MONEY MATTERS LURK FOR PLENTY
The Patriots didn’t exactly come out winners in free agency, especially after losing Nate Solder, Danny Amendola and Malcolm Butler to richer contracts elsewhere. There could be a similar exodus next year.
Defensive end Trey Flowers and offensive lineman Shaq Mason sit at the top of the class of players heading into the final year of their deals, but wide receiver Chris Hogan, kicker Stephen Gostkowski, defensive lineman Malcom Brown, cornerback Eric Rowe, running back Brandon Bolden, safety Jordan Richards and punter Ryan Allen. Kenny Britt, Phillip Dorsett, Cordarrelle Patterson, Danny Shelton and Jason McCourty are also in the expiring-contract club, but haven’t been with the Patriots quite as long.
We saw last season how being in a contract year may have affected Butler, who didn’t play up to his usual standards with the pressure of his future hanging overhead. No matter, Butler still got paid by the Titans to the tune of five years and $61 million in March.
In other instances, being in a contract year motivates players that their great season will produce at the negotiating table.
While it’s possible the Patriots could avoid free agency with several of these players, that’s not the likely scenario, especially with the priority being an extension for Rob Gronkowski (and perhaps Tom Brady as well).
Of the names on the list, Flowers — one of their best players on the front seven — would be the top priority for an extension. He’s been the team’s top pass rusher and sack leader the past two seasons. A fourth-round pick from 2015, Flowers has been a significant big game player when he’s been healthy, but the market has exploded at his position.
It would make sense for the Patriots to get on board and pay him what other young defensive ends are making, especially if he steps up and produces an even better season than his previous three. Danielle Hunter of the Vikings, who turns 24 in October, just signed a 5-year, $72 million contract to stick in Minnesota. (Flowers turns 25 this month.)
That’s around $14.5 million a year. The Pats, however, haven’t been willing to go the extra mile with their own draft picks if they get too pricey.
Flowers, meanwhile, doesn’t want to talk about his contract.
“I’m just focusing on playing this year. I’m not worried about the contract or anything like that,” Flowers told the Herald last week. “I’m just going out there and playing ball. I’m just focused on getting better each and every day. That’ll take care of itself when the time comes.”
Mason, who has worked to become one of the better guards in the league, is in the final year of his rookie deal. While he might not be as proficient in pass protection as he is run blocking, he’s still going to command a pretty hefty price tag. The Patriots do have some depth at the position and some other options if they don’t re-sign Mason, or even trade him prior to the deadline.
Like Flowers, Mason — who also arrived in the 2015 draft — just wants to let his play do the talking. Safety Duron Harmon, who was a free agent last year and wound up re-signing for four years and $20 million, believes that’s the best course of action. A lack of focus only hurts the cause.
“It’s something you just have to get out of your mind. You have to realize the present is what’s most important at the time. Playing good football, doing everything you can to help the team be successful, that’s what will lead to a good contract,” said Harmon. “If you let the contract take over your mind during the season, and you worry about that, that can lead to some bad football.”
Butler saw the Patriots pay Stephon Gilmore top money — five years, $65 million — he felt he deserved, and it was tough to reconcile. So while he did have some good moments last year, he never played up to his usual standards.
Harmon was able to compartmentalize better than Butler. He didn’t want to be dealing with any added stress, so he consulted Devin McCourty, who had gone through the drill with an expiring contract the previous season.
“He told me if you can control what you can control, play good football, everything will take care of itself,” Harmon said. “That’s the best advice he gave me. That’s the best advice I could give someone else.”
From the sound of it, this year’s crew seem to be falling in line. Gostkowski just wants to do his job, and looking at his case, it’s going to be an interesting one. Statistically, he’s one of the best kickers in the game, only under 91.7 percent on field-goal conversions once during the past five seasons and a weapon on kickoffs. However, he’s missed five PATs the past two years and been shaky in big games.
He’s 34, but Adam Vinatieri is still going strong at 45. Gostkowski is due to make $3.2 million this season. Ryan Succop, who’s 31, signed a 5-year, $20 million extension with Tennessee in February that was the second-largest deal for a kicker in NFL history. If Gostkowski falters any more this season, the Pats might be inclined to move on.
As for Hogan, his stock may rise during during Julian Edelman’s four-game absence. Tom Brady also won’t have Amendola, who’s in Miami. Hogan is one of the few left in Brady’s circle of trust, so he’ll be getting the ball. It’s just hard to see it translating into a huge contract. Amendola never got the money after that first deal. Ditto Edelman and Wes Welker before him.
Allen is currently in competition to keep his job with Corey Bojorquez. The latter, of course, would be a cheaper option, so Allen might not even be in the picture when the season starts. He’s still going to be tough to beat out given his precision with directional kicks, though.
Meaningful message
On Wednesday, several Patriots players, including the McCourtys, Matthew Slater and Harmon, finished practice, removed their jerseys and unveiled T-shirts with the message “#SchoolsNotPrisons” and a drawing of three children behind bars.
Several other players around the league wore the same shirt, including the Eagles’ Malcolm Jenkins and the Panthers’ Torrey Smith.
Youth incarceration was the focus, because the players believed it would be a unifying issue within locker rooms where many players are also parents. Earlier this year, several Patriots successfully lobbied for a Massachusetts state law that raised the age to enter the justice system from seven to 12.
“It was something from the Player’s Coalition we thought would be impactful,” said Devin McCourty. “Something we see that we believe in. I think the biggest thing we notice is that people aren’t aware of these different things, so we’re trying to highlight them.”
Both Harmon and McCourty have been advocates of juvenile criminal reform. On Friday, Harmon said the message was simple enough: “There are 5,000 kids in adult prisons who don’t need to be there.
“We’re just trying to support the cause and bring awareness to the situation,” he said. “Everyone wants to talk about the anthem protest, but I believe we’re past that. We brought awareness to the situation. The NFL has donated money to the Player’s Coalition so we can help create change in our communities, and most importantly, get conversations started. I think in all reality, that’s what you want to do, get conversations started so we can point out deficiencies within our judicial system, so that we can create change. That’s all we’re trying to do, create change, create positive impact in our community and be the role models our fans and our communities look at us to be.”
Legendary experience
While Jason McCourty was with Tennessee, he had the pleasure of being coached by Dick Lebeau. With the Steelers for many years, Lebeau — part of the 2010 Pro Football Hall of Fame class — made quite an impression.
“He is one of the best coaches I’ve ever had. You just feel like he’s in there with you. He the type of coach when stuff goes right he gives all the credit to the players. When things don’t go right he takes all the blame,” said McCourty. “He’s just a guy that you want to run through a wall for. He can relate to the players and there were times when he’d be dancing out of the practice field. He was just and awesome awesome coach.”
The legendary coach had been with the Titans the past few seasons, running their defense prior to Mike Vrabel arriving as head coach and changing over the staff.
Jimmy able to overcome
Tight end Garrett Celek had an interesting take on Jimmy Garoppolo in the San Francisco Chronicle last week. He was answering a question about Jimmy G’s command of the system this year compared to last.
“As soon as Jimmy he came in, he just took control right away. He didn’t ease into at all. It was pretty awesome,” Celek said. “We always say in our offense, and our entire team, you have to overcome coaching. And he’s really good at helping receivers overcome coaching.
“We might have a certain route written on paper, but you don’t have to run it the exact way. Jimmy has learned a lot from (Tom) Brady and he knows ‘Hey, you don’t have to do exactly what they’re telling us to do. Get open. Get the ball. Let’s make plays.’ ”