Patriots expected to part ways with "Weiirrrdddd" Brandon Lloyd


Credit the Patriots beat reporters for being pretty much on top of Brandon Lloyd's quirky personality all season long.

I remember seeing these tweets from PFW's Andy Hart back in September and thinking it was a little weird.




So yeah, you see that and you pause a little bit. But, does that mean you think this guy is going to be gone from the team? No, not after one example.

But, little references here and there kept coming back. I'd hear Shalise Manza Young casually mention that LLoyd was a little odd on the Toucher and Rich show. Again, not I wasn't thinking there's anything strange there. But now reports are coming out that maybe this was a bigger issue than it seemed. Yesterday, Greg Bedard wrote that Lloyd's "erratic behavior" could have him leaving foxborough.

CSNNE's Tom E. Curran is essentially confirming that, and gives an example that LLoyd wasn't just this way with reporters, it extended to his teammates too. Now that's a problem.

CSNNE:
A league source told me at the NFL Combine that Lloyd isn’t even on the Patriots projected depth chart for 2013 despite having signed a three-year, $12 million deal last offseason.

How does a guy go from the plum free-agent signing less than a year ago, put up a 74-catch, 911-yard season and wind up on the verge of being thrown overboard?

It may boil down to this. After I’d had my second odd and contentious encounter with Lloyd in a locker room, I asked a Patriot for his impression of the wideout. “Weiirrrdddd.”

Yeah, isolating your teammates? That's an issue. One of the major criticisms of Lloyd was that he wasn't building chemistry with Tom Brady. In light of all this, do you really have to wonder why?

It's not a crime to be an asshole. Obviously. But would you want assholes in your locker room? Do the Patriots?

The Pats have been known to bring in their fair share of characters over the years, despite the whole "Patriot Way" thing. We'll find out pretty soon if they're going to send another one out the door.

The decision on Lloyd looms. If the Patriots want to keep him around, there’s a $3 million option bonus to be picked up. We’re still trying to determine the date that has to be exercised but it could be in the next few days since free agency opens on March 12. If the option is not exercised, the Patriots will avoid Lloyd’s $1.9 million salary. The $2 million “untolled” remainder of Lloyd’s $3 million signing bonus will hit the cap, but the cap savings without Lloyd will be $2.5 million.

Freeing up $2.5 million isn't exactly letting you break the bank for Mike Wallace or something, but it wouldn't hurt.

Lloyd has bounced all around the league, and at times he's made you wonder why with his play. Hearing stories like this, it becomes a bit clearer.

He had some great moments in a Patriot uniform, but also some very forgettable ones. He didn't have quite the impact that most Patriots fans were hoping for when he was signed last off-season. If Lloyd is going to be gone, the Patriots are literally left with no one at the receiver position. Wes Welker, Julian Edelman, Deion Branch are all free-agents.

The Patriots were once a team with no divas on it, but the past three seasons they've had to deal with personality problems with three of their receivers: Randy Moss, Chad Ochocinco and now Brandon Lloyd. If this doesn't hammer home how much of a blessing Wes Welker is, I don't know what will.

Personally, I'd love to see if the Patriots could try to replace Lloyd with Greg Jennings, who could come cheaper than some were estimating. The Patriots need a deep threat, not just an outside threat. Lloyd gave them someone who could catch balls outside the numbers, but he couldn't exactly beat man coverage and take the ball deep. Jennings would fix all that, if he could stay healthy.

Post a Comment
Share