Wait is over for new
Running back Mike Gillislee is finally, officially a member of the Patriots.
The Bills declined to match the Patriots' two-year, $6.4 million offer sheet with Gillislee yesterday. Because Gillislee was a restricted free agent with an original round tender, the Patriots will give the Bills the earlier of their pair of fifth-round draft picks (No. 163 overall). The Patriots keep the 183rd selection.
Gillislee signed his offer sheet last Tuesday, and the deal includes $4 million for the 2017 season. Shortly thereafter, a source told the Herald the Bills indicated they wouldn't match the offer, but they held off until yesterday's deadline before informing Gillislee of their final decision. It was almost certainly a tactic to prevent Gillislee from joining the Patriots as quickly as possible, especially a year after the Bills immediately declined to match wide receiver Chris Hogan's offer sheet.
Gillislee had career highs last season with 101 carries for 577 yards and eight touchdowns. He is a strong between-the-tackles runner who will compete for early down reps with Dion Lewis and Rex Burkhead. The Patriots also have running backs James White, D.J. Foster and Brandon Bolden under contract. This would appear to signify the conclusion of LeGarrette Blount's four-season tenure with the Pats.
Butler here or there?
As momentum appears to be shifting with Malcolm Butler's situation, it's still difficult to decipher if a potential trade is dead or if the Patriots and Saints are posturing in the days before the draft.
Butler and the Saints have had a deal in place worth north of $50 million, contingent upon the execution of a trade between the Pats and Saints, according to sources. The Saints were never going to sign Butler to an offer sheet because it would have cost them the No. 11 pick in the draft.
From there, the Saints have picks at Nos. 32, 42 and 76. It remains unclear how much the Saints would be willing to surrender to pry Butler from the Patriots, or how much the Patriots would require to send Butler to the Saints. The Saints don't want to give up a high pick (or a combination of high picks) and the huge contract for Butler, particularly with cornerback Delvin Breaux set to be a restricted free agent after the 2017 season. On the other side of the table, the Patriots don't want to give up a quality cor-
nerback for less-than-fair compensation when he is on the books for $3.91 million in 2017 and would help them field one of the best defensive backfields in the NFL.
The reason the Patriots have been willing to trade Butler is because it'll be challenging to sign him to a contract extension before he hits unrestricted free agency next spring. That task was made all the more difficult last month when they signed cornerback Stephon Gilmore to a five-year, $65 million pact with $40 million guaranteed.
Butler signed his restricted tender last week but hasn't yet reported to Gillette Stadium for voluntary offseason workouts. This is not considered a holdout due to the voluntary nature of the program, which also began last week.
Sherman still a topic
As has often been the case for the past month, Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider had to address the latest questions yesterday about star cornerback Richard Sherman.
From Schneider's position, nothing the Seahawks have heard thus far leads him to believe Sherman will be traded.
“Right now we've kind of moved past it and if somebody calls and goes crazy with something then we'll discuss it again,” Schneider said. “I don't mean go crazy, but you know what I mean. Like, give you compensation where it's something where you really, truly have to think about it and consider it, then we would have to consider it. And we could consider it because, like I said, it's been a mutual thing. It's OK. And we feel like it would clear cap room and we would be able to get younger, but that's the only reason we'd do it. I mean, the guy's one of the top cornerbacks in the league. You don't just give him away.”
The Sherman situation has hung over the Seahawks since word came out that the club had trade discussions with other teams, including the Patriots, regarding the outspoken, former All-Pro cornerback. Those discussions came after a season during which some of Sherman's actions — namely a pair of sideline blowups directed at assistant coaches — seemed to garner more attention than his play on the field.