I tend to think nothing that Belichick does happens by chance. Winning the game is somewhat irrelevant - Belichick's relationships with the Pro Bowl players that he forges at this game is much more important to him.
Throwing Mankins a bone (though he deserves to be starting) by showcasing him strikes me as Belichick saying "we can do this the easy way, or the hard way"
The easy way is Mankins negotiating in good faith and barring that, acting as the cooperative trade bait
The hard way is the franchise tag and potentially another hold out. The Patriots have a lot to gain with a cooperative Mankins be it as a re-signed player or tradeable commodity. Conversely Mankins has a lot to lose if he lets the next season play out the way this one did - I tend to think though that Mankins won't see a contract offer from anyone until the CBA is worked out.
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