Gresh: Patriots Must Exhibit Good Business Practices During Free Agency
BOSTON (CBS) - It's the most wonderful time of the year.
No, not Christmas. NFL free agency.
Come Tuesday at 4pm, the fates of many franchises can change just by the swipe of a pen on paper.
The Patriots have two notable free agents they'd like back in Aqib Talib and Julian Edelman.
Both players have received offers: Edelman in the form of a three-year deal and while Talib's terms are undisclosed, the two sides are reportedly "very close."
For Dan Shaughnessy, the start of this free agency period boils down to two players.
"Obviously we want them to come away from this little period the next couple of days with either Darrelle Revis or Aqib Talib," said Shaughnessy.
"I know you guys [Gresh and Zolak] are going to back whatever they do because you're Patriots honks and you protect their value, their draft picks and salary cap as if it's your own money and are down with whatever they do."
"No, I'm down with good business, because if you have bad business you don't win. Hardy said to me yesterday, 'You get excited when they nail the market' - well look at the Dallas Cowboys and the Detroit Lions," said Gresh.
"I know, you don't want to end up in cap jail," said a sarcastic Shaughnessy.
"No really Dan. Name me one team in the NFL that conducts bad business and wins," Gresh responded.
Shaughnessy isn't as concerned with "nailing the market" as Gresh is. He just wants them to win.
"I want them to go for it. I'm not worried about value three years from now. I want them to go for it next year."
Shaughnessy thinks if the Patriots sign Talib on Tuesday that it'll be a good indicator that the team is done messing around and are "going for it" in 2014, but Gresh has a different view.
"Why does 'going for it' mean big names? Why doesn't 'going for it' mean filling different holes? I believe free agent aggressiveness is tied into the strength of the draft class in terms of the immediate. We may not see them as active in free agency because they know they can fill holes through the draft and bring in young, cheap labor that allows them to have old, expensive labor like Brady, Mankins and Wilfork," said Gresh.
"They need to win the Super Bowl or it's not acceptable anymore. That's pretty much where they are as long as Tom Brady is their quarterback. That's the standard," Shaughnessy concluded.
Listen below for the full discussion:
Gresh Says Patriots Must Exhibit Good Business Practices During Free Agency
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