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The Jets need to stay away.
The Jets need to upgrade their cornerback position.
That is a no-brainer.
And there has been speculation that they might go after Malcolm Butler.
However, perhaps what happened yesterday changed things.
Butler was benched for the Super Bowl for some mysterious reasons, and some thing it cost Bill Belichick and the Patriots the game.
“I still don’t think it’s hyperbolic to say that, if Butler played against the Eagles, the Patriots would have won,” wrote long-time Patriots beat-writer Tom Curran for CSN New England.
This is powerful stuff. Belichick might have lost his team a Super Bowl to punish Butler for some team rules violations.
“Look, I love Malcolm Butler’s story as much as the next guy. His competitiveness is admirable. But let’s not make him out to be a martyr here. Lot to this story. Just because BB isn’t giving you the rundown doesn’t mean there’s nothing there.” – NBC Sports Boston’s Mike Giardi.
Former Patriot CB Brandon Browner said the suspension might have had to do with marijuana.
In the edited Instagram video, Browner claims Belichick’s reasoning Monday that “a lot of things” went into the decision, citing marijuana possession and breaking curfew as two factors that kept Butler out of the game.
Look, I’m not making this guy into Charles Manson, but the Jets clearly need to stay away from Butler, and I will tell you why.
Here is a guy who still hasn’t made it to his second contract, his big payday. He had to play this year on a $3.91 million restricted free agent tender deal.
So think about how much money he cost himself with his behavior.
And if he couldn’t stay on the straight-and-narrow with a team before he got paid, how is he going to act once he does get pay?
I’ve seen players act like choir boys on their first contract, to get that big second contract, and then when they get the big bucks, all of sudden, their behavior and attitude slips.
So how can you trust Butler to behave when he couldn’t during this huge year for him leading up to a potentially big contract?
Also, the Jets just had two players arrested – Robby Anderson and Rashard Robinson, with Robinson weed-related due to possession of a pot-laced candy called “Peanut Budda Buddah.”
So if Browner is right about Butler’s benching being related to weed, how can the Jets sign Butler right after the Robinson thing. And I get the sense the jets are keeping Robinson, probably because they gave up a fifth-round pick for him, and don’t want to look bad.
But they did discipline Robinson at the end of the year, making him a healthy scratch for the last two games. We didn’t know at the time it was for an arrest, but now we do. The arrest came out in January.
So the Jets can’t go down this road again.
They need to find their cornerback help elsewhere.
February 5. 2018
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