Logan Mankins’ departure from Foxboro reportedly came down to one thing: money.
One day after the guard and team captain was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, multiple media outlets reported that the Patriots had asked Mankins to take a pay cut before eventually dealing him.
One of the highest-paid players in the NFL at his position, Mankins is set to make $6.25 million this season and $6.75 million in 2016 and 2017. The team’s initial request for him to trim that salary came shortly after last season’s Pro Bowl — Mankins’ sixth — sources told Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole.
Bill Belichick has never been shy about trading away franchise cornerstones — Lawyer Milloy in 2003 being the most prominent example — when they refuse to restructure their contracts.
Mankins had spent his entire career with the Patriots since being drafted No. 32 overall in 2005. Belichick called the lineman Tuesday “the best guard I ever coached.”
Photo via Stew Milne/USA TODAY Sports Images
