As free agency continues from its rather epic beginning on March 11th, one question NFL fans, coaches and, especially, general managers should ask themselves is what the correct price of a corner back is in today’s pass-happy league.
There are several deals that stand out involving this position in free agency. Sam Shields’ contract was the first outstanding corner back signing of the day. The fifth-year veteran is remaining with the Green Packers after receiving a four-year $39 million contract with a $12.5 million signing bonus.
Takeaway the bonus, and the Indianapolis Colts followed suit with their upcoming corner back Vontae Davis with a contract of the exact numbers, again four-years for $39 million.
Another contract coming out of free agency involves former Patriots’ corner Aqib Talib. Talib out did both Davis and Shields with a six-year, $57 million contract with the Denver Broncos.
All three of these deals, regardless of public opinion as far as worthiness or extreme over-paying of these players, seem to be in the right place in valuing the corner backs involved. However is there is a fourth deal that calls into question what makes a corner back “breaking the bank” worthy.
Alterraun Verner’s contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is one of much question. Verner only received a four-year, $26.5 million deal. Now although Talib, Davis and Shields can be considered in a class of their own as compared to Verner, is their worth really that much more significant than that of Verner? He’s drawn commitment from a team for four years, which seems to be standard outside of Talib’s cash-in in Denver. Production-wise, they are all in the same category, minus Talib. Davis has recorded 13 interceptions in his five-year career, Shields has 13 in four years, and Verner has 11 in his four-year career. Talib is the only standout of the group with a six-year career, including 23 interceptions.
The answer is more likely scheme than anything else. Verner has been labeled as a zone-coverage man, as in “Tampa” 2 would be the scheme best made for him. The other corners are all primarily involved in man-coverage schemes and have created names for themselves with their performances, such as being called elite or transitioning into the “shut-down” status.
The main evidence that shows this to be true is of arguably the best corner back in the NFL, Richard Sherman. Of course, Seattle is based in man-coverage, and if a quality corner can get support from his fellow defensive backs and a productive front-seven then his value goes up. Sherman has 20 interceptions in three NFL seasons, and back-to-back years with eight interceptions. After a dominant performance in the playoffs and Super Bowl, that word seems appropriate after the beat down of the greatest offense in league history, teams should be expected to follow suit. Insulting or not, the NFL is considered a copy-cat league, and, when something has that degree of success, any team will be willing to do what is necessary to bring their defensive unit up to that level.
The one question that does remain though is where is the line drawn? The three corners who received hefty amounts of contractual money are not on Sherman’s level. Also, Darrelle Revis, who was due to make $16 million from the Buccaneers before being cut, just signed a one-year $12 million deal with the New England Patriots. Of the corners mentioned, he’s the only one who arguably can go one-on-one as far as covering the league’s best with Sherman, and another high-quality corner who will be soon in the run for money along with Sherman as both of their rookie contracts expire is Joe Haden in Cleveland. He doesn’t have as many interceptions, sitting at 13 during his four year career, but does have 67 pass deflections during that time, which shows excellent ball skills if nothing else. Although Haden did enjoy a fair share more than Sherman with his rookie contract; Haden had a five-year $42 million deal compared to Sherman’s four-year $2.2 million deal, which does play into where they were drafted and the restructured collective bargaining agreement as well. It occurred in 2011, a year after Haden was drafted.
These facts taken into account, how much will Sherman and Haden be looking to bargain for once their time comes for contract extensions? They are arguably top-five corner back material in the NFL, and with players below their capabilities receiving contracts of this amount, it is only fair to assume they will be looking for nothing short of the best.
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