Andre Carter and Patriots in negotiating dispute

Great piece in the Boston Herald today from Jeff Howe about Andre Carter and the conflict between him and the Patriots.

It's seemed like a foregone conclusion all offseason that the Patriots and Carter would reunite for 2012 but it's been a mystery why that hasn't happened yet.

Carter has been hanging around Gillette and working with the Patriots medical staff, he's even gone as far as to turn down interest from other teams. So what is the issue here?

Essentially, Howe says, it comes down to money. The Patriots want to pay Carter something similar to the one-year $2.75 million deal they did last year. Carter obviously wants more.

A key factor in that is health. Carter suffered the season ending quad injury in Denver Week 15 of last year. While Carter feels that he is healthy enough to start at the beginning of the regular season, the Patriots don't seem to agree. Howe says the Patriots would want to place Carter on the PUP (Physically unable to perform) list as soon as he signs, meaning he would miss the first six weeks of the season. That plays a big part into how much money they want to offer him.

If Carter is going to stay in New England, someone is going to have to compromise.

Personally, I would love to have Carter back, and I think he's worth it. He's a veteran presence on that defensive line with the proven ability to cause havoc for quarterbacks in Belichick's defense. As bad as the Patriots D was last season, Carter was one of the saving graces as New England finally had a pass rush.

While I wouldn't expect Carter to register 10 sacks again in 2012, and I wouldn't expect him to be playing all three downs either, there is no negative to signing him, even if it is for more than the $2.75 million.

There is a lot that all of the defensive rookies the Patriots just drafted could learn from Carter, especially Chandler Jones.

Re-signing Carter seems like a no-brainer to me. I wish the Patriots would agree.