I think it's pretty obvious the Patriots know which way the wind is blowing. Who knows what he told them when he went to the stadium.
Innocent until proven guilty in the court of law. But the Patriots aren't a court of law.
From an NFL perspective with a salary cap, you don't get rid of a guy with the cap hit of Hernandez unless you are absolutely sure. Has to be something similar to a Kolb release hit.
You don't do that if you think he has a shot of playing again. So while legally he's still innocent, the Patriots are saying he's quite guilty of something. It is quite a long contract, so even a year in jail shouldn't necessitate a release. He had six years left on his contract.
http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/new-england-patriots/aaron-hernandez/
12.7 mil in dead space from cutting him. (~4 mill this year, ~8 mill next year)
I just don't see any NFL team taking a hit such as that without knowing something. Otherwise they'd let it play out and cut him later. They were already under the cap. So they could have kept him had they felt he had a shot to beat it.
NFL teams are there to win. Hernandez is a very talented guy at a position where Gronk is becoming a big question mark. They have 12 mill dead space now from it. Even if he was to miss a whole year fighting this thing, the Pats could of done it, especially with contract and Gronk's issues. Something within the situation said despite all these issues, the prudent move was to release him.
The courts will find out what happened legally, but I think the Patriots move pretty much says it all. I think we're at a point now where the question becomes....did he pull the trigger, or was he just involved in the group that killed the guy?