Logan Mankins should be suiting up for the New England Patriots' season-opener against the Cincinnati Bengals, but because of a disagreement about apologies, he wants out.
Two weeks ago, Mankins and his agent Frank Bauer went to Foxboro to negotiate a deal with the team that would be similar in scale to that received by Jahri Evans of the Saints, seven years, $57 million, Adam Schefter reports.
Progress was definitively being made.
Then, the team demanded that Mankins apologize to owner Robert Kraft for his comments about the Patriots' owner's integrity. He agreed, and he and Kraft made amends.
The Patriots took it one step too far, though. They proceeded to demand that he apologize publicly, and Mankins would not only not agree to do so, but he was offended enough by the further demand that negotiations went south.
Mankins is prepared to sit out the entire 2010-11 season.
