The New England Patriots grabbed a replacement for Super Bowl hero-turned-scapegoat Malcolm Butler on Friday night with their only pick on the second day of the NFL draft.
A day after using their two first-rounders to pick a pair of Georgia Bulldogs for the offense
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Butler had a pretty big interception of his own to clinch the 2014 NFL title. But in this year's game he was inexplicably benched even as Nick Foles threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns against the New England defense.
Butler's absence was never explained; he signed with Tennessee as a free agent.
"Malcolm Butler was a great player," Dawson said in a conference call with reporters. "He's one of the top corners in the league, in my opinion."
Director of player personnel Nick Caserio praised Dawson's versatility and competitiveness. He said they had looked at him a year ago
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Dawson played in 48 games at Florida but only as a senior did he start every game.
"He may not have started but he's played a lot of football," Caserio said. "This guy has played a lot of football against a lot of good people and in a good program."
The Patriots picked offensive lineman Isaiah Wynn at No. 23 and Sony Michel at No. 31 on Thursday in the first round. They entered the second day of the draft with two second-round picks and one in the third, but then coach Bill Belichick began dealing.
In the afternoon, he sent the 95th overall pick to San Francisco for offensive lineman Trent Brown and a fifth-rounder next year. Belichick took the No. 43 selection
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Then he sent the No. 51 pick to Chicago for No. 105 and a second-rounder next year. And he sent the Patriots' own pick in the second round this year, No. 63, along with the No. 117 to Tampa Bay for the 56th overall pick
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If nothing else, the trades made it nearly impossible for Belichick's critics to judge whether he got good value for Garoppolo, who had been the heir apparent to five-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady at quarterback.
With Brady playing at MVP level again last season at the age of 40 鈥?and looking over his shoulder at his replacement 鈥?Belichick shipped Garoppolo off to San Francisco midseason for a second-rounder. Garoppolo led the 49ers to five straight wins at the end of the season.
Asked if the dealing had the added advantage of making it difficult to pin any one player as the guy they got for Garoppolo, Caserio said
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Colorado Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov is sick and may not start a pivotal game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night.
Varlamov has appeared in 21 straight games for the Avalanche, who are in the midst of a heated playoff chase. Varlamov is 23-16-6 with a 2.74 goals-against average this season.
Backup Jonathan Bernier remains sidelined as he deals with a cut on his hand that became infected. He was in goal and facing some shots during a morning skate Wednesday, but didn’t have his stick.
The Avs are calling up Andrew Hammond from San Antonio of the American Hockey League as an insurance policy in case Varlamov can’t play. The team also has goaltender Spencer Martin on the bench. Martin has yet to play a game this season.
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