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In a rather surprising development, the Patriots have released Aaron Hernandez. The move came less than two hours after Hernandez was arrested and taken from his North Attleboro, Mass., home in handcuffs Wednesday morning by the Massachusetts State Police and North Attleboro Police.
Hernandez was officially charged with murder and five gun-related charges at an arraignment held Wednesday afternoon. He pleaded not guilty and was ordered held without bail.
All of this in connection with the murder of Odin Lloyd, whose body was found near Hernandez’s home on June 17. Authorities say Lloyd was shot multiple times in the back and chest.
The charges were revealed Wednesday afternoon in Attleboro District Court.
According to the prosecutor, Hernandez was angry because Lloyd had spoken to people at a Boston nightclub that Hernandez "had troubles with.
The prosecutor also told the judge that Hernandez "orchestrated" the "execution" of Lloyd.
The team released the following statement: "A young man was murdered last week and we extend our sympathies to the family and friends who mourn his loss. Words cannot express the disappointment we feel knowing that one of our players was arrested as a result of this investigation. We realize that law enforcement investigations into this matter are ongoing. We support their efforts and respect the process. At this time, we believe this transaction is simply the right thing to do.”
The NFL released a statement similar to the Patriots'. “The involvement of an NFL player in a case of this nature is deeply troubling,” the statement read. “The Patriots have released Aaron Hernandez, who will have his day in court.
“At the same time, we should not forget the young man who was the victim in this case and take this opportunity to extend our deepest sympathy to Odin Lloyd’s family and friends.”
Meanwhile, even though the actual announcement of Hernandez's release came with surprising speed, it appears the Patriots had a plan all along.
Citing a league source, Profootballtalk.com's Mike Florio reported the Patriots decided early in the process that, if Hernandez was arrested for a crime allegedly occurring in connection with the murder or the investigation of the murder, he would be released.
Florio is told it's a decision that was made at the top of the organization and it’s a standard that the team would apply to any other player or employee facing similar circumstances.
As PFT's Darin Gantt put it: "While there will be salary cap ramifications of this one from the contract extension they rewarded him with, the high ground was apparently worth it. The notion of the 'Patriot Way' was routinely mocked in the wake of this investigation, and they apparently opted to not wait. ..."
Indeed, for the 2013 season, the Patriots will carry a $2.5 million charge for the portion of his $12.5 million signing bonus, paid last year. Hernandez’s base salary of $1.323 million is fully guaranteed and so the cap number will remain $4.073 million unless and until the Patriots can figure a way to avoid paying him.
As Florio explained, because the move comes after June 1, the balance of the cap charge will apply to 2014. That’s $7.5 million in signing bonus money and possibly another $1.137 million in guaranteed salary. That’s $8.637 million that the Patriots will carry for Hernandez next year.
The Patriots can, in theory, reduce that money by blocking the guaranteed payment(s) or recovering signing bonus money. As to the bonus money, however, the Patriots have to recover it before they get the cap credit. Also, the decision to release Hernandez could prevent them from getting a penny back in signing bonus money.
But they will try.
Based on conversations with sources in the wake of the arrest and release, Florio fully expects the Patriots to do whatever they can to try to recover money that has been paid to Hernandez, and to block the flow of any future payments.
I'll go ahead and remind you that upon signing a new $41 million contract 10 months ago, Hernandez thanked Patriots owner Robert Kraft by saying, "He didn't need to give me the amount that he gave me, and knowing that he thinks I deserve that, he trusts me to make the right decisions, it means a lot. It means he trusts my character, and the person I am, which means a lot, cause my mother, that's how she wanted to raise me. They have to trust you to give you that money."
Mr. Kraft clearly revisited his own decision-making today. ...
From a fantasy perspective, the loss of Hernandez as a weapon clearly hurts Tom Brady. I'll also note that some were already speculating on the possibility that New England, with issues at tight end and wideout, could move towards a more run-oriented attack led by Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen, who seems likely to get a bump in value given his receiving skills.
Otherwise, with Wes Welker in Denver and Rob Gronkowski's Week 1 status very much up in the air, Hernandez was in line to step up and take up the slack. His release leaves the team facing serious questions in their passing attack, which was all but certain to rely heavily on the tight ends.
Possible options include Jake Ballard, Daniel Fells, Michael Hoomanawanui and rookie Zach Sudfeld.
Ballard, coming off a torn ACL and microfracture surgery, seems to be better suited to handling the Gronkowski role (as needed). At this point, it's probably worth noting the 6-7, 255-pound Sudfeld, an undrafted free agent, generated some buzz during OTAs and seems better suited to the Hernandez role.
Whatever the case, opportunities are now available in the Patriots receiving corps.
Whether it's one of the above-mentioned TEs, or a wideout like Danny Amendola, Aaron Dobson, Josh Boyce, Donald Jones or Michael Jenkins (or even Vereen) remains to be seen. We'll be following up as needed throughout the summer.