You're absolutely right. In my earlier post I referenced that as the reason I'm probably getting my hopes up. And, the Parcells tree, of which Bellichick and Flores are members, always espouses some version of the mantra "the best ability is availability." But, still, my brain can't help but think ... maybe the injury means a discount. Maybe he'll take a one year prove-it deal and bet on himself. Maybe he's had enough of Indianapolis and wants to live in Miami. He could realistically sign here. And if he does, and by some miracle he stays healthy ... wow!That would be fantastic, but so many players never really come back from an Achilles injury, and Hooker has been an injury magnet, so I do think it's a longshot.
At this point, I think he's a pretty huge risk, but a risk that will work cheap for a year in a prove-it situation. But if he can run and cut, we can probably let McCain go and that saves 6.4M
Having had multiple ACL surgeries back in the era when it was the prototypical career-ending injury, I also kinda root for those guys with knee/achilles injuries to come back and flourish. So there's also a part of me who will always root for those guys.
And really, we had our hearts broken with Minkah ... and how often do Ed Reed caliber talents really become available in their prime? For a defense predicated on creating takeaways ... a ballhawking, potential All-Pro FS is an extremely intriguing prospect.
Seattle's Legion of Boom depended on Earl Thomas to stifle the deep stuff and generate turnovers. This allowed those press-man CB's to do what they love to do underneath, and if they got beat occasionally, not pay the price. It created a dominant defense. Now that we're adding young pass rushers and stifling DB's ... we just might be building something similar if we can get a dominating, ballhawking FS like Hooker.
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