Is LB Schobel a Possibility?
The Buffalo Bills released top pass-rusher Aaron Schobel on Wednesday, who like Derrick Burgess here in New England was also pondering retirement.
Well, it appears that he may not be done quite yet.
The two-time Pro Bowl linebacker sounds like he may want to make one more go of it, with Schobel's agent, Jeff Nalley, telling ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter this afternoon that Schobel intends to play in 2010.
That could be good news for Patriots fans, since as we know New England could certainly use another veteran who can get to the quarterback.
Clearly it's hard to believe that he could be completely finished after the season he had last year. Schobel played in 16 games last season and finished with 10 sacks (tied for 11th in the NFL), and was a problem for quarterback Tom Brady in each of their two meetings last year.
In Brady's first regular season game since his knee injury at Gillette Stadium, Schobel sacked him, and also had an interception that he returned for a touchdown late in the first half that put the Bills up 14-7 (New England would later go on to beat them 25-24). He also recorded another couple of hits on Brady during their second meeting, which was another Patriots win in Buffalo.
Head coach Bill Belichick's motto recently has been, 'if you can't beat them, hire them' - as we've seen by the addition of Wes Welker and Sammy Morris in recent years. The only problem with luring him here may be the fact that he recently sold his home in Buffalo and relocated to Texas, which according to one report makes the Texans or Cowboys more of a possibility if he opts to stay closer to home.
Either way the matchups against Buffalo just got a little easier. Hopefully if he'd like to play one more year and do it with a chance to make the playoffs and potentially win a title - it would be nice to believe he'd decide to do it here. Most guys in that situation have generally been players that Belichick has had good relationships with, but when asked on Wednesday about his thoughts on the veteran, he didn't say much.
"Right now I’m really just focused on our team," Belichick told the media Wednesday. "I couldn’t comment on anybody with anybody else. He is still under contract with Buffalo, so there really isn’t anything… I mean, obviously he is a good player and he's given us great competition on the field."
Schobel reportedly said football was no longer fun to him, and he was growing frustrated with the Bills' failure to make the playoffs during his tenure. Hopefully if Belichick calls him, he'll decide to come and have a little fun here.
