The New England Patriots headed into the NFL off-season with a lot of questions to be answered. The team’s main concern appeared to signing Tom Brady to a three-year contract extension and then focusing on re-signing Wes Welker. Along with locking up the team’s two best offensive players, the Patriots also want to re-sign arguably the team’s best defensive player in Aqib Talib according to Greg A. Bedard of Boston.com as of March 11:
According to multiple sources, the Patriots would like to get cornerback Aqib Talib done soon. This makes sense for a few reasons: a) the Patriots don't have any real cornerbacks beyond Alfonzo Dennard; b) the Patriots gave up a fourth-round pick for Talib so if he walks, it would look pretty bad; c) with a flooded market at cornerback, the Patriots are probably playing the, "You should take our deal because once you get out there, your price is only going to do down."
The Patriots acquired Talib in a trade with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the 2012 NFL season. The move was made to help bolster the defense and improve the secondary with the team aiming to go the distance for a second straight season.
Unfortunately, New England fell short against the eventual Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens in the postseason, but Talib made enough of an impression in limited time with the team to merit a new deal with the Patriots.
Talib played in six games for the Patriots during the 2012 NFL regular season recording one interception and one defensive touchdown.
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