Patriots discussion: Musket Fire Roundtable 5/26
Jaydeen Allen – With key players (Dont’a Hightower, Jamie Collins, Malcolm Butler) set to hit free agency at the end of the 2016 season, who should be the first re-signed?
Kirk von Kreisler – This is the question on everyone’s mind, and hopefully the Patriots find a way to re-sign all three. While the 2017 outside linebacker free agent class is stacked, Malcolm Butler could possibly be the highest paid cornerback of next year’s entire cornerback class. Either way, all three are breaking the bank, but one major factor that the Patriots have to consider is that, of all three, Malcolm Butler is the only restricted free agent. That means the Patriots will have the ability to match anything sent Butler’s way; Collins and Hightower, on the other hand, are up for anyone to grab. The decision comes down to preference between Collins and Hightower. Although Hightower’s pass-rush abilities and “thumping style” are extremely valuable to the team, if not even as valuable as Collins, it’s more important to lock-up Collins first because his versatility and athleticism will likely help him command more money from other suitors.
Connor Fulton – Kirk did a great job setting the stage, and I have to echo is words here. Collins is a rare talent. Defensive coordinators don’t sleep the night before facing Rob Gronkowski, and offensive coordinators also have insomnia before going against Collins. He has been compared to J.J. Watt with the way that opposing teams have to prepare their gameplans because of his presence in the middle. Because Butler is restricted, he isn’t the top priority. And while Hightower is arguably a top-five linebacker himself, Collins gets the nod here because he is so supremely talented.
Cyrus Geller – Jamie Collins is the bigger athletic freak, and has potential to be the best defensive player in the league, but right now, Hightower is more important to this defense. I personally believe the Patriots will end up re-signing all three of these players, but if you had to choose one, it’s number 54. He is a better run defender, he is the leader and quarterback of the defense, and when needed he is excellent as a pass rusher.
Hal Bent – This is a conundrum for the New England front office because all three are young, athletic, and vital to the defense. Butler as a restricted free agent can be re-upped with a first round tender for around $4 million in 2017 (still a bargain). However, the Patriots risk alienating him by not working out a long-term deal and potentially having to triple his salary by using the franchise tag on him.
Collins has gone from a mid-second round draft pick to a premier top-tier talent at linebacker. As a second round pick there is no fifth-year option available to keep him around. As one of the biggest bargains in the NFL (he still makes less than $1 million this year), it may behoove the Patriots to let him play out this year and try to re-sign him after the season and before free agency kicks-off in March.
Hightower is under the fifth-year option and that makes his contract the most likely to be re-worked as part of an extension. With a cap number around $7.5 million this year, the Patriots would likely address his contract in training camp and free up a few million extra dollars to have on hand in case of injuries to sign or trade for another player midseason. Hightower may be viewed as the third most important signing of the trio, but his cap number this year makes him the most attractive to extend before the season starts.
Next: Kirk ponders who will be 2015 version of Dion Lewis