Gresh and Zo: Should The Patriots Have Franchised Talib?
BOSTON (CBS) - Scott Zolak and Andy Gresh opened their show today by talking Aqib Talib. The former Patriots playmaker inked a six-year, $ 57 million deal from the rival Denver Broncos, with $26 million guaranteed.
The conversation quickly shifted to whether or not the Patriots made a mistake in not applying the franchise tag to Talib when they had the chance. Zo qualified his take by saying that he believed Denver overpaid, but when on to point out that, "You had that guy. That guy that fit your system, and you could have franchised him."
Gresh was quick to interject, "I couldn't disagree more."
But Zo went on to say that after day one of NFL free agency, he feels the market indicates that they should have used the tag.
"A month ago franchising Aqib Talib at $11.25 million for one season) sounded ridiculous, but now all of a sudden there's a market correction here," he said. "If you had the guy, you could have worked to an extension, and at least you wouldn't be on the hook for 26 million."
Andy voiced his dissent once again, interrupting, "I couldn't disagree more." He went on to cite Wes Welker, as an example of overpaying for a player with a franchise tag. In 2012 the Patriots tagged the slot receiver for $9.5 million, and a year later he tested the market and only landed a deal that averaged $6 million per season. Gresh said that in that instance, the Patriots set the market on themselves. He added that Aqib Talib isn't the second-best corner in the league, but that's how you'd be paying him by franchising him.
At the end of the day, Zo seemed to sum it up well saying that at this point:
"You had the card to play, and you didn't. Now he's gone."
You can listen to the whole debate here:
The Talib Franchise Tag Debate
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