Oh shut up Dion

[bresna]

Dion Lewis Contract Details, Salary Cap Charges, Bonus Money, and Contract History | Over The Cap
Dion Lewis' salary cap number for this year is $4,312,500. This number is just under the total for both James White ($2,437,500) & Rex Burhead ($2,312,500).

Or look at it this way - take White & Burkhead, add in the RBs from the top 51: Mike Gillislee at $2,181,250, Sony Michel at $1,750,308, James Devlin at $1,675,000 & Jeremy Hill at $1,331,250 and they have had $16,000,308 or roughly 8.2% of their cap taken up by their "running back by commitee". Tack on Lewis' number an that surges to over 10%. They already have a lot of cap money tied up in RBs. Adding Lewis would have made it even worse.

It's also worth noting that Lewis' $4,312,500 would have have put him at #9 on the Patriots salary cap (#8 if they cut Dwayne Allen). As good as he's played, given his injury history, that's a tough pill to swallow.

 

[SammyBlueCat]

Hopefully (for his sake) he remains healthy

 

[chasa]

my only issue is when he said "this is the decision i would have made, even if the patriots offered. they could have had me, but they didn't want me"

If he was going to go to the titans anyways, then the patriots couldn't have had him, so him being upset is stupid, because in his own words, he was leaving anyways.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

I am really struggling with Gilligan ... why no Maryann?

she's taking the picture

 

[scott99]

I also think Lewis made a mistake with whom he signed with. No offense to the Titans, they are a good team, but Lewis is the #2 option at running back, he would've had a better chance to shine if he could've figured out a way to stay with the Pats. They would've used him more often. He would be their #1 back.

That being said, the decisions at RB the last 2 years affected last year, and the near future of the team as well. By signing Gillislee, and NOT signing Blount, that changed the whole dichotomy of the 2017 season, and Blount wound up hurting us in Super Bowl 52. And by not cutting Gillislee, and letting Lewis go as a FA, it forced the team to draft Michel instead of Brady's possible future replacement (Lamarr Jackson). Don't get me wrong, I love Sony Michel (worry BIG time about his ability to stay healthy though), he could be a difference maker on offense like Lewis was, but we had Lewis, and we could've signed Blount in 2017. I know I will get flamed for these comments, but that's how I feel about the RB situation and how it hurt the past and future.

 

[neuronet]

Why should he shut up? He has a point.

his point is incorrect though

 

[Kontradiction]

his point is incorrect though

How so? At the price, they literally didn't think he was good enough. So they let him go instead of pay him. It's actually quite simple.

 

[Ras-IR Dowling]

He received a life changing contract. He should be thanking the patriots for showcasing his talents.

 

[primetime]

Why should he shut up? He has a point.

How dare you imply a player saying something negative about the Patriots is correct

 

[Wordsmyth]

But obviously, they didn't want me, they didn't think I was good enough to be there. I just had to move on and do what's best for me

Dion Lewis: Patriots 'didn't think I was good enough'

BS. It was because you couldn't stay healthy enough, DL.

 

[RobertWeathers]

He received a life changing contract. He should be thanking the patriots for showcasing his talents.

Sure but Dion earned it.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I also think Lewis made a mistake with whom he signed with. No offense to the Titans, they are a good team, but Lewis is the #2 option at running back, he would've had a better chance to shine if he could've figured out a way to stay with the Pats. They would've used him more often. He would be their #1 back.

Yes and no. With TN I don't think he'll take a lot of the between-the-hashes pounding as they already have Henry to do that. Dion might see TN as an opportunity to extend his career. Who knows.

That being said, the decisions at RB the last 2 years affected last year, and the near future of the team as well. By signing Gillislee, and NOT signing Blount, that changed the whole dichotomy of the 2017 season, and Blount wound up hurting us in Super Bowl 52. And by not cutting Gillislee, and letting Lewis go as a FA, it forced the team to draft Michel instead of Brady's possible future replacement (Lamarr Jackson). Don't get me wrong, I love Sony Michel (worry BIG time about his ability to stay healthy though), he could be a difference maker on offense like Lewis was, but we had Lewis, and we could've signed Blount in 2017. I know I will get flamed for these comments, but that's how I feel about the RB situation and how it hurt the past and future.

Hindsight is 20/20 but I think with Gil they were expecting more explosiveness and more times the D wasn't sure what they'd do with him out there. Turned out his vision sucks and hes not a receiving threat so it would have been better to keep Blount.

Regardless of the cause/effect, I dont think they were gonna pay Dion $19m.[/QUOTE]

 

[primetime]

Michel's projection is a Dion Lewis, and his ceiling is a better Dion Lewis. I love Dion but he's (hopefully) been more than adequately replaced, at least in theory, and running back is the most replaceable position in football.

 

[Ras-IR Dowling]

Sure but Dion earned it.

Agreed. He played his a** off. Let someone else give him his payday. Money wise I’d still take burkhead at half the price.

 

[Le Numéro Douze]

my only issue is when he said "this is the decision i would have made, even if the patriots offered. they could have had me, but they didn't want me"

If he was going to go to the titans anyways, then the patriots couldn't have had him, so him being upset is stupid, because in his own words, he was leaving anyways.

These guys are absolutely great at football... but they very rarely are more than "borderline-******ed" smart. I wouldn't read too much into his comments.

 

[mcmurtry86]

I also think Lewis made a mistake with whom he signed with. No offense to the Titans, they are a good team, but Lewis is the #2 option at running back, he would've had a better chance to shine if he could've figured out a way to stay with the Pats. They would've used him more often. He would be their #1 back.

That being said, the decisions at RB the last 2 years affected last year, and the near future of the team as well. By signing Gillislee, and NOT signing Blount, that changed the whole dichotomy of the 2017 season, and Blount wound up hurting us in Super Bowl 52. And by not cutting Gillislee, and letting Lewis go as a FA, it forced the team to draft Michel instead of Brady's possible future replacement (Lamarr Jackson). Don't get me wrong, I love Sony Michel (worry BIG time about his ability to stay healthy though), he could be a difference maker on offense like Lewis was, but we had Lewis, and we could've signed Blount in 2017. I know I will get flamed for these comments, but that's how I feel about the RB situation and how it hurt the past and future.

The Pats have been to the last two Super Bowls and damn near won both. I fail to see how the handling of the RB situation has hurt them

Blount making some key plays against them shows that the team couldn't stop the run, not that the Pats needed Blount

 

[PatsDeb]

Why should he shut up? He has a point.

The Pats are ruthless when it comes to personnel. It obviously keeps them on top, but you can't expect that everyone will hold hands and sing "Kumbaya" when they make their "business decisions." How would you feel if your employer, for whom you believed you did a really good job, said, "thanks, but no thanks" when your contract came up for renewal? Just because the Pats usually make the right "business" decisions doesn't mean that those who are personally affected won't feel extremely slighted. I know I would.

It seems that the Pats think RB's have a very short shelf life and they are constantly keeping fresh legs in the mix. Dion did do a great job for us, but he also had some major injury problems along the way, and now he is a year older. Business decision.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Agreed. He played his a** off. Let someone else give him his payday. Money wise I’d still take burkhead at half the price.

Agree. You could argue Dion is a better player than White but White was cheaper and younger.

We need Burkhead to be healthy. Love him.

 

[Silver Blue&Red]

How so? At the price, they literally didn't think he was good enough. So they let him go instead of pay him. It's actually quite simple.

But he said he wouldn't stay anyway. So him even bring it up is just kind of lame. IMO.
Sounds like a little bitterness and typical NFL player complaining.
This is the way the NFL is now. Nobody's job is safe with any particular team. They need to stop with the woe-is-me attitude. He went for the bigger deal, so he should just deal with it. He got paid. That's what he wanted

 

[Ras-IR Dowling]

Agree. You could argue Dion is a better player than White but White was cheaper and younger.

We need Burkhead to be healthy. Love him.

Do you think burkhead becomes the GL back or does Jeremy hill cut into that role?