Are there still people on this forum who think that the Branch situation was viewed as a capitulation by the Patriot's players?
Finally, something we agree on.
To an extent players are always going to empathize with comrades just trying to get their money. But on this teamthere is tremendous respect for what this organization has been able to do with it's money to benefit the whole. They know Kraft isn't cheap - they chow down in his cafeteria for free every day and have access to some of the best medical treatment in the country and participate in his philanthropic enterprizes.
And they know Belichick, despite what the media opines, is really more of a players coach in the ways that matter than most of the phoney huggers who will throw their boys under the bus when the heat gets turned up on their own performances. Bill loves and respects NFL players - he's made it his life's work to help them become the best they can be. He works as hard or harder than any of them do to that end, he's not a self promoter in spite of the success his system has spawned, and he treats them all pretty much the same. He demands as much of Brady as he does his 3rd stringers and coaching assistants. And he and his coaching and FO staff are subject to similar financial discipline - if money is your driving force, or you want to climb the ladder before you've earned that right, sayonara. Conversely he doesn't begrudge staff opportunities they have earned even at the expense of losing them to other organizations.
And they know pretty much what each other are really worth. Asante is a very good player and perhaps a little better player in this system. At the end of the day every dollar over that value the organization allows a player like him to squeeze out of it impacts one of them down the road. This is one of those times when aiming to attract really bright players pays dividends, whichever way things ultimately shake out. For the most part, they get it.
Naturally they want him back for very logical reasons. We are a better team with him on the roster for the forseeable future. He's a hard worker who has taken advantage of his opportunities and improved his play the way you hope they all do over their first 3-4 seasons. He fits the system.
That said, they too realize he isn't Champ Bailey. I also recall hearing - I think during the Duane Starks debaucle when the secondary was desperate for a leader to step up - that Asante was well liked in the locker room but he was something of a quiet loner. Very different personality from Branch, and a very different situation as well considering Givens had already moved on and they knew they were staring at Reche Caldwell
as their fallback #1 WR with Troy Brown and the practice squad lining up behind him. I think they also knew or thought they knew (because he said so frequently) that Deion wanted to stay, he just wanted his money. And they felt he was worth close to what he was asking and a lot more than he had been making. Reportedly there were as many players upset with Deion over the way he handled his business as there were with the organization for not finding a way to retain him. Including his QB who I think felt somewhat abused by his favorite WR in the process.
I think they sense Asante is a lot more ambivalent about where his money comes from. And he's being offered almost $8M under the tag. We've only got 2 guys on the team right now that top $8M per, and Asante as a player isn't in their area code, and his teamates know that. He's a lot closer to a $6M player than an $8-9M player long term too in the eyes of those who know his play best. Which is why I don't think his teamates will have a problem with whatever transpires - including a one year waive the tag deal that gets him on the field this season, or a trade that moves him on, or the less likely scenarios of a week 10 cameo or a reasonable long term deal next spring.
