Backed into a corner
Gilmore signing brings Butler questions
The Patriots renovated their defensive backfield yesterday, but the future of their cornerbacks still appears to be a mystery.
The Pats landed former Bills cornerback Stephon Gilmore on a five-year, $65 million contract, including a whopping $40 million guaranteed, according to ESPN. If those numbers come as advertised, it will be the most lucrative contract that Bill Belichick has ever doled out.
The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Gilmore is a true No. 1 cornerback and had 14 interceptions and 62 passes defensed in five seasons with the Bills. He made his first Pro Bowl appearance last season. He was Buffalo’s 10th overall pick in the 2012 draft, and has developed into a strong, athletic cover corner.
The 26-year-old was viewed with A.J. Bouye as the two best cornerbacks on the open market. Bouye signed with the Jaguars on a five-year deal reportedly worth $65 million, including $28 million guaranteed, so Gilmore landed the bigger free agent deal, which is indicative of his reputation around the league.
Though Gilmore is a major acquisition, there has already been some fallout at Gillette Stadium.
Unrestricted free agent Logan Ryan’s four-year run with the Patriots has come to an end. Last night, Ryan’s agent tweeted that the veteran corner from Rutgers had agreed to a deal with the Tennessee Titans.
Earlier, sources said there was strong mutual interest between Ryan and the Steelers. The Pats told Ryan last week to secure his preferred contract in free agency before seeing if they could counter with a competitive offer.
Meanwhile, Malcolm Butler is a restricted free agent who is under the Patriots’ control in 2017 for a $3.91 million, first-round tender. If Butler signs an offer sheet with another team, the Patriots can either match it or take that team’s first-round pick in next month’s draft. There were also rumors insisting the Pats were open to trading Butler to the Saints for wide receiver Brandin Cooks.
Butler’s agent, Derek Simpson, told ESPN’s Mike Reiss that the team has not approached Butler about a contract since last year. He added that “anything that says he keeps asking for the moon is completely false.”
If Butler is on the outs, that would leave Eric Rowe, Cyrus Jones, Jonathan Jones and Justin Coleman as the only other cornerbacks on the roster besides Gilmore. And because the Pats retained safety Duron Harmon on a four-year, $20 million deal, according to a source, they’re still suited to field a three-safety nickel package if the cornerback depth chart falters.
Furthermore with Butler, the Patriots can’t realistically believe he would accept a contract extension worth less than Gilmore’s $13 million in average annual value. He has quietly and patiently hoped to strike a new deal for the past year, but Gilmore’s finances are eye-opening, especially because the Patriots paid an outsider. Butler can’t be expected to give the Pats any breaks in future negotiations.
The Pats should hope another team executes negotiations for them. In theory, the sacrifice of a first-round pick should put a restraint on Butler’s offer sheet by driving down his fair-market value. For instance, if Butler agreed to a four-year, $40 million offer sheet with $25 million guaranteed, the Patriots could match it and keep him on team-friendly terms. However, because Butler could bank on a far greater deal next year as an unrestricted free agent, it’d be enticing to jump on that type of money now as opposed to playing for $3.91 million and risking injury in 2017.
The Patriots opened free agency with $51 million in cap space, so the lucrative Gilmore deal won’t preclude them from fortifying other areas of the depth chart, particularly as they remained involved with re-signing linebacker Dont’a Hightower.
But the secondary was in focus and the draw to Gilmore was obvious. In 2017, the Pats will encounter quarterbacks Matt Ryan, Cam Newton, Philip Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger, Jameis Winston, Drew Brees and Derek Carr. This is strikingly similar to the way they prepared for the 2014 gauntlet of quarterbacks by signing Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner.
If the Patriots keep their defensive backfield intact with Gilmore and Butler and safeties Devin McCourty, Patrick Chung and Harmon, they might have the best group in the league.
Short of that, the Gilmore acquisition was the first step of a far more complicated, long-term puzzle.