Reiss suggests the Pats might be concerned with Butler off the field

[JayNM]

I love Reiss, but this is very unethical. Suggesting someone has character concerns without showing ANY evidence and let it out when the guy is leaving?

Straight up classless. It's just like bad-mouthing a friend after he leaves the bar/party.

 

[TheRazorsEdge]

You are blind.

We can end the discussion here. Good day sir

 

[Soliel]

Maybe just being around espn has made reiss worse.

I dont think the pats are trying to smear butler at this point....its just typical espn garbage. Anytime those freaks say negative crap about the pats i start wondering if goodell is behind it to wreck the trade.

 

[Geezer Butler]

Yeah this sucks.

Arrested? No. Suspended? No.

Young man worked his ass off and wanted to get paid early. BB said no. That's it. I don't need to know anymore than that.

I wouldn't exactly say Bill "said no". They offered him a new contract last year. Butler is the one saying no.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

So my guess is he knows something, and the fact he's not going to really trash him by telling us the details doesn't make him a bad reporter. It just shows the discretion and restraint he has that a lot of other guys don't while trying to give the fans some sort of explanation as to how it ever got to this point. People are trying to find out why the Patriots paid Gilmore what they did and left Butler without a new deal and potentially gone from this football team. Reiss essentially revealed that there's more to this than we might have thought, so at least it now makes a little more sense.

I agree with that and that he doesn't need to put out details of what he suspects or knows is going on. However, he should have tied it to something to show that he has some basis for his speculations. Because right now it reads like unprovoked innuendo.

The fact that this is so unusual for Reiss leads me to think it's not unprovoked innuendo. But he needs to give us some basis, some reason for what he said because otherwise it's really unfair to Butler. Especially with the repetition of Belichick's "...off-field" quote and out of the blue mentioning that Gilmore is married with kids and Butler is single. That invites people to speculate negatively about Butler, especially with that comparison.

If Reiss knows or suspects something he should give a more specific hint rather than wide-ranging innuendo. Like (I'm totally making this up here!) "sources near the team expressed concern to Butler during the season that he wasn't (whatever)". And if he feels he can't give that hint (which is a reasonable feeling to have depending on the nature of it and how/who told him) then he never should have written this piece or should have held it until he felt comfortable being a bit more specific.

 

[XLIX]

I wouldn't exactly say Bill "said no". They offered him a new contract last year. Butler is the one saying no.

It is silly to play the game of who said no. Maybe they counteroffered the Patriots offer, and BB said no.

Fact is that they couldn't come to an agreement, and now we will likely lose a top-10 CB in the league. It's a shame, but nothing the team can't recover from (hopefully).

 

[patriot1136]

must be a slow news day.

 

[JMC00]

Only thing the Pats are concerned about is his moron agent, as evident by what's going on right now.

Reiss looks really bad on this one.

 

[jimnance]

Just a side note, people need to remember that Mike never puts anything out there unless it's 100% accurate and purposely has held off on many stories others jumped have jumped all over about other player (that were really in poor taste) because he refuses to do it before making sure he had all the facts first.

So my guess is he knows something, and the fact he's not going to really trash him by telling us the details doesn't make him a bad reporter. It just shows the discretion and restraint he has that a lot of other guys don't while trying to give the fans some sort of explanation as to how it ever got to this point. People are trying to find out why the Patriots paid Gilmore what they did and left Butler without a new deal and potentially gone from this football team. Reiss essentially revealed that there's more to this than we might have thought, so at least it now makes a little more sense.

Ian, I've read Reiss for 20 years. He's the best out there IMO.

I have NEVER read anything from him like this before. I am baffled. I agree with most of what you posted, but IMO Reiss should not have written that article. Very un-Mike Reiss-like.

 

[Geezer Butler]

It is silly to play the game of who said no. Maybe they counteroffered the Patriots offer, and BB said no.

Fact is that they couldn't come to an agreement, and now we will likely lose a top-10 CB in the league. It's a shame, but nothing the team can't recover from (hopefully).

It is a shame so far, and none of us know the truth about any of this behind the curtain.

I actually think there is at least a 50% chance of him signing here still. I could see the Patriots matching an offer if it is close to their number, then having the opportunity to renegotiate or franchise him. Unless of course they really value getting that pick in this years draft.

The Patriots really do have the leverage in this situation and it would be pretty stupid for them to throw that out the window. Let him get the offer, which he has every right to do under the CBA. If they feel it's worth it to match it great, if not, get the pick.

As fans we get emotional with these players, especially feel good, underdog stories like Butler's. But in reality for the front office it's just business as usual.

 

[scott99]

It's either;
a) A disinformation campaign by the Pat's front office via Reiss to impugn Butler's character and justify the split.
b) There is something character-wise there but Reiss can't report it because he doesn't have enough evidence.
c) Reiss is speculating to fill space and time and casting aspersions on Butler when he has done nothing wrong....

I wonder if, after the circus surrounding a certain Tight End who shall not be named, but currently stands trial in a double homicide, the team is just a bit more careful about due diligence when giving out long term extensions.. In all the stories about Butler, has anyone seen anything to remotely question his actions off the field? I haven't seen any...and hope that the Pats' front office isn't resorting to dirty tricks to smear him.........I hope it is just Reiss speculating because I'd like to think that Butler is a stand up guy and that there is "nothing there".

a) Makes no sense. Why would the Pats come out with ANYTHING to impugn Butler's character IF they are trying to trade him. That would only hurt his trade value. Makes ZERO sense.

 

[reflexblue]

Absurd on riess's part to post what he did. He implies that some off field behavior is the reason the pats gave the money to gilmore with absolutely no example of any off the field problems. Instead he pointws out that butler busts his ass, keeps his mouth shut, and can stay with just about any receiver. The stories a wast of cyber ink.

 

[rochrist]

If he was such a risk, why did the Pats offer MB a long term contract last year??

Why are they "assuming the risk" to tender him as a RFA for $3.9 million next year??

All of this speculation is due to an incompetent agent, who is not doing a good job of representing his client.

Any contract you enter into assumes a certain amount of risk..

You answered your own question. Any contract assumes a certainly amount of risk. A longer, much more expensive contract assumes a larger degree of risk, then a shorter term, 7-8 million deal, and far less than a one year 3.9 mil tender offer.

 

[Deus Irae]

It's very disappointing to see such an irresponsible article by Reiss.

 

[sambam94]

It is a shame so far, and none of us know the truth about any of this behind the curtain.

I actually think there is at least a 50% chance of him signing here still. I could see the Patriots matching an offer if it is close to their number, then having the opportunity to renegotiate or franchise him. Unless of course they really value getting that pick in this years draft.

The Patriots really do have the leverage in this situation and it would be pretty stupid for them to throw that out the window. Let him get the offer, which he has every right to do under the CBA. If they feel it's worth it to match it great, if not, get the pick.

As fans we get emotional with these players, especially feel good, underdog stories like Butler's. But in reality for the front office it's just business as usual.

there will be no offer..if he comes to terms on a contract with the Saints, he will then be traded.

 

[WaterfallJumper]

Certainly a baffling piece from Reiss. I honestly have no idea what to make of it. Given his exemplary record as a reporter, I'm willing to give Reiss the benefit of the doubt for now, but the unsubstantiated aspersions certainly do not reflect well on him. Strange.

 

[TomPatriot]

Making sense of how Malcolm Butler and Patriots are on verge of a split

If he is insinuating that Butler is anything but a model guy, it is a disgusting, cheap shot. He presents no evidence whatsoever - not even speculation from unnamed sources.

Butler and his agent are trying to get Butler a better contract. That's his right under the CBA and federal labor law. The Patriots are trying to hold him to RFA money and that's their right under the CBA and federal labor law. So cut the ******** and let the two sides negotiate a deal they can both live with.

I like Reiss but a while back I heard he is having problems at EPSN . . . is it something in his nature . . . why wouldn't they want to keep him happy . . . he's a standup guy but someone saw him in the men's room with Borges once and so . . . you know . . . See how easily ******** can be concocted to disparage a person's reputation?

 

[Ian]

I expect more from Reiss than insinuations without support.
Chris Cooley approves of Reiss' tactics.

Why would you want Reiss to trash Butler if there's more that would make him look bad? The only way to support what he's saying is to tell you exactly what any issue might be, which I don't blame him for not doing. He doesn't need to make a name for himself, so he tends to try and always do the right thing and not throw something horrible out there about a guy if it can be avoided, while trying to be as accurate as he can.

You need to remember, Mike has always been a guy who follows what fans are talking about and tries to bring answers to what they're most interested in. I think most people feel like there must be something extreme going on for Butler to be on the way out just over a month removed from helping the team win their fifth title and his second ring. He's just trying to tell people that there's more to it than we might think, but he's not willing to go farther than that - and I don't blame him.

For those who don't remember, go back and look at the Chandler Jones story and try and remember a lot of the crazy initial reports that came out - that were completely wrong. Mike was the last one to come out with his (almost a full day later), which he didn't do until he knew the facts and the actual story ended up being quite different than a lot of the initial whispers. So keep that in mind before assuming Mike falls into that category.

 

[patfanken]

After reading 6 pages of this, the ONLY thing I can think of that would make Reiss put out that much pure speculation would be that he was thinking about the things Butler did to get kicked out of school in one instance, and change schools in another. Things that happened 7 or 8 years ago when "young and stupid" is still somewhat of an excuse, but still happened.

It was a very odd piece by Reiss and obviously disappointing.

 

[Tony2046]

Just a side note, people need to remember that Mike never puts anything out there unless it's 100% accurate and purposely has held off on many stories others jumped have jumped all over about other player (that were really in poor taste) because he refuses to do it before making sure he had all the facts first.

So my guess is he knows something, and the fact he's not going to really trash him by telling us the details doesn't make him a bad reporter. It just shows the discretion and restraint he has that a lot of other guys don't while trying to give the fans some sort of explanation as to how it ever got to this point. People are trying to find out why the Patriots paid Gilmore what they did and left Butler without a new deal and potentially gone from this football team. Reiss essentially revealed that there's more to this than we might have thought, so at least it now makes a little more sense.

Not sure I agree Ian. Insinuations lead to assumptions which lead to 4 week vacations.

That was an extremely vague message.