‘No chance’ Patriots place the franchise tag on free agent CB Aqib Talib
By Mike Dyce
The New England Patriots are trying to find away to bring back cornerback Aqib Talib. The franchise tag is an option, but apparently the Patriots have no interest in using it.
From Boston Herald beat writer Jeff Howe:
"There’s no chance the Patriots hit Talib with a franchise tag that will approach $12 million, though he’d be happy to play out the season under that exorbitant price. There’s no denying they want him back, and look at Bill Belichick’s public defense of Talib after the AFC Championship Game loss as an example. Talib will likely take a hometown discount if it’s close, but not if he perceives the Pats as low-balling him. If the Pats want him at three years and $21 million and Talib wants four years and $32 million, look for a compromise of three years, games-played incentives worth an extra $2 million and All-Pro incentives that help the deal approach about $25 million, so long as the cornerback market doesn’t unexpectedly tank like last"
It echoes comments owner Robert Kraft made.
“It’s not like we have unlimited funding,” Kraft said. “He wasn’t on the field a lot of the time since he’s been with us. It’s a balance of us balancing all that out and what is he worth. I think he’s happy here and would like to be here and we’re happy with him and we’d like to have him here and now it’s just about doing business.”