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My mistake completely, I have been treating him like Jones and Hightower, 5 year deal with option, and you're right he's a 4 year guy with no option. And that obviously changes the dynamic in turns of getting deals done but given the flexibility they have I still think they can get it all done without to much trouble. The Patriots can take the approach where they get Hightower and Collins done and leave Jones until after the season and either re-sign him or let him walk for the third. I would much rather have him contribute all season and take a 3rd than lose him for a 2nd.
I wondered if you weren't assuming the 5th year option with Collins, based on some of your comments about the potential to retain Jones. I sometimes make the mistake of forgetting that Collins was a 2nd round pick myself.
I tend to agree with you that it's probably better to keep Jones, even if we may have a bit of a difference of opinions on his chances of staying beyond that. That all said, I can see why it's a debate. Some will see his leaving as inevitable, so they'll figure that an 8m dollar cap savings is the best way to go, as well as any compensation that may be had for him this offseason that may help replace him AND go forward in locking up some of the others.
Ultimately, it's back to "In BB we trust" for me and this situation. I'm honestly good either way, and can see both sides. If they don't think that there's much of a shot for Jones to stay (or maybe already realize that they're not going to give him 11-12+ million AAV), then they probably should dip their toes in the water and see what's out there.