Around the League pointed out earlier this month that Brandon Lloyd is hardly guaranteed to collect his scheduled $3 million option bonus from the New England Patriots this offseason.
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Although the Patriots are suddenly flush with salary-cap space thanks to Tom Brady's three-year extension, The Boston Globe's Greg Bedard wrote Monday that the odds are still against Lloyd's option being picked up.
Lloyd arrived in New England with a reputation for moodiness and selfishness as a locker-room lawyer type. After one season with the Patriots, his "erratic behavior in the locker room and on the practice field proved tiresome," one source told The Globe.
An example of Lloyd's eccentricity? One player claims he was in the middle of a conversation with the receiver a few weeks ago when Lloyd stopped him in mid-sentence to say, "I don't want to talk to you anymore."
The Patriots have a reputation for keeping those distractions in-house. It becomes an offseason issue, however, when coaches look at game film and realize Lloyd's inconsistencies while failing to live up to expectations in the old Randy Moss role as an outside threat down the left sideline.
While there remains "internal debate" about Lloyd's future, the Patriots' front office is expected to be active in free agency. As NFL.com's Ian Rapoport points out, impending free-agent speedster Mike Wallace of the Pittsburgh Steelers has long been object of coach Bill Belichick's affection.
Follow Chris Wesseling on Twitter @ChrisWesseling.
