The question of whether the Saints will use the franchise tag on safety Darren Sharper has presented plenty of intrigue of late.
First, ESPN.com’s Len Pasquarelli reported that the Saints had said they’d use the franchise tag on no one.
Then, ESPN’s Adam Schefter suggested that Sharper could still be tagged.
Then, we pointed out the inconsistency.
Then, NFL.com’s Steve Wyche reported that the Saints will use the tag on Sharper.
Then, we learned that no decision had been made. Earlier today, we pointed out that there had still been no indication that Sharper will be tagged.
Now, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the tag won’t be used on Sharper.
And to bring it all full circle, Schefter credits Pasquarelli for his report that the tag wouldn’t be used. If Schefter had only believed the report last Monday, it would have been a far less eventful week.
So, basically, we’re glad he didn’t.
Bottom line? The Saints might be willing to let Sharper gauge the market, and hoping for a chance to match any offer he gets elsewhere. The thinking would be that, like Randy Moss two years ago, Sharper will realize after being on the shelf for a while that no one else is going to offer him dramatically more than the Saints would pay.
Regardless of the motive, the Saints aren’t willing to pay Sharper $6.455 million for one more year of football.