Well, I'm not going to say that I'm the biggest Mike Florio fan, but he is one of the few in the media that didn't rush to judgement re: the Bountygate Beatdown...

In fact, he has continued to reference it and pretty much called bullshinski on what Goodell did and how he did it; he still references it, not allowing it to die...

That said, I feel his article re: what's happened is timely and his analysis re: Brees and Tom Condon and their motives for leaking his willingness is dead on...

Among his valid points - if Brees was so interested in signing an team-first, accommodating contract, why did he not leak that or state that publicly before free agency began...

Or even last season when a left guard Clint Boling was available at a reasonable salary...

And don't think it doesn't affect the locker room - Junior Galette's tweet to Josh Norman of the Jimmy John's delivery car was a veiled suggestion to some of the resentment, valid or invalid, but very real toward's the Brees/Condon contract that limited the Saints in retaining players and acquiring needed fresh troops via free agency...

And for Florio, who has amassed a very credible media reputation to publish such a column, you can bet he verified there's definitely fire from this smoke...