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We've seen this before. Lawyer Milloy was traded around this time to Buffalo in 2003. The Patriot clubhouse turned into instant turmoil, and Tom Jackson foolishly declared that the Patriots "hate their coach".
So wha hoppen? Jackson was outed as an outspoken dolt, and the Patriots went on to win the Super Bowl that season.
So far, Jackson has said nothing regarding the events of Tuesday, when the Patriots dealt longtime guard Logan Mankins to Tampa Bay for tight end Tim Wright and a 2015 fourth round pick. The former first round selection out of Fresno State was a six-time All-Pro guard, but the Patriots shipped Mankins for a pass receiving tight end who has everyone in New England saying collectively, "Who?" when the name Tim Wright comes up.
For those folks with more than a casual knowledge of the Buccaneers, Wright projects as a poor man's Aaron Hernandez. The thinking is that his skill set will replicate the former Patriot tight end and give Rob Gronkowski back his compliment at tight end. Wright is a pass catcher first and blocker third or fourth. As a rookie in 2013, Wright had 54 catches for 571 yards and five touchdowns. It figures that Wright is also from Rutgers, as the Scarlet Knights are as much a Patriot factory as are the Bucs.
Mankins had a $10 million cap hit for 2014, and was the highest paid guard in NFL history when he signed his current deal after the 2010 season. The Patriots will get $5 million in cap relief this season because of this deal, and will save over $13 million in cash over the next two seasons.
But why deal Mankins? In this year where you have a new position coach for the first time since 1980, and a bit of flux and transition this training camp on the o-line, the Patriots instead elect to trade their best offensive lineman. Bill Belichick heaped a lot of praise on Mankins on his way out the door, saying that he was "one of the all-time great Patriots and the best guard I ever coached." Still, the deal is not sitting well with many corners of Patriot Nation, and one wonders now if the offense will wind up suffering despite Tom Brady finding a rhythm with his receivers in the preseason.
One can only guess. So, let's go for it.
It's not nice to hold out
 Long time Patriot All-Pro guard Logan Mankins was traded to Tampa Bay on Tuesday. (USA TODAY Images) |
Belichick doesn't forget incidents like this. And neither do the players when they feel slighted. To their credit, Belichick and Seymour coexisted for six years before the latter was traded in 2009 to Oakland. This is a situation where Belichick got rid of Mankins at the exact right time, in his opinion, and thus will deny Mankins the honor and distinction to play his entire career only in New England. And the holdout four years ago likely was on Belichick's mind when he did the deal with Tampa Bay.
Mankins good, but not "Super"
For someone of Mankins' pedigree, his postseason record is a little checkered. He had a key missed block in last year's AFC Championship Game loss to Denver. But arguably his two worst games as a pro were the two Super Bowl losses to the Giants, where in both cases he was manhandled by the Giant defensive line.
In trying to figure out how the 18-0 Patriots could have lost to an inferior Giants team in Super Bowl XLII, one of the focal points of how the Giants dominated the line of scrimmage was the matchups between Mankins and Justin Tuck and Osi Umeniyora. Brady was under siege all game long, and didn't establish a rhythm until late in the fourth quarter when the Giant defense actually became tired. This matchup deficit for the Patriots was cited as one of the main reasons the Patriots lost the Super Bowl and their undefeated season.
We owed Tampa Bay, perhaps
Tampa Bay has been generous to the Patriots over the last few years, as there are some people down there with former ties with the Patriots, including Bucs GM Jason Licht. From Tampa Bay the Patriots have been the proud recipients of LeGarrette Blount (now with Pittsburgh) and Darrelle Revis. It could be that Licht offered Belichick the best deal possible for Mankins, who despite his All-Pro status is 32 years old and no longer a spring chicken. It might have been a way for both men to say thanks to each other, and it is clear that relations between these two teams are pretty good to speak of.
In the end, it's just business and nothing else
Maybe it was just time to cut ties with the aging and expensive lineman. Guards are the least expensive of all offensive linemen, and Mankins was due to make $10 million for the Patriots this year. Belichick has been given to say over the years that guards are very easy to find and develop. Find them on the street, coach them up, and voila. Russ Hochstein, Stephen Neal and Joe Andruzzi are good examples of such players.
But Mankins was a first round pick. He was also an All-Pro several times over. The Patriots are fortunate to have had the best guard ever (John Hannah) and the most expensive ever (Mankins). His body of work did warrant more than just chump change, but the Patriots mismanaged Mankins a long time ago while still under his rookie deal.
This was a case where the Patriot Way jumped up and bit them on the ankle. Mankins should never have been allowed to play out his rookie deal, then play hardball with the team and force them to sign him for big money. The team was able to wait out Vince Wilfork and sign him to a team-friendly deal, but Mankins was a rare player who was able to stay with the team on his terms.
Now he is gone to Tampa Bay, and the Patriot offensive line goes into more confusion with nothing but question marks and speculation. Dealing Milloy in 2003 did work out well in the end. But there is no Rodney Harrison equivalent at guard ready and waiting to take over.
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