Re: poor samuel, he feels mistreated..wont report
Based on the way the CBA sets up the franchise tag, it doesn't make sense to do anything until at least July 14th. Without a signed agreement, who would risk participating in any team activities? And who would sign an agreement before they needed to commit?
Let's hope this is the normal posturing that is a product of the franchised player, and that player and team agree on something when they need to.
However, if Asante thinks he's going to get Nate Clements money for just 1 year of solid CB play, he's going to have to find some other team. Let's not forget that before last season, the debate was whether Asante even merited being a starter or was better suited for the nickel position. The Pats aren't about to put him in that price range. Unless he's developed into the second coming of Mike Haynes, Asante just does not return equal value at that salary level.
Realistically, I can see a contract with an escalating salary if he maintains or increases his level of play at or above where he brought it last season. The team will definitely play hardball with this situation.