I'm not going to shy away from my earlier stance that the Colts should just cut Bob Sanders and be done with him. The man has not played a full 16 game season in his entire career, and he hasn't played played more than 6 games in a season since 2007. His body simply cannot hold up to at the NFL level, and having a player like that on your team serves no purpose.
Yes, Bob is tremendously talented. Bob is also going to be 30 years old this year, and a 30-year-old safety with an injury record longer than Charlie Sheen's arrest report is not someone who can help this football team. Bob can't play special teams, and based on simple production alone, Bob has not earned the right to be the starting safety for the Colts. Melvin Bullitt has.
That said, news came out yesterday that Tom Condon, Sanders' agent, is working with Jim Irsay to re-do Bob's deal.
An AP article via ESPN:
On Friday, Irsay said the team was discussing the possibility of redoing Sanders' deal -- something Condon is already preparing for.
"I anticipate the same thing you do," Condon said. "The guy doesn't play for three consecutive years, they're probably not real excited about that, and they paid the other safety, what $6.5 million, this year. Is there another team in the league that pays both its safeties more than $5 million? The answer is no. So he doesn't have to tell me anything."
Nice to see Condon is realistic about things, though I'm sure the Players' Union would not be thrilled if Sanders took less money to play in 2011. Regardless, the Sanders contract was clearly a mistake. I will always be appreciative of Bob and his contributions to the Colts from 2004-2007, but when one is paid $37.5 million, with $20 million guaranteed, the expectation is that the player actually, you know, play.
Bob hasn't done that.
Add to this the distraction factor. Constant questions about Bob's status, his health, his overall value to the team, etc. have affected this team. Anyone denying that is lying, and anyone suggesting otherwise simply doesn't know the team. We all watched Week One against the Texans last September, and we saw the team really go south after Bob was knocked from the game with a season-ending biceps injury (his second in two years).
For the health of the team, and the sanity of this blogger, it's best if the Colts just let Bob go. I'd prefer to think of him as the player he was, not the player he's been the last three years.