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Talib has gushed about finding a home and buying into the team concept. He's gotten nothing but praise from his teammates for his work ethic, practice habits and commitment. We'll find out in 6 weeks or so whether he was serious, or whether this was just a short term stop to rehab his image.
I keep thinking that a "Bodden-esque" deal for Talib would be fair, adding in the difference between 2009 and 2013 of course.
I believe that Bodden was making approx. 5.5 to 6 million a year when he signed his deal in 2009. I think those numbers (obviously adjusted to the 2013 format) would be pretty fair to both sides.
For me, that's approx. 7 million or so per year, and no higher than 7.5 average.
Anything else is going to be too high of a salary to keep other key parts in place, at least in my opinion.
There will be other options besides Talib if it comes down to it, and I wonder if we aren't overlooking some other key elements while trying to determine his actual worth and giving him the majority of the praise to the better play of the secondary?
You and I have been major advocates of moving McCourty to safety for awhile now, so that certainly comes into play, as does the better play of Arrington in the slot, parlayed with Dennard on the outside. As I said we will have the luxury of a deeper safety class this year, along with the potential to sign an additional CB via FA or the draft too. As much as everyone wants to immediately write Dowling off, there's certainly a chance that he could contribute as well.
I'd love to keep Talib, there's no doubt about it, but I don't think they're going to pay him what some other teams will be willing either. Hopefully it never gets that far.