New England Patriots: LeGarrette Blount tendered in rare move

According to Pro Football Focus, the New England Patriots have made a tender offer to free agent running back LeGarrette Blount.

After reports linked LeGarrette Blount to the Detroit Lions and New York Giants, the New England Patriots reached out to their free agent running back yesterday to make a rare move: they made a May 9 tender offer.

While tender offers are common for restricted free agents, Blount’s status as an unrestricted free agent gives the move an interesting twist.

After May 9th, free agent contract signings no longer have any effect on the compensatory draft pick formula, with the tender offered to Blount being the only exception to the rule. With the offer extended, the Patriots hold exclusive negotiating rights with Blount if he does not sign elsewhere by July 22nd.

After that date, Blount can only accept the Patriots offer, or he must wait until Week 10 of the season to sign with another team.

Why tender Blount?

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If Blount does sign elsewhere by July 22nd, then he would count towards the Patriots’ compensatory draft formula for next season.

The tender offer also carries only a small pay raise for Blount. Tender offers must account for 110% of the player’s previous salary, meaning Blount would stand to make $1.1 million next season after making $1 million in 2016. Blount is not required to accept that offer, unless he wants to return to the Patriots immediately, and can negotiate a higher salary if he is still a free agent after the cutoff date.

Up to this point, the Patriots appeared to have little interest in bringing Blount back. The signings of Rex Burkhead and Mike Gillislee made it seem even more unlikely that Blount would return, especially considering the presence of James White, Dion Lewis, and DJ Foster on the Patriots roster.

Draft compensation

The obvious idea behind the tender offer is to re-invoke the compensatory pick rules. Since Blount still remained the free agent, the Patriots would gain nothing from him signing with another team. Now they will either end up with his contract being part of the compensatory pick formula or with him returning to the team. The only negative outcome would be if he chooses not to sign with New England after the cutoff date, but as mentioned earlier, that would result in him sitting out a good portion of the season.

Next: Two undrafted free agents could make the Patriots roster

Blount led the league with eighteen touchdowns last season and achieved his second 1000-yard rushing season. It appears as though the Patriots now have an interest in his return, but it will be interesting to keep an eye on the few teams linked to Blount in recent days.

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