Brandin Cooks Say He Didn't Request A Trade
- New Patriots wide receiver Brandin Cooks denies he requested to be traded away from the Saints, tweets Josh Katzenstein of the Times-Picayune. According to published reports, Cooks is correct, as he never vocally expressed the need to leave New Orleans, at least to the media. Cooks did express frustration with his role in the Saints’ offense last year, saying “closed mouths don’t get fed,” but that’s far from asking to be traded.
Patriots Re-Sign LB Dont’a Hightower
Dont’a Hightower isn’t going anywhere. He’s re-signing with the Patriots, according to his agents (on Twitter). It’s a four-year, $43.5MM deal, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The pact includes $19MM guaranteed. 
Hightower also had offers from the Steelers and Jets. The Jets, at one point, reportedly offered upwards of $12MM per year, but Hightower actually rejected that offer two days ago and never considered signing there (via Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald on Twitter). As I tweeted earlier today, that’s not a surprise. Few expected Hightower to ultimately leave the defending champs and all of his suitors seemed dubious about his openness to sign elsewhere.
Hightower was reportedly seeking around $12MM per year and the Patriots were rumored to be offering something in the $10MM/year range for the last few weeks. Based on what we know, it sounds like the Pats more or less met him in the middle – he gets an average annual value of $10.875MM with a decent amount in guarantees. Of course, we won’t have a full understanding of the deal until we know what the cashflow is like. If the majority of the guaranteed cash comes to the linebacker in the first two seasons, then we’ll chalk this up as a solid deal for Hightower and his agents at SportsTrust.
Regardless of the payout, Hightower automatically wins on two fronts. First, he re-signed with the Patriots and they were far and away his preferred landing spot. Secondly, he only signed for four years, so he’ll still be able to hit free agency before his age-31 season. If he continues to hold his position as the best non-rush linebacker in the NFL, he should be able to cash in again before the 2021 campaign.
Hightower finished the 2016 campaign with 65 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and one forced fumble in 13 games. Before the start of free agency, we listed him as the best available linebacker in our free agent positional rankings. After the first wave of free agency saw cornerback A.J. Bouye and wide receiver Alshon Jeffery come off the board, Hightower was far and away the best player left on the open market.
Hightower is now the second-highest paid true linebacker in the NFL, based on AAV. Only Luke Kuechly of the Panthers ($12.4MM) earns more than him per year.
Latest On Dont’a Hightower
Linebacker Dont’a Hightower is slated to choose between three offers today, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. He’s deciding between the Steelers, Jets, and Patriots, though that’s not necessarily in order. Those close to the situation still believe he’ll remain in New England. 
The Jets, apparently, have offered “far and away” more money than anyone else. Still, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com, he doesn’t seem inclined to accept Gang Green’s offer. The Jets have offered more than $12MM per season, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report hears (on Twitter).
The Steelers reportedly told Hightower their offer to him would disappear if he left town without signing on the dotted line. Hightower, it seems, is either still in Pittsburgh, or the Steelers were making an empty threat to coax him into signing.
All along, the expectation has been that Hightower would circle back to the defending champs. Still, money talks and this will probably be the largest deal the 27-year-old ever signs. Soon, we’ll know the verdict.
Latest On Steelers, Dont’a Hightower
The Steelers have made an offer to free agent linebacker Dont’a Hightower, according to Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL.com (on Twitter). However, they don’t want Hightower to use their proposal for leverage with the Patriots. He has been told that if he gets on the plane to leave Pittsburgh without agreeing to terms, the offer will be off the table. 
Hightower has been making the free agent rounds, but it certainly sounds like his goal is to return to the Patriots. After Hightower spoke with the Jets and Titans, both teams were skeptical about his willingness to actually leave New England, though the Jets still sound quite interested. The Jets may be willing to drive up the price on the rival Patriots, but the Steelers want no part of that game. They’ve made their offer to Hightower and if he does not quickly accept, they’ll redirect that cap space in another direction.
Adding a superstar like Hightower would certainly lessen the blow of Lawrence Timmons leaving for the Dolphins. Soon, we should know whether Hightower will shock everyone and join up with Pittsburgh.
Patriots Sign RB Rex Burkhead
Finally, we’re starting to see some top running backs come off the board. Rex Burkhead has signed with the Patriots, according to a club announcement. It’s a one-year, $3.15MM deal, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). That includes a $1.1MM signing bonus and $1.8MM in base salary. He can earn $250K via per-game roster bonuses.
The Pats’ running back depth chart is now led by Burkhead, James White, and Dion Lewis with 2016 undrafted free agent D.J. Foster in support. Burkhead could be given a chance to compete for the starting job.
The addition of Burkhead could spell the end of LeGarrette Blount‘s time with the Patriots. Blount is still without a team and the only thing we’ve heard this week is that the Seahawks are “monitoring” him. Of course, their interest level is unclear now that they have signed Eddie Lacy.
Last year, after Giovani Bernard went down, Burkhead stepped up to the plate and made a name for himself in the process. He averaged 4.6 yards per attempt for the Bengals. Now, the Patriots want to see if he can replicate that production in a larger sample. His 74 carries last year were, by far, a career high.
Burkhead was our No. 7 UFA running back this year, behind Eddie Lacy, Adrian Peterson, LeGarrette Blount, Latavius Murray, Jamaal Charles, Darren McFadden, and Jacquizz Rodgers. He was slotted ahead of notables like Rashad Jennings, Danny Woodhead, and DeAngelo Williams.
Latest On Saints, Malcolm Butler
The Saints and Malcolm Butler have begun negotiations on a new contract and hope to strike a deal this week, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. From there, the Saints will discuss the parameters of a trade with the Patriots.
Butler won’t be meeting with New Orleans until later this week, but the two sides are already discussing a potential deal. From here, there are a number of different potential outcomes:
- The Saints sign Butler to an offer sheet and risk losing their No. 11 overall pick to New England. This scenario, I feel, is unlikely. Butler has previously pushed for top ten cornerback money and the Saints would be borderline crazy to give up such a valuable pick in addition to that type of contract. Butler could potentially agree to a lesser deal, but he’ll only bend so far and the Saints won’t end up with him if the deal is team-friendly enough for New England to match.
- The Saints hammer out contract terms with Butler, then work out a less-costly trade with the Patriots. The Patriots and Saints obviously have a good rapport as evidenced by the Brandin Cooks deal. The Patriots can afford to lose Butler after adding Stephon Gilmore and they could be inclined to negotiate if they believe New Orleans will not sacrifice the No. 11 pick. A good middle-ground option here might see the Patriots get back their own No. 32 overall pick. Then, in essence, the two sides will have swapped Cooks for Butler with the Saints moving up from No. 118 overall to No. 103. In this scenario, to circumvent the rules of restricted free agency, the Patriots would “sign-and-trade” Butler to New Orleans.
- The Patriots refuse to agree to a trade and the Saints refuse to part with the No. 11 overall pick. This would result in Butler continuing his (restricted) free agency tour. If he can’t find a team willing to cough up a first-round choice for the right to sign him and the Pats do not give him a multi-year extension, he’ll only have one option: play out 2017 with the Patriots on the one-year, $3.91MM first-round tender. Butler is reportedly not entertaining any sort of holdout, so his contractual drama would be put on pause until March 2018.
Saints To Meet With Patriots’ Malcolm Butler
Patriots restricted free agent cornerback Malcolm Butler will be visiting the Saints on Thursday, coach Sean Payton tells Brett Martel of The Associated Press (on Twitter). This will be Butler’s first free agent visit. 
Butler, of course, is a restricted free agent and the Patriots reserve the right to match any signed offer sheet. If the Patriots decline to match an offer sheet, Butler will join that new team and the Patriots will receive that club’s 2017 first-round pick.
After signing Stephon Gilmore in free agency, that’s a concession the Patriots might be willing to make. The Pats are already down a pick thanks to the Brandin Cooks deal completed with New Orleans last week, so this could be their opportunity to get back into the first round. In the Cooks deal, the Pats received the No. 118 overall selection while pick Nos. 32 and 103 went to New Orleans.
RFA rules dictate that the Patriots would receive the No. 11 overall pick from New Orleans, not their own No. 32, if the Saints were to sign Butler away. It’s possible that this could be the starting point for a sign-and-trade type of deal. The Patriots could agree to a deal with Butler, then trade him to New Orleans for lesser compensation. Sign-and-trade deals are not often seen in the NFL, but neither are salary dump trades and that barrier was broken recently by the Browns and Texans in the Brock Osweiler deal.
The Patriots could also play hardball and refuse to take anything less than the No. 11 pick from the Saints. If that happens, Butler will probably continue to meet with interested clubs, some of whom may be willing to sacrifice a first founder. The worst case scenario for New England is that they retain the rights to one of the league’s better cornerbacks in Butler. Reportedly, Butler isn’t thrilled with New England right now, but he is not going to hold out under any circumstances.
Titans Out On Dont’a Hightower
The Titans aren’t buying the notion that Dont’a Hightower is serious about leaving the Patriots. So, they have taken the logical step of removing themselves from the Hightower sweepstakes, Albert Breer of The MMQB tweets. Things can always change, but right now they are planning on putting their energy, focus, and money in a different direction. 
Meanwhile, GM Jon Robinson says that Hightower never even visited the team (Twitter link via Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com).
Non-rush linebackers don’t typically cash in on the open market, but Hightower is excellent at what he does and figures to be an exception. Although the Pats declined to give him a franchise tender worth roughly $14.7MM for one-year, he could still get eight figures per season on a multi-year deal.
In order to get that kind of money from New England, he’ll first have to get a similar offer from another team. Right now, the Titans and Jets don’t believe he’s sincere about leaving the defending champs. He’s now slated to visit with the Steelers, however, and that’s a team that would be of interest to any player serious about winning.
The Titans, meanwhile, will continue to roll with Avery Williamson and Wesley Woodyard as inside linebackers in their 3-4 scheme. Both defenders graded as top-50 ‘backers in 2016, according to Pro Football Focus, and Tennessee reportedly holds the 25-year-old Williamson in especially high regard.
Latest On Patriots, Malcolm Butler
Malcolm Butler is less than thrilled about the Patriots’ decision to give a big money contract to fellow cornerback Stephon Gilmore. Now, as he sits in restricted free agency limbo, he is willing to jump at a fair market offer sheet, a source tells Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald. 
As an RFA, Butler can sign an offer sheet with another team until April 21, giving the Patriots five days to match. If the Patriots decline to match, they’ll acquire the signing club’s 2017 first round pick. It’s an outcome the Patriots would reportedly be okay with and that makes sense given the depth of this year’s cornerback class.
Last year, the Pats offered Butler an extension worth $6-7MM per season, a source tells Howe. That would have given Butler a big pay bump, but it was still below his market value and didn’t bring him close to the top-10 CB salary he was seeking. In 2016, Aqib Talib and Sean Smith were tied for the 10th highest average annual value amongst cornerbacks at $9.5MM/year. The Patriots also told Butler they wouldn’t give that kind of money to any cornerback. After Gilmore got a five-year, $65MM deal, Butler is peeved at the Patriots’ front office.
Despite Butler’s hurt feelings, the source tells Howe that he understands he could still remain with the Patriots. He has no plans to hold out if he remains with the club under the terms of the $3.91MM tender.
Dont’a Hightower To Visit Steelers
Patriots free agent linebacker Dont’a Hightower is scheduled to visit the Steelers, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). This will mark Hightower’s third free agent visit. 
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Hightower has been making the free agent rounds in recent days, but the Jets and Titans don’t believe he’s serious about leaving New England. The Titans aren’t prime contenders for 2017 and the Jets’ odds of winning this year seem very slim, but the Steelers could hold appeal for Hightower if he is focused on winning another Super Bowl ring. At minimum, this meeting could be enough to scare the Patriots into increasing their offer.
The Steelers are currently projected to start Bud Dupree, Ryan Shazier, Vince Williams, and James Harrison at linebacker. Needless to say, room could be made for a star like Hightower.
The Steelers are down one linebacker after veteran Lawrence Timmons signed on with the Dolphins.