New England Patriots don’t use franchise tag on Aqib Talib

Monday was the deadline for teams to designate their franchise players.

As expected, the New England Patriots did not place the franchise tag on cornerback Aqib Talib.

Although the Patriots want to re-sign Talib and there is a “strong chance” a deal gets done, the Patriots do have some concerns about his health, reports Mike Reiss of ESPN Boston.

"Injuries knocked him out of the AFC Championship Game in each of the last two seasons, and Talib’s health was a concern previously raised by Patriots owner Robert Kraft.“[Talib] wasn’t on the field a lot of the time since he’s been with us,” Kraft said at the Super Bowl. “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. We’re happy with him and we’d like to have him here. Now it’s just about doing business.”"

When Talib has been healthy, he has been excellent for the Patriots.

Last season, he had 41 tackles, four interceptions, 13 passes defended and a forced fumble.