Since the New England Patriots decided against slapping the franchise tag on cornerback Aqib Talib, he’s going to test the market and may well be priced out of their range. One team that appears ready to make a move on Talib is the Washington Redskins.
“Well, I’m hearing that the Washington Redskins are going to be a major player for Aqib Talib,” said Bleacher Report’s Chris Simms.
Simms made the logical connection between Talib and Redskins DBs coach Raheem Morris, because Talib and Morris were together with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for most of Talib’s career (as was Simms).
via Mike Sando
The Redskins could be more comfortable with Talib than other teams would be simply because they have multiple strong connections to him. General manager Bruce Allen and secondary coach Raheem Morris were in similar roles with Tampa Bay in 2008 when the Buccaneers made Talib the 20th player chosen in his draft class.
The Redskins have needs throughout their defense. Linval Joseph, Mike Mitchell, T.J. Ward and Jairus Byrd come to mind as potential options in free agency. Talib’s name has come up in relation to the Redskins previously and bears repeating after Washington allowed 8.04 yards per pass attempt last season, the second-worst figure in the league (St. Louis, 8.06). No Redskins corner ranked higher than 80th in Pro Football Focus’ 2013 rankings for the position. DeAngelo Hall and David Amerson are the only established corners under contract to Washington for next season.”
