultimately, Hightower’s Patriots contract will pay him roughly $1.25MM less per year than would the Jets’ offer.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/16/17
The latest minor moves from around the NFL:
- The Chiefs have signed safety Marqueston Huff, according to Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star (Twitter link). Since going in the fourth round of the 2014 draft, Huff has appeared in 41 games in stints with the Titans and Ravens, though he has only picked up one start. Huff played in 11 contests with Baltimore last year and failed to register a tackle in 32 defensive snaps. He did see plenty of special teams action, however (223 snaps).
- The Redskins have added linebacker Chris Carter, a six-year veteran who is joining his sixth team. Carter has totaled four starts, the latest of which came in 2013, and 62 appearances. The special teamer combined for 14 appearances last season between the Colts and Ravens.
- Patriots cornerback Justin Coleman has signed his exclusive rights tender, tweets ESPN’s Field Yates. Coleman, 23, has seen action in 20 games and racked up three starts in his two-year career.
FA Rumors: Butler, Poe, Z. Brown, Raiders
Restricted free agent cornerback Malcolm Butler didn’t emerge from his Saints visit on Thursday with a deal, but the meeting “went well,” a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). As of now, there remains motivation on both sides to hammer out an agreement, Rapoport adds. PFR’s Zach Links laid out a few potential scenarios earlier this week involving Butler, who would surely net the Patriots a quality return in a trade.
More free agency-related news:
- The offer that defensive tackle Dontari Poe accepted from the Falcons on Thursday was worth less than the Jaguars’ proposal, reports ESPN’s Josina Anderson (Twitter link). Before taking a one-year, $8MM deal (plus incentives) with the reigning NFC champions, Poe turned down the Jags’ fully guaranteed $9MM (and incentives). Head coach Dan Quinn was key in talking Poe into joining the Falcons, relays Anderson.
- It doesn’t appear that linebacker Zach Brown‘s powwow with the Raiders will lead to a deal, as a source told ESPN’s Adam Caplan that it “looks like a no-go right now” (Twitter link). Although Brown had a stellar 2016 with Buffalo and currently ranks as PFR’s top available linebacker, the market for his services has been tepid.
- Wide receiver Andre Holmes met with the Bills on Thursday, one day after there were reports that he had signed with them, per Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (via Twitter). It turns out the Bills offered Holmes a three-year, $4.5MM accord, which the NFLPA accidentally documented as a done deal.
- Linebacker Dekoda Watson visited the Seahawks on Thursday, tweets ESPN’s Field Yates. The 29-year-old Watson is a journeyman who has played for five teams, including the Broncos last season. He served as an integral special teams cog in Denver, which would like to re-sign him.
Latest On Jimmy Garoppolo
Few NFLers have been involved in more trade rumors over the past several months than Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, but “there’s a persistent belief within league circles” that the team wants to retain Tom Brady‘s backup, a high-level employee of an AFC team told Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
While Garoppolo would likely fetch a haul in a trade, perhaps from the draft-pick rich Browns, the Patriots are cognizant of the fact that Brady isn’t immortal, notes Florio. As excellent as the five-time Super Bowl champion still is, 2017 will be his age-40 season, so there’s some question as to how much longer he’ll play. By keeping the 25-year-old Garoppolo, the Pats would protect themselves against a sudden retirement or decline from Brady.
Garoppolo will only take up $1.1MM-plus of New England’s spending space next season, his fourth in the league, meaning his presence wouldn’t be onerous to the club’s cap in 2017. Then, if Brady’s still in the fold next winter, the Pats could attempt to re-sign Garoppolo – it seems unlikely they’d succeed, granted, given that he’d be able to find a starting job and more money elsewhere – or even place the franchise tag on him.
In the opinion of head coach Bill Belichick, Patriots third-string quarterback Jacoby Brissett isn’t the long-term answer, suggests Florio, making it all the more realistic that Garoppolo will stay in their plans. Like Brissett, Garoppolo has limited NFL experience, but the latter made good on his first two career starts last year. Garoppolo began the season as New England’s starter because of Brady’s four-game Deflategate ban, and he completed 42 of 59 passes for 496 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions in wins over the Cardinals and Dolphins. The second game was Garoppolo’s final start of the year – and perhaps his last for a while, if the Pats keep him – as he suffered a sprained AC joint on a hit from Miami linebacker Kiko Alonso and sat out for the remainder of Brady’s suspension.
Latest On Saints, Malcolm Butler
The Saints are hosting Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler on his visit today and there is “momentum toward finalizing a deal before he leaves,” Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Butler, of course, is a restricted free agent who has been assigned the first-round tender. 
As I detailed earlier this week, there are a few potential outcomes that sprout come from the Saints’ interest. The seemingly obvious scenario of the Saints actually signing Butler to an offer sheet is probably the most unlikely of the bunch. Butler is an excellent player, but it would be surprising to see the Saints give him top cornerback money and sacrifice the No. 11 overall pick.
If Patriots coach Bill Belichick is willing to play ball (and, perhaps, circumvent the collective bargaining agreement a bit in the process), the two sides could hammer out a trade in which the Patriots sign-and-trade Butler to New Orleans. A potential deal could see the Patriots recoup the No. 32 overall pick they shipped to the Saints in the Brandin Cooks trade. That, more or less, would result in a swap of Butler and Cooks with the Saints also climbing up from No. 118 overall to No. 103.
Of course, the Patriots could also change course and get serious about a multi-year deal to keep Butler tied down and happy. With a duo of Stephon Gilmore and Butler, the Pats would have one of the best cornerback pairs in the NFL.
Details On Dont’a Hightower’s Deal
Sometimes, when agents are the first to leak details to the press, the initial reported value of free agent deals winds up being a bit inflated. It’s a natural part of the NFL these days but, fortunately, the truth quickly comes to light.
With that in mind, we’ve learned today that Dont’a Hightower‘s four-year, $43.5MM deal is actually worth less than that (via Albert Breer of The MMQB on Twitter). The true base value of the deal is $32MM. In each season, there are $875K worth of per-game roster bonuses, so $3.5MM of the deal will be contingent on Hightower’s health. Then, to satisfy the remaining $8MM gap and reach the full $43.5MM, Hightower would have to nail all of his playtime, Pro Bowl, and First-Team All-Pro incentives each year.
After word of sincere interest from the Jets and Steelers, it sounds like Hightower took a hometown discount to remain with the Patriots. Hightower entered March with hopes of fetching $12MM per year or more. Instead, he has a deal that is really worth somewhere between $8MM-$9MM on average with the potential to exceed $10MM, but only if he is recognized by the league as a megastar.
As a non-rush linebacker, Hightower doesn’t get the sacks and, in turn, doesn’t get the glory. Despite being an elite player for years, Hightower just received his first Pro Bowl nod in 2016 and has never been given First-Team All-Pro honors. Hightower could certainly hit those markers multiple times over the next four seasons, but he’s at a bit of a disadvantage. The $43.5MM value can’t be classified as “not likely to be earned,” but it’s also far from a slam dunk.