Malcolm Butler, Jamie Collins Taking Opposite Approaches To Similar Contract Concerns
By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Cornerback Malcolm Butler and linebacker Jamie Collins played like two of the top players at their respective positions in the 2015 season for the Patriots. They were also two of the league's most underpaid defensive players.
Butler and Collins' significant contributions to the Patriots defense leave the team with a quandary as to how to pay both guys - along with linebacker Dont'a Hightower - long-term deals that would fit their market values and keep them aboard as anchors of the defense for years to come.
Butler is due a $600,000 base salary in 2016, which is tied for the 123rd highest paid player at the position. Collins, meanwhile, is due a base salary of $917,864 and a $278,818 signing bonus - a total cap hit of under $1.2 million, ranking him 124th at the linebacker position, according to Spotrac.
While both Butler and Collins certainly want to get their next deals done at appropriate values - and while both deserve massive pay-raises - the two are taking totally different approaches to their concerns. Butler was noticeably absent from last Thursday's organized team activities, and ESPN's Mike Reiss said he "wouldn't be surprised" if it had something to do with his contract status. Reiss reported Butler as saying he told teammates and friends that he plans to "push for an adjustment to his contract" before the start of the 2016 season, and his absence from OTAs certainly appears like it could be a move toward that.
Collins, on the other hand, stayed silent on his own contract concerns. When asked if he was focused on his deal, he told CSNNE's Tom E. Curran: "No, I come out here and I handle my business and I let the rest speak for itself.
"My first priority is me. So I'm gonna handle me."
You'd think that "money" is a topic that would fall under the "me" category, as far as personal priorities go. After seeing Collins blossom into one of the league's most dynamic linebackers, earning second team All-Pro honors from the Associated Press, the Patriots should be in line to give Collins a massive bump in pay - at least, something close to Hightower's $7.751 million base salary, which ranks No. 54 as the seventh-highest paid linebacker in the NFL for 2016.
Obviously, Collins has to be showing some concern for his deal, but if he is, he isn't showing any of it publicly. This could mean that Collins already knows a big payday is coming, or that he could be looking to test the free agent market either way.
Butler is a different story. Though his apparent desire for the Patriots to give him an "adjustment" - an obvious euphemism for "These guys need to break me off a bigger piece" - didn't come from his own mouth, it's quite possible it came from his agent, as Zolak & Bertrand speculated. Whoever whispered in Reiss' ears, he probably didn't speak without getting those same whispers from Butler.
It may seem peculiar that Butler is taking a more combative approach of the two to his new deal. Collins is set to become an unrestricted free agent after 2016, leaving him free to sign with any team, while Butler would merely be a restricted free agent, meaning the Patriots would have the right to match any offer sheet thrown his way.
However, No. 1 cornerbacks remain one of the most valuable commodities in football, and Butler certainly looked like one of those with his performance in 2015. Should Butler become an RFA after next season, it would not be out of the realm of possibility for a cornerback-hungry team to try to sign him to a lucrative, top-of-market offer sheet - the kind that the Patriots would likely decline to match. You saw how quickly Redskins All-Pro corner Josh Norman left the free agent market after the Carolina Panthers let him walk; the same would be likely for Butler, especially if he delivers another Pro Bowl-caliber season in 2016.
On the surface, it would be prudent for the Patriots to lock Butler in long-term before getting to that moment. On the other hand, many said the same thing about Darrelle Revis after the 2014 season before the Patriots decided to let him walk and roll with Butler as the No. 1 cornerback. Their plan paid off big-time, as Butler emerged as a high-end option at the position, but could they possibly catch lightning in a bottle like that again? The team practically won the lottery in developing a No. 1 corner out of an undrafted free agent after searching for (and failing to find) that caliber of player for nearly a decade; it would be disappointing, to say the very least, if they let that player slip away instead of rewarding him.
The comments from Butler and Collins may be two completely opposite approaches to whatever contract concerns exist for them, but both of their current deals are similarly valuable for the Patriots. It's clear how significant both players are to the Patriots defense; it remains to be seen how prepared the team is to pay the going rate for those contributions.
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Have a news tip or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
