The signs of the Buccaneers’ interest in drafting LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne are coming faster and faster.
Ronde Barber is playing safety at the team’s workouts, Barber said last week that the team will “probably” draft Claiborne and now there’s a report that the team is shopping cornerback Aqib Talib in a trade. A team source told Pewter Report that general manager Mark Dominik would like to acquire additional picks in next week’s draft in exchange for Talib, a pretty good sign that the team plans to add a starter at the position.
Wanting to deal Talib and actually dealing him are birds of a very different feather. Talib’s trial for aggravated assault with a handgun doesn’t start until June 25th, which means teams are not going to have any idea of his status for quite some time. There’s also the specter of a suspension from the league to deal with and that’s not going to help the Bucs get much value in return for Talib.
Talib is entering the final year of his rookie contract and is set to make just over $1.85 million in 2012.