Colts safety Bob Sanders has played eight games over the last two years and missed 24.
That’s not the ratio the Colts were hoping for when they signed him to a five-year, $37 million contract late in 2007, which has caused speculation in Indianapolis that the team could eventually release the former Defensive Player of the Year.
Colts G.M. Bill Polian says that won’t happen on his watch.
“There’s no way we would cut Bob Sanders unless he’s completely incapable of playing and I don’t think that that’s the case,” Polian said this week. “I think he’ll be back better than ever as the saying goes next summer. I see no situation where we would cut him. Trade? There’s an old saying, ‘Don’t ever trade anybody who can help you.’ I think Bob Sanders can help us a lot.”
It wouldn’t make sense to consider releasing Sanders before 2011, when his base salary more than doubles to $5.5 million.
Still, the guy has to consistently play at some point to keep getting top dollar. Polian has done a nice job drafting in the secondary, and the Colts defense has played well with Melvin Bullitt and Antoine Bethea on the back end.
If Sanders can’t stay on the field in 2010, Polian will have to reconsider his position.