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When word first emerged that former Brown G.M. Mike Lombardi no longer is working for the Patriots, it was suggested that the split was mutual. A new report suggests that it may not have been as mutual as initially believed.

Ben Volin of the Boston Globe writes that an unnamed league source characterized the move as Lombardi wanting to stay but the Patriots choosing not to renew his contract.

Volin suggests that the Patriots’ decision to move on coincided with the conclusion of Lombardi’s Cleveland contract. The Patriots, in theory, could have paid Lombardi a relatively small amount, with the Browns on the hook for the difference between the amount received from the Patriots and the amount that Lombardi was due to receive from the Browns.

Also, Volin writes that it’s believed Lombardi had only one ally in the building — coach Bill Belichick — and Volin contends that Lombardi’s contributions over the last two years were “a bit overstated.”

Lombardi worked in the media before joining the Browns and then the Patriots. He’s believed to be looking for work in the media again.