General football question: Does doing players a favor in trades ever make a difference?

[Diffs4]

Never happens. These are multi billion dollar corporations who pay over 50 million dollars a year to some players. The person in charge has a responsibility to get he most hr can out of every situation. There is no way in the world a gm goes to an owner and says I traded the guy we don’t want any more but I liked him so I got less in return for him because I thought he would rather play on that other team instead.
It’s like telling the owner of your company I paid more for the exact same product or service because the salesman complemented me

Such a short term way to look at it. You would be a terrible manager of people with this attitude. I would argue that Companies that treat their employees well are more successful than ones that do not. And yes, there are companies that treat their employees well despite the "all corporations are evil" rhetoric that is so prevalent today. And your analogy at the end sucks and it is not close to this situation. Here is a better analogy, you have a solid regional manager who does a very good job. But there are better regional managers in the Company and this person is not part of your future as far as becoming a director which is his goal and objective. You are honest with him and tell him where he stacks in the organization. He decides to move on to a better opportunity to meet his career goals. Better to do this and communicate clearly than have this guy be unhappy and become a problem. And most people respect this kind of honesty. They do not like to hear it, but better than to be strung along. And yes, I do not think Keyshon would have been happy with his role here and the Pats did him a solid by moving him, possibly to their short term detriment. But long term, it was the right thing to do.

 

[JoeSixPat]

The Patriots have been saying good things about Boutte throughout all of this - his professionalism and attitude etc. and using him as an example to other young players.

Kayshon Boutte has left a lasting impression on Patriots’ receivers coach

Todd Downing spoke highly of Boutte’s professionalism on Sunday.

www.patspulpit.com

I think it's clear that they weren't going to extend him and given that his YAC was so low (like 1.5 yards on average), I think other WRs likely moved ahead of him and he would be fighting for playing time, even behind Williams (who has an 8 YAC average.)

I think treating players well/fairly when you're potentially going to cut them DOES have a positive impact, but more so with veteran players when you're trying to convince them to sign as opposed to a guy coming off his rookie deal. If they're going to a team that treats them like property with no regard to their future, that IS going to come back to bite you, and we've seen the Pats in this season and other season release guys early so that they have a chance in another team camp.

I think Belichick would often do this and that generated interest among quality depth veterans, who we always need. As a former player, I think Vrabel understands this even better and is inclined to voice this with the front office.

Word gets around the league and having a player voicing that the organization treats players fairly or unfairly can impact future signings.

Worth noting that the Pats sent Boutte to a team where he's less likely to be riding the bench in a contract year - so he's got a HUGE opportunity to play for a decent payday, which he didn't really have here playing behind Brown (and possibly Williams).

That doesn't go unnoticed by the players either.

 

[Ring 6]

Such a short term way to look at it. You would be a terrible manager of people with this attitude. I would argue that Companies that treat their employees well are more successful than ones that do not. And yes, there are companies that treat their employees well despite the "all corporations are evil" rhetoric that is so prevalent today. And your analogy at the end sucks and it is not close to this situation. Here is a better analogy, you have a solid regional manager who does a very good job. But there are better regional managers in the Company and this person is not part of your future as far as becoming a director which is his goal and objective. You are honest with him and tell him where he stacks in the organization. He decides to move on to a better opportunity to meet his career goals. Better to do this and communicate clearly than have this guy be unhappy and become a problem. And most people respect this kind of honesty. They do not like to hear it, but better than to be strung along. And yes, I do not think Keyshon would have been happy with his role here and the Pats did him a solid by moving him, possibly to their short term detriment. But long term, it was the right thing to do.

This is not about treating employees well, it’s about responsibility.
Trading a player to a team he likes rather than the one that would offer you more is akin to in your analogy giving the guy 6 months severance when he quits.

 

[JoeSixPat]

Getting a reputation as a place that does right by players is never a bad thing.

Pats had zero leverage in the trade. Sorry to see Boutte go. Glad he’s going someplace good. I agree he and Stroud are not a great fit.

I guess the market dictated what they could get for him - my guess was they wouldn't have traded him for a 5th or 6th rounder alone but if you factor into that they now have a young hybrid safety and special teamer signed for $1 mil a year for 3 years for a guy with 1 year and $3 million left on his contract DOES make this a better trade than we think.

We'll see what Reed can do - and we shouldn't expect the ROI to come this season, but he strikes me as quality depth in the secondary with upside and could develop nicely in the next few years.

So if you gave me a choice between trading Boutte straight up for a late draft pick OR trading him for a late draft pick and a young player with upside signed cheaply through 2028, I'd take the latter and feel good about that.

Oddly, both Reed and Boutte were taken at #187 so in a weird way we got equal value on draft stock plus a 7th rounder (which is a basically getting an UDFA without having to compete with other teams) - though unlike getting a 6th and 7th round pick for an unproven players, we've got Reed, who has shown he might be a contributor, unlike many many other 6th round picks.

I guess one question would be where Boutte and Reed both would be drafted today given what they've shown. I think both would be taken higher than 187 today - and given we have depth at WR and less so in the secondary (and ST) I guess we did ok and one can call this a fair trade given we've got a guy signed through 2028 for a guy who was going to be gone after this season.

 

[Diffs4]

This is not about treating employees well, it’s about responsibility.
Trading a player to a team he likes rather than the one that would offer you more is akin to in your analogy giving the guy 6 months severance when he quits.

You really think they had better offers they did not take?? I find that hard to believe, especially since they ended up trading him to a conference contender. That is my one issue (plus the timing) with this trade, if Stroud bounces back this could be a problem.

 

[Triumph]

Yes

The Pats are building a culture of hard work, decorum and doing whatever is required to help the team succeed. They had no choice, but to deal Boutte. He would not be happy this season in NE.

In regards to Boutte. I believe that he made a mistake. Stroud is good, but he is not the passer that Maye is. Personally, I would not want to live in Houston either.