Intrigue

Dont'a Hightower has visited the Jets and Steelers. The Jets, apparently oblivious to the irony, fed Hightower cupcakes while the Steelers had Beach Boys music playing in their heads as Dont'a left the building. Malcolm Butler is heading to the Big Easy to get a sense of his true market value while the Texans would like his agent to know Butler could find a nice new home at Patriots South.

How intense have the Hightower/Butler narratives been?

Nobody's mentioned Jimmy Garoppolo for almost 24 hours.

Oops!

Reset the Garoppolo Clock to zero!

It is somewhat reassuring that so many pigskin pundits and bobbleheads are convinced Dont'a Hightower will be returning to the Patriots. Somewhat. It would be far more reassuring to hear Hightower had actually re-signed with New England.

While it seems unlikely the Steelers could outbid the Pats, we all know the Jets be crazy, And they're sick and tired of being New England's bitch. Hightower wouldn't single-handedly change that, of course. The NYJ would certainly celebrate signing away New England's most prized free agent but then there'd be there'd be the deconstruction of the contract, the inevitable conclusion they'd (a) overpaid and (b) put themselves in salary cap hell for the next five years. Then there'd be that whole regular season thing with the Jets finishing 7-9-0 and the GM and coaches getting fired.

If he did sign with the Jets, I doubt I'd be pissed at Belichick and Caserio so much as I'd feel sorry for Hightower.

For now, I'll hope those pigskin pundits and bobbleheads are right and Hightower will be leading the Patriots defense in 2017 and several years to come.

As for Butler, as the chances he'll return to play for the Patriots next year diminish, the chances New England will recoup a 1st round pick grow in inverse proportion. The Texans interest is almost too obvious to be true. It may even be a leak from Butler's agent to drive up the price with the Saints.

All things being equal, Belichick would rather send Butler to an NFC team, of course, but given the relationship between Bill Belichick and Sean Payton, I have to believe the basic framework of a deal that would send Butler to the Saints for draft picks is already in place or Butler wouldn't be taking a meeting in New Orleans. It seems more likely than not Payton called Belichick and asked him if he'd be wasting his time talking to Butler or if there was a deal to be made.

The Texans - if the rumor is actually true - would only come into play if the Saints can't come to terms with Butler.

And I think that deal with the Saints is getting done.

You should never drive, gamble or negotiate angry. I don't believe Butler is in a frame of mind that would let him leave the table without agreeing to terms with the Saints because his feelings are hurt. He feels cheated by Belichick and wants to have revenge sex (not literally, of course) with Sean Payton. He's going to wind up leaving money on the table.

Here's the thing. Losing Hightower would hurt but would the Patriots still be the odds on favorites to win Super Bowl 52?

Yes. The answer is yes.

As for Butler, Belichick has already replaced him with Stephon Gilmore. The worst case scenario at this point is Butler returning to New England to play out his 1st round tender. More than likely, he takes out a full page ad thanking the fans and leaves in exchange for a high draft pick. Either way (again) the Patriots are still odds on favorites to win Super Bowl 52.

It's a G Thing…

It seems I change my mind about a Jimmy Garoppolo trade daily. A draft day trade with the Browns is still a possibility but not just for the #12 pick. Cleveland will need to make Bill Belichick an offer he can't refuse; a deal the gridiron cognoscenti have been saying won't happen because the rent is too damned high. Maybe they're right.

My latest reason for Garoppolo not being traded is Tony Romo.

The Broncos and Texans are waiting for the Cowboys to release Romo rather than offering a draft pick in trade. Jerry Jones won't and shouldn't release Romo for the same reason Bill Belichick shouldn't trade Garoppolo for less than the value of two 1st round picks (say a 1st and two 2nds); the economic reality of the quarterback position in the NFL.

Romo is wildly overpaid as a backup but starter Dak Prescott is on a 4th round rookie contract that pays him in shiny beads and Wendy's gift certificates. It's may be upside-down but the sum total the Cowboys are paying the quarterback position is generally in line with the market, if not a bargain.

The same can be said of the Tom Brady + Jimmy Garoppolo math for the Patriots. Garoppolo is a low premium insurance policy for Brady; he'll get paid a little over $900,000 in 2017. For context, Nick Foles just signed on with the Eagles to backup starter Carson Wentz, inking a two-year deal for $11,000,000. Let's keep the math simple and call it $5.5m/year.

If the Broncos or Texans are convinced they're just a Tony Romo away from winning a Super Bowl then a 2nd round draft pick hardly seems like too high a price to pay. Prescott played great in 2016 but why not keep Romo around, just in case? That $4.5m difference will pay for a quality depth option at any number of positions.

If the Browns think Garoppolo is the guy who breaks the gypsy curse on Cleveland quarterbacks, they'll have to give up something more than the 12th pick in the 2017 draft.

Maybe they blink when Goodell says, "Cleveland is on the clock."

Maybe they should make their best offer now, before Belichick gets back a first round pick for Malcolm Butler.

Meanwhile, Belichick and Caserio Continue Building a Better Team

In a second "Belichick doing Belichick" free agent signing, the Pats added former Bengals running back/special teams stud Rex Burkhead to the roster. Burkhead can run between the tackles, pass protect, catch passes, cover and return kicks and he's just 26-years old.

And yes, I just checked the Google Machine for any updates on Hightower, Butler and Garoppolo.