We're waiting to see what happens with DeAndre Hopkins, as he apparently has offers from the Titans and Patriots, and appears to waiting for other teams to emerge.
"He might get another team involved, but I doubt if he's gonna get another team that's going to jack the market," Lombardi said. "I think one thing now is there's not competition for players. There's basically a platform and a payroll that you can pay. So team x will pay this, and this other team will pay that. And I don't think you're going to move New England off the number. I don't think you're going to move Tennessee ... maybe you could move Tennessee off their number.
"I think there's more than two teams in it. I just don't think the third team is going to pay. I mean, I could see Buffalo being in it. I could see Kansas City being in it. I could see any team that wants to get a bargain for a slot receiver in it, but I don't think they're gonna get the market to drive it up. You know, and I think he's gonna have to rely on a receiver getting injured or a team becoming desperate. I think the only team he'll get more money out of will be Tennessee because Tennessee certainly could use him. They need Him. They don't have enough skill, they don't have enough explosiveness offensively. They certainly could use them."
Who's the favorite?
"My guess is it's going to be Tennessee because Tennessee will pay, I think I think Tennessee will stretch a little bit here," Lombardi said. "You know, at least give Tannehill a reliable converter of first downs and get him in the slot and utilize him. Burke's the guy that was supposed to replace AJ Brown. I mean, he hasn't done that yet. So I think that would help them. Look the one thing about Hopkins and I think this is really important ... Hopkins can go to another team and if he's not the number one receiver this certainly will help him whereas if he becomes the guy they double, that's not going to really make him as effective as he needs to be."
That brings us to Vikings free-agent running back Dalvin Cook.
"I think the Patriots are in it," Lombardi said. "Miami's situation is I think, you know, they drafted Devon Achane in the third round and he's lightning fast. He's explosive. ... Cook would make them a better team. There's no question about that. But they've got the cap room, but I don't know if they've got the willingness to break when you use a third-round pick on a guy. Do you want to overload that? You certainly want to see what he can bring to the table. I think I think Miami wants him for the right price. And if Miami is not going to move off that price, I New England would be a great complement to Stevenson. And I think the Jets he'd be a great complement to Breece Hall assuming where Breece Hall is. And playing with Aaron Rodgers I would assume would be really enticing. So look, I don't think Cooks at the end of it.
"But here's the reality, Myles Sanders and the kid from Chicago, Montgomery made right around $6 million each. And so Cook thinks he's gonna get $9 million, I think he's a $9 million to $10 million player. But is there that money out there? Is someone willing to give him a two-year deal at $18 million over two? We'll see. I think that's the hard part. And look, let's face it, you know, there's no hometown discounts, right? You just got to be able to take what's out there. You got to go to the team that's willing to pay and if you're Dalvin Cook, you'll make enough money you could charter a plane to come home."
Here's the Patriots' reality when it comes to both players: Bill Belichick has a financial discipline that I think has usually served him well, but he's too uniform about it.
We've talked about it many times, but Belichick knows that giving out a bigger contract to an outsider has the potential to upset the apple cart in the locker room. Fans don't like to talk about it, they want to minimize it, but how people get paid — and who gets the money — is a very big deal inside a locker room, even with the Patriots.
Remember when Malcolm Butler didn't take the Patriots' deal and they instead gave it Stephon Gilmore? Julian Edelman slugged it out with Gilmore in the first practice, and Butler was a malcontent the entire season and wound up stapled to the bench in the Super Bowl.
Jakobi Meyers wouldn't take the Patriots' deal so they gave it to Juju Smith-Schuster. How's that gone over with Meyers' teammates?
And I agree with Belichick's philosophy and think it has contributed to the team's success in the past ... to a point.
When it comes to Cook, Belichick has to draw the line very carefully.
Rhamondre Stevenson was drafted in 2021, so his contract can't be touched until after this season. He is scheduled to make just $940,000 in cash this season. He had a huge workload last year to the point that OverTheCap.com values him at $10 million AAV.
If you bring in Cook at say a potential of $9 million ($5 million base plus incentives), how is Stevenson, the Patriots' best offensive player, going to react to that? Not only will Cook, who hasn't bled for the Patriots like Stevenson has, be making more than the incumbent, but Cook is going to eat into Stevenson's stats and potential future earnings.
Sharing the load might benefit Stevenson long-term, but we've seen the shelf life of these running backs — no one wants to give them a second contract.
Now, the Patriots could go to Stevenson's agent and tell them they promise to do right by Stevenson after this season. But what happens if Stevenson suffers a major injury? Are the Patriots still going to redo Stevenson's contract as if he was healthy?
I think Cook would be a fabulous addition to this offense and likely more valuable than Hopkins. That two-headed monster would be great in the backfield and both could flex out.
But I think it would be a surprise if the Patriots signed Cook due to Belichick's belief system — and I think he's right in this case. Patriots would be better served overall by signing another veteran to lesser money, like Leonard Fournette, Kareem Hunt or, and you know Belichick is dying to give him more money, Rex Burkhead. As soon as someone else ponies up for Cook, I'd be willing to be a sizable amount that Burkhead will be inked quickly by the Patriots. That's just their style.
I do not agree with Belichick continuing to hold fast to his contract beliefs when it comes to receiver. Why? Because the Patriots have annually had very little talent at the position, and they certainly have not developed any players at the position to this point. If you have no talent, you need to pay for talent or you and your belief system can be home watching the playoffs again.
Why should anyone care what Smith-Schuster ($8.5 million), DeVante Parker ($5.4 million) or Kendrick Bourne ($5 million) would think about the Patriots paying Hopkins, say, $10 million per season? What has any one of those players done in a Patriots uniform that should lead them to feel slighted by the team? Smith-Schuster had his chance to demand a bigger contract and had no market. Parker and Bourne (to a lesser extent; he's been a victim of circumstances here) have had chances to be more productive and reliable, and have not.
Stevenson is a different case entirely. I think Stevenson would be a pro about the situation, but it's a big risk that I would not be willing to gamble on.