Lloyd walked it like he talked it on money

Brandon Lloyd said it wasn't about the money. And then he walked it like he talked it. On Saturday, the wide receiver confirmed he'd agreed to a deal with the Patriots. The reported money -- 12 million over three years -- is at the extreme low end of deals other wideouts have agreed to this offseason. To just grab one comparison from the many we could make, Laurent Robinson signed over the weekend with the Jaguars. His deal was for five years, 32.5 million. He gets more guaranteed money that Lloyd will make over the life of his deal. Why didn't Lloyd get that kind of money? Where were his suitors?Was it that he was too open about wanting to join the Patriots, scaring off other teams? Was it because he was a moody guy earlier in his career? Was it because he's 30? Probably a little of all of that. But the fact Lloyd was not hung up on chasing the last nickel also made it easier for this deal to get done. Before free agency began, I asked Lloyd, "Is winning or monetary stability the highest priority for you?""Winning is definitely the highest priority," Lloyd said. "I've been in the league for 10 years and I don't look at the NFL as a place where I can 'horde' money or try and get as much money as I possibly can. It's not the end of the world. It's a career. And I've put together a nice career and I think that I want to be put in a position where I can get to the playoffs and see my talents on that stage and be able to help a team move forwad in the playoffs. That's the No. 1 goal. I'm pretty happy with where I am financially and I really want to be with the right fit."Would Lloyd be coming to New England if another team dangled him twice as much money and the Patriots stuck at 3 and 12? We'll never know. All we know for sure is that Lloyd said winning was his priority and -- when it came time to choose -- he chose to go to the team that's had the most success in the league over the past11 seasons.