Let's imagine that Mike Vrabel was the generational, hoodie-wearing genius coach/personnel influencer and Bill Belichick were the big, lumbering linebacker jock. What would the storyline be, if it weren't for reputation, based on these moves:
-Mike Vrabel declined to extend Jonnu Smith, a role player who never secured more than 500 receiving yards, and he declined to match an offer from the Patriots, who made a very aggressive, over-the-top offer of $12.5M for a player who has never been among the best at his position and not even the best on his team. Since the Titans patiently kept that money for other uses, they were able to take on the contract of Julio Jones, a sure-fire Hall of Fame player and All-Decade WR, whose trade market and salary were low and affordable.
-Bill Belichick broke the bank for numerous non-star players at the skill positions, hoping to rebuild through free agency, including the big contract for Smith. Later, the Patriots were interested in acquiring Julio Jones, who would have been far and away the best player of their offseason and vastly improved the passing game, but they were unwilling to part with a second round pick and specifically were concerned about Jones's $15M salary, which wasn't close to the biggest cap hits among elite wide receivers and would have been a bit more than what they paid for Alghohor, Henry, and Smith.
Someone will have to explain why these narratives are false...or at the beginning of the offseason would any of you, with a straight face, have picked any of these good-not-great players over Julio Jones? I don't think so, though I'm sure the revisionist takes would be comical.
