The New England Patriots are in the midst of two contract struggles with CB Malcolm Butler and RB LeGarrette Blount. The Patriots are offering contracts that are pretty cheap in value, but they also hold all the leverage.
Blount tweeted out a message to the Patriots, sharing his thoughts on the situation:
@PatriotsInform pic.twitter.com/Fj9iePZLYK
— Zachary (@zachpats98) April 10, 2017
Blount posted a picture of himself and Butler, with the text, “We gon ball regardless ya feel me,” saying that no matter where the two end up, they will perform at a high level. This is a pretty obvious shot that the two want more money than the team is offering.
Butler is a restricted free agent and no team is willing to part with a first round pick for his services, meaning that Butler has to sign his $3.91 million contract with New England for the 2017 season by June 15th, or else the Patriots could drop his 2017 salary to $660,000. If Butler doesn’t sign at all, then we will repeat this song and dance in 2018.
The cornerback was named Second Team All Pro in 2016, though, so $3.91 million is far below what Butler would earn as an unrestricted free agent. Unfortunately for Butler, that’s just how the system works.
Blount is an unrestricted free agent that led the league in rushing touchdowns in 2016 and has relatively little wear and tear on his body. Still, no team is interested in signing Blount and that gives New England all the leverage in the negotiations; it’s not like the Patriots will bid against themselves to help out a player.
Hopefully both sides will figure out their problems shortly. Blount has no plans on signing his current offer from the Patriots, but things can change in a hurry.