Well Done: Cooks' Season One in NE

Red Averages

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Pretty much. His agent is basically a used car salesman. He's not being advised by the best and brightest.
Relevant article as a reminder: http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2017/01/27/nfl-new-england-patriots-roster-building-bill-belichick-super-bowl-51

The next man up for a new contract is cornerback Malcolm Butler, the undrafted free agent from Division II West Alabama who was the hero of Super Bowl XLIX and has evolved into one of the Patriots’ best defenders. Scheduled to become a restricted free-agent this summer, Butler will be looking for an extension this off-season; his agent, a personal injury attorney out of Huntsville, Ala., has never negotiated a veteran NFL contract.

“I can’t even imagine going into a negotiation with the Patriots having never done one before,” one agent says. “That would be like strolling into the lion’s den.”
 

BigJimEd

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What does that mean? He wanted BB to give up his leverage and offer a contract equivalent to an UFA this year?
I'm sure all RFAs want and ask for that. Initially.

But can Butler and his agent get past that negotiation?
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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He wanted to be paid like a UFA because he played for peanuts this past season. I think Burt typed in 17 instead of 16. Bill told him to go screw.
Oh, yeah, that makes more sense. Otherwise, it doesn't make sense because he's due to make almost $4m this year under the worst case (for him) scenario.
 

triniSox

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FWIW, my friend ran track with Cooks and she forwarded me a text message re: Cooks trade to New England, saying "Not a done deal yet. But it's in the works".
 

JokersWildJIMED

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Butler has been pissed about his contract since SB 49, and he has a right to be...after making the single greatest play in NFL history his overall play improved and he was paid peanuts. That is life in the NFL but he doesn't need to be happy about it. Not taking care of him early was bound to lead to this.
 

DJnVa

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Butler has been pissed about his contract since SB 49, and he has a right to be...after making the single greatest play in NFL history his overall play improved and he was paid peanuts. That is life in the NFL but he doesn't need to be happy about it. Not taking care of him early was bound to lead to this.

Since the SB?

So your contention is that the Pats should have paid him then?
 

NortheasternPJ

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Since the SB?

So your contention is that the Pats should have paid him then?
Seriously. Extending an undrafted corner back after his first year is a terrible idea for the player and the team. His value was a few million a year at that point. If they did sign him he'd be pissed now. Instead he's pissed now.

I think they should have done it last off season. Having a rookie agent dealing with BB doesn't seem like a good idea.
 

lexrageorge

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Butler has been pissed about his contract since SB 49, and he has a right to be...after making the single greatest play in NFL history his overall play improved and he was paid peanuts. That is life in the NFL but he doesn't need to be happy about it. Not taking care of him early was bound to lead to this.
That's not something we've heard before; do you have a link?

Also, "this" means one of 3 things:

1.) Butler plays for NWE for $4M in 2017.

2.) The Pats get a first round draft pick in 2017.

3.) The Pats trade Butler for one of the top WR's in the game.

Not sure there's a loss in there.
 

Van Everyman

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Schefter saying on NFL Live that Cooks has had interest from the Eagles and Titans. Says Titans offered a pick and the Eagles are likely out now that they've signed Jeffrey and Smith.
 

RIFan

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Pretty much. His agent is basically a used car salesman. He's not being advised by the best and brightest.
The agent did sell the movie rights for not only Malcom's life story, but his as well. He probably believes his his own movie pitch.
Lion and The Secondary are against-all-odds stories of struggle and inspiration,” Levin said, via The Hollywood Reporter. “Derek would not stop until Malcolm got a chance.”
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/02/15/movie-about-malcolm-butlers-life-in-the-works/
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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Well, if he does end up leaving, at least we'll have done the ritual of figuring out reasons to hate him on the way out the door to deal with losing a beloved player.
 

dbn

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Butler has been pissed about his contract since SB 49, and he has a right to be...after making the single greatest play in NFL history his overall play improved and he was paid peanuts. That is life in the NFL but he doesn't need to be happy about it. Not taking care of him early was bound to lead to this.
 

Koufax

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Is this "league source" a Patriots employee who is planting stories in Cleveland as a way of getting them to up their bid? Otherwise, what league source would have any idea what will or will not fly in Foxborough?
 

Van Everyman

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Well, if he does end up leaving, at least we'll have done the ritual of figuring out reasons to hate him on the way out the door to deal with losing a beloved player.
Actually, I think we are preparing to hate on his idiot agent. It's a nice twist on a time-honored tradition.
 

Harry Hooper

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Reminds me of the Welker/Amendola move. Welkers agent overplayed his hand pats moved on without looking back. Only thing different is Malcolm is still here.
Exactly. BB must feel he's dealing with an irrational negotiator and the only way to win is to not play.
 

MarcSullivaFan

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Hoo-hoo-hoo hoosier land.
His agent appears to be a pretty well-established trial lawyer who is representing Butler and a few other Alabama-based JAGs as a side project. Probably not who you want representing you in the contract negotiation of your career, but I wouldn't assume he's an idiot.

If Butler gets traded to NO and is paid like an UFA, no one is going to be laughing at his agent.
 

Tyrone Biggums

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Bill is beyond reproach. He could trade Butler for Bilal Powell tomorrow and we have no right to question him. I will say that Cooks seems to be a southern bible thumper which might not play in Massachusetts but I think his talent would play amazing in this offense.
 

Ale Xander

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MuppetAsteriskTalk

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Butler has been pissed about his contract since SB 49, and he has a right to be...after making the single greatest play in NFL history his overall play improved and he was paid peanuts. That is life in the NFL but he doesn't need to be happy about it. Not taking care of him early was bound to lead to this.
Undrafted free agents cannot be extended early per NFL rules. Pats couldn't have extended him after the 2014 SB even if they had wanted to do it.
 

MarkBT

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When did Lucchino get hired by the Patriots, I must have missed it?
Seriously.

And I really like Lombardi his takes on the Pats personnel moves, but between this and calling out Jamie Collins for taking plays off on Twitter immediately following that trade, he's laying it on a bit thick...
 

Captaincoop

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Bill is beyond reproach. He could trade Butler for Bilal Powell tomorrow and we have no right to question him. I will say that Cooks seems to be a southern bible thumper which might not play in Massachusetts but I think his talent would play amazing in this offense.
If we could manage rooting for a guy who was murdering people in his spare time, I think we can figure out how to root for a guy who likes the Bible.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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Dwayne Allen appears to be deeply religious and comes from North Carolina. From the stories of Slater learning he had won the Starr award, it sounds like bible study group is a significant activity for a significant number of the team's members.

I guess feeling like they fit in to a particular team in terms of religious activities could be a consideration for a free agent, but I think it's mostly irrelevant with respect to anything.
 

Otto

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Two things: (1) the agent blame is unwarranted without a lot more information; and (2) the "new guy agent can't expect to negotiate a free agent deal with team XYZ" is a common refrain from older agents ... who were certified before the NFLPA gave a real exam. Its a contract negotiation. New guys can be good or bad at it, just like there are plenty of "established" guys who are good and plenty of established guys who are not.

Butler needs to figure out the best way to cash in as much as possible and as soon as possible. The contract he ends up with will tell you if his strategy worked or not.
 

RetractableRoof

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Two things: (1) the agent blame is unwarranted without a lot more information; and (2) the "new guy agent can't expect to negotiate a free agent deal with team XYZ" is a common refrain from older agents ... who were certified before the NFLPA gave a real exam. Its a contract negotiation. New guys can be good or bad at it, just like there are plenty of "established" guys who are good and plenty of established guys who are not.

Butler needs to figure out the best way to cash in as much as possible and as soon as possible. The contract he ends up with will tell you if his strategy worked or not.
Agreed... but I hope the agent is doing what the client wants versus just trying to "win" the negotiation like Larry Luchino did with Lester. (I acknowledge the assumption.) We don't usually get this kind of info about the Patriots deallings until after the fact... which maybe gives some credibility to the smoke.
 

lexrageorge

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So far, we've had a couple of tweets saying that contract talks with Butler did not progress (plausible), and an amateur journalist generating a hot takez about the experience of Butler's agent. And there was a tweet about $500K that made zero sense as written. I agree it's too early to either (a) write Butler off for 2017; or (b) throw his agent under the bus. The caveat is that Lombardi pegged the Collins situation, so there could be some smoke about the two sides being far apart.
 

Red Averages

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Better than the alternative... "I will holdout unless I get a long term deal at market value"
 

ilol@u

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Can't fault BB for offering what he thinks is fair value and can't fault Butler/his agent for trying to cash in. I love Butler forever for SB49 and wish him all the success in the world if he leaves.
Dave Roberts & Malcolm Butler never have to buy a drink in Boston.
 

DJnVa

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Guys on NFL Radio on Sirius seem to think Butler does NOT need to sign his tender, that NO would just take over his rights.

That said, I've found the guys that host some of those shows to be not very knowledgeable on some of this stuff, which strikes me as odd.