But I don’t want him to do this media bs. And I don’t want to overpay for him. He’s good for us and he needs to make his pay good for us, too.

The first is that Loomis is simply out of his mind and is playing financial chicken with Sharper. If that’s the case, he runs the risk of alienating first Sharper, then Gregg Williams, and finally Payton. So I put the probabiity of this scenario at around +.01.

The second is that the Saints genuinely believe that Sharper is done. His numbers did tail off in the second half of the season; and perhaps Williams believes he can reproduce last year’s results with another player (who? Jenkins? Young?). But even if they believe that, why not offer a contract, even if only a token one? If Sharper is willing to come back at the same money as last year (he’s not), he would be valuable as a mentor and locker room presence, if nothing else. And that’s still pretty valuable.

The third possibility is, I think, by far the most likely: Sharper is simply negotiating through the media. He’s playing the disrespect card, trying to put pressure on the front office to come up with a solid offer. But consider this: if he thought going into free agency was in his best interests—if he thought (or his agent thought) he really could command a bigger salary by leaving—then what’s the big deal? Sounding like a malcontent, even for justifiable reasons, doesn’t increase your chances of catching on with another team. So all in all, I suspect there is actually some sort of understanding about the range of salary that will be offered, and Sharper is trying to better his bargaining position. It won’t work…Payton and Loomis cut Deuce. They won’t hesitate to say goodbye to Sharper if they believe it’s a better option for the team than keeping him at a too-high salary would be.

The Saints simply think that no one is willing to pay him close to what he would get if they franchised him. They may be wrong with that assumption, but from a business standpoint it’s worth the risk. They will bring him back, but It will be for less than the what they would have paid if they franchised him. Smart move IMO. The franchise probably won’t get used this year. None of our other free agents are worth the money.

oh boy, that’s the kiss of death Dave. Don’t say that. Anyone is capable of a mistake at anytime. The reason we won in the first place is because Payton/Loomis were willing to look in the mirror and correct mistakes. Loomis drafted Jonathan Sullivan for F’s sake. He’s definitely capable of mistakes. I think they need to realize and WE need to realize that they are liable for criticism at any time. That’s the nature of the business. Losing Darren Sharper would be an unacceptable disaster.

and if he goes…..He goes. If he wants another ring then play……….More money don’t make you play better and his age (34) makes him an injury risk. Usama Young has been playing out of position for two years and could possibly assume the safety position that he has always played throughout his carreer.

What’s the big deal? Players have been doing it for years,although he may be a little early, as Dave stated.It might help the Saints in the long run to see if any other team is interested and how much they’re willing to spend.

Must be in Black and Gold or i will pout.

Why do a few (ok, just one) players seem to want it – DS?

While all the other players I’ve ever heard about in the past 5 years HATE IT?

we have some solid replacements, jenkins, vaughn or even usama young. antrel rolle is a UFA tooo

I think he brought a lot to this team on the field and in the locker room. I think he fits the defense the Williams has constructed. Are there others out there that can fit? Sure, but I’m taking D#‘s experience into consideration. I think what he offers the team is not something that is just hanging out there ready to be snapped up. I don’t know is happening. All we here are excerpts the media tosses out. I don’t believe we’re hearing the full story. I hope that D# is back in the Black&Gold next year.

Wasn’t their word that Sharper didn’t want the franchise tag because he wanted a multi-year deal? If I were him, I’d be happy that the Saints want him back for what would ve the remainder of his career. (2ish years)

The last thing you want to do as a GM in any sport is bid against yourself. I’ve seen general managers make this mistake time and time again and never learn. When you think about it, what’s the market for a mid-30’s safety whose numbers tailed off towards the end of the season? If someone is going to overpay Sharper, I’d rather it not be the Saints. By not franchising Sharper, they avoided overpaying him. I think a reasonable two-year deal will be enough to keep Sharper out there.

but since I didn’t get to see a lot of the games I have to rely on stats, highlights and what you guys relay on the game threads (thanks) to tell a lot of the story. I’m left wondering, who is the real hero here? Of course Sharper stepped up going from 1 interception last season to nine this season, but how much of this was due to the change in defense scheme? Did 42 validate GW, or did GW validate 42? We needed Sharper largely to bring a veterans swagger to the defense, which he did, and he was invaluable to a team heading to uncharted waters. Next season, we have a defensive line that has been there and done that and a scheme in place that took them there. I would love to see Sharper back, but at what price? I guess the real question here is do we NEED him back?

is what ds brought to our backfield, the ability to execute they had. I love what he has done buuuuuut if he takes a 2 year , reasonable deal, I’ll continue to think the world of him. Hey we have allot of great young players. I say spread the wealth and keep as many as possible.

I think he has a couple more years of great play in him. I would be dissapointed to see him go. In the end it is business but so much emotion is tied in with it, especially after winning a superbowl, so I can see how it might be hard to leave feelings out of the equation.