Samuel has no leverage. No team will sign him to an offer sheet because 1) they're not giving up the compensation 2) his asking price puts him outside the cap structure of most teams this late in the free agency period, especially after the draft.
I can answer your entire post with "D. Branch" but I'll break down and counter the points you was trying to make.
First of all it will not come down to another team signing him to an offer sheet. There has been only one player in the history of the franchise tag (J. Galloway) who was exchanged for the original 2 first rd picks compensation. Naturally having buyer's remorse, DAL realized it was a huge mistake. The entire league learned from this so it's not going to happen again.
His asking price is at least D. Bly new numbers, not the 80 mil some are so fixated on. Teams have and will continue to find ways to fit top players into their cap structure even after the draft.
Asante Samuel is not going to sit out and pass up the 8 mil. his tender guarantees him. If you don't play, you lose value, it's that simple. Players aren't fine wines, they don't appreciate with shelf life.
Again, D. Branch. He was willing to sit out the first ten games. The 8 mil tender looks great on paper but what happens if he has a season ending injury before game one? If it's a young top player we're talking about then the
team's value for a future trade decreases, not the player's. A year is not taken away from him, remember he's reporting after the tenth game.
And before speaking about the bad business practices of teams that slap the franchise tags on players year after year, you need look no further then the Jaguars who slapped Donovan Darius with the franchise tag three-years in a row, he played out his tenders because he had no choice. He then just gave up and agreed to a three-year deal after being tagged the third time. Wasn't such a bad business practice for them. The Patriots work the system the way it is supposed to be worked, that's why they will be competitive for as long as Brady and Seymour can stand upright.
Donovan Darius? (I'm saying this like Mora's "Playoffs?")
He had no choice because his services outside JAX weren't in high demand. He was/is a big hitter nothing more. No offense Jags fans but IMO Darius is a slightly better Roy Williams. Top corners don't grow on trees. BTW, next season the fran tag will be the average top 5 regardless of position so If I'm Asante I'll dare ne to tag me again.
Would we see these same pats practices if they had a lesser qb?
Yes, they were the ones who replaced Milloy w/Harrison, Law w/Asante so my hat is off. And I commend Belly & Pioli for having the "best 53 instead of 22" philosophy, but by judging recent years either they're slacking or the league is gaining ground.
