Darren Sharper
 

Ok, I know I'm probably "out of the loop", but what is the skinny on Sharper? Are we keeping him or not? :)

Short story?
Fans: Yes (pleeease!)
Coaches: Yes, but as a back-up, and a mentor for Jenkins
FO: Np, not for the price he wants

Sharp: Wants to start and wants to get paid, he is currently shopping around teams, but if he can't get both from somewhere, he will come back. He knows we love him here.

Chances of him being re-signed are slim to none. With Chris Reis, Malcolm Jenkins, Roman Harper, Pierson Prioleau, Jonathan Amaya, Paul Oliver, and DeAndre McDaniel already competing...don't see there being much of a shot for Sharper unless he takes next to nothing.

Again...stranger things have happened, but I wouldn't count on it.

Right now, if Harper gets hurt (or winded, in case he has to go all out to chase down a quarterback or something) then Prioleau can step in and take care of business, which he has shown he can do as a quality back up and Special Teamer. On the other side, if (god forbid) something happened to Jenk, then I don't see any of those guys doing a competent job as his backup (maybe Oliver.) Having Sharper back would really shore up the safety position to where we only really need to worry about our OLBs.

Personally, I'd love to see Sharper come back for at least another year. Seems like we are always short on corners and safeties....ugh. Darren plays with heart, and I think he's a very positive leader for the team. Crossing my fingers here.

After week one if Sharper hasn't signed anywhere, Saints will sign him because his salary wouldn't be guaranteed.

What will we do without the "Sharper Shake???" ;)

By default, meaning injuries, is the only way he gets on the roster.

He isn't even showing on the current roster. I think we have seen him for the last time. I kinda hate that. Wish he could've retired with us.

I wonder if - him not already being signed with another team - has more to do with the salary he is asking for or if it's the uncertainty about his
capabilities after last season... or a combination of the two?

I dunno....maybe last season was tough for a lot of our players...coming off the Super Bowl high. That would have to be hard! You're getting hype, hype, hype....you go in and WIN for the first time!!!! Then.....offseason...training camp.....and come into the next season with big BULLSEYES on your back. The reigning SB Champs CANNOT come in under the radar with all the media hype. Much better chance of a comeback for us this season...maybe this goes for the players individual play, too???

For the home opener last year, I was sitting in a resturant in the quarter and in walked or should say limped Sharper with his family. He told me he would be back last year and he was but you could see his knee was still bothering him. He pushed his knee to be ready by the 6th week when he was eligible to come off of the PUP list and I don't think he ever was 100% I think his knee is now 100% and he has 1 good year left in him. He is probably asking for too much money right now and I believe once there isn't any takers for what he wants he will settle for less and play 1 more year with the Saints.

We are trying to get Malcolm Jenkins to be our guy sooner rather than later, that won't happen if he is sitting on the bench and missing out on first team reps, we do want Sharp, but only in certain packages, and as an insurance policy in case one of the two starters goes down. He has already stated he wants to be a starter somewhere, and we aren't willing to pay him starter money when we know he will only be a back-up/role player/mentor type of guy.

I thing the longer he doesn't sign with anyone we will sign him back.

I kinda could see him playing a Mike McKenzie style role this year -- Youtube videos of him in the locker room with the guys, occasionally seen on the sidelines on gameday (in street clothes), but it he on the roster? Nah, not really, unless somebody else goes down. And then I figure he would probably have one amazing lights-out game left in him, just like McKenzie did against New England, and then he would probably start to look less impressive after that, then retire for good, just like Mike McKenzie did. I really don't see another team signing Sharper right now either - I do love the dude, but it's a young man's game after all.

I just hope Sharp retires in New Orleans and becomes a part of the community, he seems like a great guy who could add a lot to the city.

I miss McKenzie... he always seemed to be more energetic than the other guys, but I guess in hindsight maybe the DB corps at the time was just
making him seem that way.

Which NFL team do you guys think is the most unskilled at safety? I would think that even if he's 85-90% of what he was during the SB run, some
teams out there could use such skill?!

I've admired Sharper since his days with the Vikings (get stuck watching a few Viking games up here in SoDak) and I really miss #42 like crazy. If we didn't have Sharper two seasons ago I don't think we'd have made the playoffs let alone win the big one. He made tons of big plays and it was easily his best season. Better yet, his big-play ability rubbed off on the other players - Porter, Meachem, Reggie, etc.

If he can't come back (which might be for the best), then when I think of the Super Bowl XLIV season, the player I will always think of first is #42.

Yep, gotta give Darren his props, for sure! He has done nothing but positive things for the team and the city! One of my favorite all-time players, and I hope we do get him back for one more good season. I'm "feelin' it" again, y'all....could be another....ok, not gonna say it out loud! ;)

The defense has improved to the point that even if he was a little younger, 32-34, I still think it would not be in the Saints best interest unless it was an injury situation. If we have the division locked up before the last game It would be nice to see him in uniform one more time. He was a huge factor in the SB run.

If he were 32 years old, we would probably move Jenkins underneath Harper and let Sharp have that spot for 3+ years.

I think he is back after training camp..and the preseason...just a hunch

Dislike dislike! :brood:

Jenkins is ready to explode... he doesn't need to be behind anyone.

I didn't say he wouldn't beat Roman for his job...

Still dislike! He doesn't need to be an in the box type safety... which is a typical
position in a Williams defense. Ex. Milloy in Buffalo, Landry in Washington, Darius in Jacksonville, Harper in New Orleans.

:p

Harper/Jenkins - The perfect Gregg Williams safety tandem.

I would like him back!!

I agree with you papz... who needs Jenkins competing with Harper at Strong Safety when we could just embrace the inevitable now and let Jenkins take over at FS?!? I love Darren Sharper and everything he's done for us but I think there won't be too much of a drop-off in productivity with Jenkins going into his second year at FS.

I would want Sharper just for depth and exp...Jenkins is no doubt the man..and again welcome Chris..:bng:

I don't disagree with you one bit strato... but it's just the same old issue of whether or not Sharper will accept that role of being a backup/mentor rather than being a starter somewhere else. Malcolm Jenkins said that he could go to Sharper with his questions last season and Darren was more than willing to help him out, but I guess I have just gotten that vibe that coming back to the Saints in any other role than starter is not too desirable to him.

It all depends on who wants to pay sharper the money....if nobody steps up to offer the plate. He will be back, he will add great depth. Also you could even stick him in the nickle.

But it all depends on the him.

I don't think he's coming back; we have younger/cheaper options for depth behind Jenkins on the roster...

And he's not better than Jenkins so there is no chance for him to be a starter on this team anymore...

Younger and cheaper isn't automatically the right way to go... I would rather the Saints field the most skilled team they can, even at depth
positions. But it's probably very difficult to assess Sharper's skill at this point in time, since he isn't taking part in any organized workouts or camps.

Even if Sharp is 75% of the Safety he was in 2009 and all those years with the Pack, he is better than everyone out there at FS aside from Jenkins, who is his "Young Grasshopper."

Yeah, I agree. But, my point was that there's just no way of knowing at what level he is at the moment 'cos he isn't partaking in any practices.
As it stands... signing him would present a somewhat of a gamble, and more so to any other team than the Saints, which is why he'll probably wind
up signing with the Saints if he does in fact sign with someone.

That's funny. And also true.