Just now having this all sink in. I don't ever think I read 9 pages so fast.
1. We just add the right kind of talent to te secondary. In an ideal world we needed a big #1 type CB who could take on the JJones, AJGreens of the NFL. check. I know this is a great draft class for bigger CB's, but even great ones need to learn their craft for a few years. Gilmore is a 5 year vet and will now play in a defense that will put him in great positions to succeed.
2. Filling in, Butler can now do a lot of things. He can take the more reasonable sized #1's. He can go to the slot. He can give the Pats a Harris/Talib kind of CB duo. Rowe now becomes the situational big CB, or even TE specialist. He can also play outside when teams have 2 big wide outs. Cyrus now can concentrate on the slot and compete with Coleman and the other Jones for snaps. Whoever wins that competition will be an asset. So all's good as far a the on field stuff.
3. Now we have to figure the impact of having Gilmore come in on what is being reported as a $14MM/yr deal. Personally I'll wait to see the actual numbers, but assuming they are true, what do the mean to Butler, Hightower or any of the other FA's?
4. Butler is the immediate concern. The Pats are going to get killed by the mediots on this, who, as usual, will predict doom, hold outs, and bad feeling. I choose to look at it another way. The Pats took Butler out of Popeyes, and were the ONLY team to even offer the kid a tryout. They kept him ahead of draft picks. They coached him up and taught him how to be a pro. They gave him the environment for him to thrive and to his credit he did. They gave him about a 350% raise this season, and the the opportunity to triple it again next season, if he has another good season. Butler shouldn't be pissed about his situation. It is what it is.
Tell me should Chris Sales hold out because, if he were a FA, he'd be making almost 30MM/yr instead of 13MM. No one is asking the Sox to tear up his contract and give him more. No he isn't because that is the system baseball has. His time in FA will come, just like Malcom's. There is no use in being pissed and no reason to withhold services. This is just crap that the mediots throw out there to stir the pot.
5. It WOULD be interesting to see how the Pats react if someone throws out an undermarket $8-10MM dollar deal to Butler. Given the great CB crop out there, would they match it or grab the pick.
6. Can you imagine with the Pat winning the superbowl and potentially having 3 picks in the first round of the draft (albeit probably one at 12, one in the 20's and their own at 32) Still quite a haul, and a DEFINITE affront to Fraudger's concept of "parity"
