Source: Aqib Talib wants top-of-the-market deal

[supafly]

I think the pats would consider paying him 8 a year..but a team will give him 10..maybe even 11 and that is just too much for him IMO

It's quite possible. We'll have to see.

I'm still wondering if another team offering him 8-9 million may not be too much for Belichick to match.

Most assumed Talib's top worth to be around the kind of deal that Grimes received at best (4/32 with 16 guaranteed), and I thought even that would be too rich.

We'll have to see if the deal Shields signed was a bit of an outlier, or if all of a sudden the market has increased by 40%+--which would seem a bit odd.

 

[SB39]

#$!%&*

The "top of the market" is getting higher and higher.

All of a sudden that franchise tag isn't looking like it would have been such a bad idea.

 

[SB39]

Shields's numbers are very comparable to Talib's. His deal just gave the Talib camp a lot of leverage.

I would not be surprised to see Talib walk.

I think that's an understatement. Quite honestly, I'd be flabbergasted if Talib doesn't walk.

 

[Deus Irae]

$10m a year for some guy named Sam Shields. The Patriots better give big contracts to their young'uns before the cap goes to 150m.

Shields is a very good player who has been underrated on this board. As a long-term signing, Shields was probably a better choice than either Talib or Grimes.

 

[supafly]

All of a sudden that franchise tag isn't looking like it would have been such a bad idea.

Nah, it's still looking to be a pretty horrible thought, SB39

12 million dollars in guaranteed money for one year, just to be back in the same position again wouldn't seem to make much sense.

Obviously, they didn't see Talib's worth to be anything like that. There's a halfway decent chance they may be a bit surprised that a guy like Shields received 10 million per year. Of course we'll never know.

At this point, we don't even know if Shields set the market yet.

 

[SB39]

Nah, it's still looking to be a pretty horrible though, SB39

12 million dollars in guaranteed money for one year, just to be back in the same position again wouldn't seem to make much sense.

All I know is that there is a very small handful of quality CB's out there, we had one in our grasp, and we let him go. I won't make any judgments because I don't know what they have up their sleeves, but the market is getting verrry expensive, very quickly.

 

[Huckleberry1]

This isn't going to change the Patriots stance on re-signing talib, they have their value set and they aren't going to go substantially beyond it because other team's do bad deals. I still think they go 4/28 with a little flexibility but it won't get it close to done. Someone is going to throw 40 million at him and he will run for it.

 

[Huckleberry1]

Nah, it's still looking to be a pretty horrible thought, SB39

12 million dollars in guaranteed money for one year, just to be back in the same position again wouldn't seem to make much sense.

Obviously, they didn't see Talib's worth to be anything like that. There's a halfway decent chance they may be a bit surprised that a guy like Shields received 10 million per year. Of course we'll never know.

At this point, we don't even know if Shields set the market yet.

The changes in the market the last 2 offseason's are striking in their contrast. Last year lowered the bar substantially for most player's and especially those over 30, but this offseason with the solid cap increase and the requirement that teams spend 90% to the cap is seeing teams being aggressive right out of the gate.

 

[borg]

Just amazing year after year NE finds themselves in scramble mode regarding their secondary. ITS A PASSING LEAGUE.....The secondary needs STABILITY...it needs quality and it needs depth....not players with blemishes. If NE decides to go long term on a FA corner, please spend the extra dollars and avoid Talib. We know he has hip issues. We see him get gimpy after every tough hit. The gimpiness is a given.
Unfortunately, BB probably looks out across the AFC East and decides he can win against these teams without going the extra mile in the secondary...and he's probably right. That gets them a playoff game....yippeee. Unfortunately, NE then struggles getting off the field vs quality....and Brady gets older.
I need a drink

 

[TomNGisele]

The defense is gonna be so bad. Why don't we just trade Brady to Houston and rebuild now

 

[strngplyr]

Just amazing year after year NE finds themselves in scramble mode regarding their secondary. ITS A PASSING LEAGUE.....The secondary needs STABILITY...it needs quality and it needs depth....not players with blemishes. If NE decides to go long term on a FA corner, please spend the extra dollars and avoid Talib. We know he has hip issues. We see him get gimpy after every tough hit. The gimpiness is a given.
Unfortunately, BB probably looks out across the AFC East and decides he can win against these teams without going the extra mile in the secondary...and he's probably right. That gets them a playoff game....yippeee. Unfortunately, NE then struggles getting off the field vs quality....and Brady gets older.
I need a drink

Is there someone we chose to sign/pass on that I missed while sleeping? By the way, you might not wanna stand so close to the ledge, it's pretty dangerous, man.

 

[pdangle]

Talib is gone. 1 year contract = time to pay me. Yes it was nice to get him here when the secondary was in shambles. He's very good. But the experiment is over. He's going to get too many greenbacks. And the pats know his true injury situation better than anyone, and have already factored any related decline or re injury risk (IMO) into his future worth. They won't even be close to another team, and he'll be gone.

Plus I'm not sure he fits the def scheme. He's too good in a way. BB has no one to replace him in man, every time he's out the whole frickin scheme needs to change. I'd rather a bunch of above average interchangable DB & S's. All being equal. Add 2 or 3 of these with talibs savings.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

All of a sudden that franchise tag isn't looking like it would have been such a bad idea.

Still a really bad idea.

Kraft came out a while ago saying he was hesitant about spending $$ on a guy with chronic hip problems. They won't be paying him now. If shields got maybe 7-8 a year..maybe

 

[patfanken]

Its clear by now that Talib is going to get a $10MM/yr contract regardless of where he signs. I also have no doubt that the Pats would be fine paying him that kind of money per year......IF... they were reasonably confident they he could stay on the field. That's why I think the Pats are still in this game.

When he does sign, forget about the first number of years and total contract price you hear. The key number is how much is guaranteed, and how much he makes is going to based on playing time. Based on the current market, I'd bet the Pats would sign him to a 4 year $40MM deal.....IF.... it only guaranteed $4MM/yr and another $6MM based on playing time.

People aren't stupid. Everyone knows he's missed at least 20% of his games in EVERY year he's played, Everyone knows about the chronic hip problem that shown up in each of the last 3 years. And....everyone know that he's one corrupted protein shake away from a year's suspension. Those are a LOT of red flags.

They also know he's a great talent, a great locker room guy. That he's coachable, a team player, and a guy you want on your team. So without the red flags, he's easily worth $10MM/yr, or more. BUT.... you can't simply ignore those flags. No team is going to give him a lot of guaranteed money up front (though I think an $8-10MM signing bonus would be an OK risk). I don't think anyone should offer him a $40MM contract with half or more of it fully guaranteed, but I'd be fine with a third of it Guaranteed.

THAT's why I think the Pats are still in this. There was a time when teams just threw money at big names without any consideration of the consequences. Those days are gone. The questions about Talib are REAL, and they will impact his contract, no matter who signs him.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Just amazing year after year NE finds themselves in scramble mode regarding their secondary. ITS A PASSING LEAGUE.....The secondary needs STABILITY...it needs quality and it needs depth....not players with blemishes. If NE decides to go long term on a FA corner, please spend the extra dollars and avoid Talib. We know he has hip issues. We see him get gimpy after every tough hit. The gimpiness is a given.
Unfortunately, BB probably looks out across the AFC East and decides he can win against these teams without going the extra mile in the secondary...and he's probably right. That gets them a playoff game....yippeee. Unfortunately, NE then struggles getting off the field vs quality....and Brady gets older.
I need a drink

I'm in the camp with those who say we need a couple players who are top echelon enough to defeat quality playoff opponents. Talib is clearly such a talented player. The problem is…the guy, just like someone we have on offense, is seemingly always injured by the playoffs. His chronic hip problem likely indicates he can't play 19 games. If it's 50-50 that he'll be there late Jan & Feb, is it really worth anything big to re-sign him? I agree that w/o his talent the Pats can make it TO the playoffs. Should we put on rose colored glasses and pony up the $8+ million in hopes he'll somehow survive a collision with a smurf?

 

[Deus Irae]

I'm in the camp with those who say we need a couple players who are top echelon enough to defeat quality playoff opponents. Talib is clearly such a talented player. The problem is…the guy, just like someone we have on offense, is seemingly always injured by the playoffs. His chronic hip problem likely indicates he can't play 19 games. If it's 50-50 that he'll be there late Jan & Feb, is it really worth anything big to re-sign him? I agree that w/o his talent the Pats can make it TO the playoffs. Should we put on rose colored glasses and pony up the $8+ million in hopes he'll somehow survive a collision with a smurf?

Unlike last year, there may be no choice but to do that in 2014.

 

[patsfan-1982]

with the CB market being what it is I don't see how any of the top CB's in the Draft will be there at #29 so if Talib walks they should look at fixing the other holes on the defense, like pass rush and safety

 

[ralmat55]

Mike Florio posted an interesting piece on profootballtalk.com this morning about Talib. Sorry, I'm such a computer neanderthal, or I would post the link.

The gist of it was that teams are intrigued by Talib but are still scared off by his past and injuries.

From the beginning, I've been most concerned that the Redskins, who have never been know for their discretion in free agency, would swoop in and make him an offer the Patriots would be foolish to match. If that is not going to be the case, as Florio's post suggests, I think the Pats have a much better chance of retaining Talib.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Unlike last year, there may be no choice but to do that in 2014.

And given other teams' concerns about him (behavior & hip durability)the Pats may $ign him regardless of his iffy availability for the playoffs.

Look at the Pats track record, Glass IR Dowling, Gronk, Vollmer, Amendoler, all signed with prior knowledge of health "issues"

 

[50-yard-line]

Unlike last year, there may be no choice but to do that in 2014.

There's always a choice, and that's the worry. I agree with you 100%. Even if Kelly and Wilfork come back, I think their defense needs two players:

Talib or a corner/safety replacement.
Impact DE, preferably a guy who can rotate inside, too, like Houston.

All we've heard from the Pats:

Talking to Talib
Going hard at Edelman now
Happy with their roster
Trying to restructure Wilfork

That's it. Everything else has been pure speculation - Bryant, D'Qwell Jackson, Revis - and on the two we know about (Bryant and Jackson), it seems like they haven't even whispered to the guys. Jackson never mentioned NE.

I thought Bryant might be a poor man's Lamarr Houston until Sciz gave a nice write-up showing why he probably wouldn't fit here very well.

When FA is stripped bare, would it surprise you to see Indy looking much better, Denver adding a star, and NE coming out of it, on paper, worse than they were going in?