Pay Talib?

[Sciz]

Seriously.

All it means is the math gurus at Patriots Place have do some extra work to make it happen and maybe Logan Mankins and Vince Wilfork get restructured/extended

Also let's not rule out McCourty helping the team out and taking less money to stay and allow the Pats to have some flexibility. He comes off as a guy that would do that.

Well if it comes down to it, cutting Mankins in 2015 saves $7M against the cap. That alone would be enough if they take a slightly lower cap hit in the first year of McCourty's deal. That's all if he makes it to free agency in 2015, though, which I doubt happens.

 

[VrabelJr]

Well if it comes down to it, cutting Mankins in 2015 saves $7M against the cap. That alone would be enough if they take a slightly lower cap hit in the first year of McCourty's deal. That's all if he makes it to free agency in 2015, though, which I doubt happens.

Yeah this hurts to say but in the next 2 years we might see one of Wilfork or Mankins cut. I believe Wilfork's deal runs out after next year anyway. It will be interesting dealing with him as he sails off into the end of his career.

Depending on Mankins play over the course of this season, cutting him might be justifiable if we want to keep some of the younger talent. Working out early deals has always proven to be in the benefit of the team saving money. Some guys that should be on the radar are McCourty, Chandler Jones, Nate Solder and Ryan Wendell*. Good examples of this are Gronkowski and Hernandez's deals. Usually when you try to strike a deal on an expiring or expired contract you end up having to pay a whole lot more.

* I know some won't agree with me on Ryan Wendell, but do we really want to bring in another center in the last years of Brady's career? Plus, how much can we honestly upgrade that position? It's not like Mangold or one of the Pounceys are about to become available to us.

 

[manxman2601]

According to ESPN, the Safety franchise tag is the third lowest by position at 6.7 mil. Can they find the money to re-sign Talib long-term, postpone the McCourty decision a year and then use the potential to save money by doing work on Arrington, Wilfork, Connolly, Mankins etc in 2015?

Low franchise tag may shrink safety market - AFC South Blog - ESPN

 

[Sciz]

According to ESPN, the Safety franchise tag is the third lowest by position at 6.7 mil. Can they find the money to re-sign Talib long-term, postpone the McCourty decision a year and then use the potential to save money by doing work on Arrington, Wilfork, Connolly, Mankins etc in 2015?

Low franchise tag may shrink safety market - AFC South Blog - ESPN

That'd be a slap to McCourty's face after embracing the position switch despite being a good CB, but yes, it's definitely possible.

 

[Run DMC]

This D has improved exponentially since the addition of Talib. I seriously hope they don't play games with this guy and spend a little money. He just shut down the #1 or 2 WR in the NFL, one on one. These elite db's do not grow on trees. How refreshing is it to see our defense actually win a game for us? It's been a long time.

 

[Sciz]

Yeah this hurts to say but in the next 2 years we might see one of Wilfork or Mankins cut. I believe Wilfork's deal runs out after next year anyway. It will be interesting dealing with him as he sails off into the end of his career.

Unfortunately, given the recent news on Wilfork, it seems to me as though the best option for both sides is a cap-lowering extension that gives him somewhere in the $4-5M range each year for the rest of his career. I'm sure he'll want the guaranteed money after this, while the Pats really don't want him to have an $11M cap hit next season. And unfortunately for Wilfork, 33 (in 2015) year old, "325 pound" NTs with serious lower body injury history aren't going to be in high demand.

 

[VJCPatriot]

"You throw at me, you get burned! Now where's my Benjamins??"

 

[supafly]

If I were the front office, I'd be interested in throwing around some numbers sooner rather than later, especially if Talib continues to make big plays and gain even more recognition.

The problem of course, is that both parties may want to wait until the FA period to see what the market states for the position, which is a gamble for the team.

There were reports from some that they offered him a multi year offer in the offseason, although we don't know how many years those "multi years" were either. If that was indeed the case, then I'd hope that they increase their offer a bit and try to lock him up before the season progresses.

In this case I think we pretty much know what we have in him, so a creative pact could in theory be reached at approx 7-8m AAV. Whether or not Talib will be satisfied is another story of course, and sometimes negotiating during the season can be a sticky proposition if things are not agreed upon or if there is a wide gap.

 

[ATippett56]

» Over the Cap- Top NFL Contracts: Cornerback

 

[DarrylS]

I vote for paying him at a reasonable cost, he has stabilized this defense and reminded us how good/elite qb's are supposed to play this game and what it means to the overall D....

The only issue that I have, after Hernandez, is can he stay out of trouble??..

Love his swagger and attitude...

 

[eagle eye]

I think he has been the best corner in the league so far this season. I love that gif there, I think it lifts all the other players with him when he does that too.

The more he does that stuff the less likely he will be a Patriot next year because of the price it will cost. Thing is the guy has made it clear that he loves being a Patriot so that will help a little bit maybe.

He is an absolute hero for me already here. When he went down last season against the Ravens we fell apart, the affect he has had on the secondary cannot be underestimated and thats besides the fact that he is shutting down the best WRs in the game.

 

[Silver Blue&Red]

SHOW-HIM-THE-Money!. He's the only DB have feel confident in when the ball goes his way. BTW, Ryan looks like a Midget out there

 

[VJCPatriot]

I do hope we can sign him long term to say a 5 year deal. If not we might have to tag for one year and then let him walk. I say even 1 more year is better than none. It's REALLY HARD to find that Franchise Corner that also fits your system to a T like Talib has shown us.

 

[patchick]

In this case I think we pretty much know what we have in him

Now that's an interesting question. Do we? Talib has always been three things:

1. Extremely talented

2. Prone to off-field trouble

3. Prone to injuries, including recurring hamstring issues

Item 1 is pretty much unquestioned at this point. Item 2 seems less of a risk now that he's fit into this team so well. But 3 is still a question, IMO. Talib has never once played a 16-game season.

 

[Mack Herron]

Certainly BB is aware of his importance to the secondary, the defense and the team, as well as his own difficulties finding DBs. IMO, Talib has been far and away the best player on the defense. But it is only week 4 and BB like to buy low, sell high.

 

[Spiral]

Franchise tag would cost them about $11M in cap room next year. They can't allot that much to him. If they tag him, it needs to be to extend their window to figure out a different contract, not unlike Wilfork's franchise tag.

IIRC, they paid over $9M for the last year of Law's deal, when most everyone thought they wouldn't. They franchised Asante after his rookie deal. His cap number increased by about $9M from the last year of his rookie deal to that year. I believe it could be argued that Talib is more valuable to this team than Asante was to those teams. So, I think they will franchise him if they can't sign him.

 

[Big-T]

45m/5, works out at 9m per - obviously make it so it isn't all guaranteed and so it can work long term but since he's joined the team he's shown he would be worth every cent of it.

 

[PATSMATT]

I love the attitude and swagger he brings to the Defense. If he can stay healthy I definitely think we should try to re-sign him. At minimum, Franchise him next season.

 

[PATSMATT]

If he doesn't get injured in the AFC Championship game last year, we would of been playing in the Super Bowl. He shut Anquan down for most of that game.

 

[Wrath Mania]

The common hesitation people seem to have about paying Talib is the fear of him pulling a Hernandez, and while I get it- Talib has a decent number of incidents in his past- I still don't like the comparison. Frankly I think it's just downright unfair. Talib had a domestic dispute and acted like an assclown on the Bucs. Aaron Hernandez is a serial killer. That is a huge, huge jump. The Patriots, as Collinsworth clumsily pointed out last night, have brought in a load of kids with checkered pasts before, and they've made it work. Whatever they missed with Hernandez, it was a lot more subtle and outside the norm.

The Patriots can't- and shouldn't- treat every player with a rocky past as a potential Hernandez. I don't think it works that way. I could be wrong though.