Byrd or Davis? If you had to pick, or do we have to.

[loudnproudcolt]

Vontae wants in the neighborhood of 9-10M/yr. I am guessing Byrd wants something in the same neighborhood. If you had to pick one, because we did not want to spend that much cap space on both of them, which one would you want? Myself, I would want Byrd. He has proven how consistent he is, and is a ballhawk. He would allow us to move Landry to a pure SS position. I also think Byrd's skills would allow us to have corners who have a little less talent, since he has a nose for the ball. I love Vontae, but in the two years he has been here, he has been inconsistent at times. Plus he does get knicked up a bit. I just look at  consistency of play, and Byrd would be someone who would be able to protect our CB's. Byrd would be our Ed Reed.

 

In all honesty though, the salary cap is going to go up to around 150M for the 2016 season. We have plenty of cap space. Sign a C, a G and then sign Byrd and Davis. Signing them both to 5 year deals at what looks a little high right now is going to look cheap compared to what the top FA's will be demanding in 2016, and we would have them through 2018. It would provide a great window for SB runs. We will still have the cap space next year to sign our 2012 class and Andrew in 2015!

[RealityIsLuck]

Not a question. Vontae, we need that true #1 CB. Byrd is still a tremendous player but would be more of a luxuary.

[Colts_Fan12]

To be honest we don't have to. sign them both!!!

[Stoney]

If it was me I would get Byrd at whatever cost, try to bring back Vontae first, and if we don't get Davis back then go after Aqib Talib. He would be the best replacement available.

[MrNLM]

If it was me I would get Byrd at whatever cost, try to bring back Vontae first, and if we don't get Davis back then go after Aqib Talib. He would be the best replacement available.

No to Talib. If Davis walks I say we go after Byrd, Shields, and Houston if we can. Mike Jenkins can be a stop-gap at the right price. I fully suspect Verner to be a St. Louis Ram sooner rather than later. Of course, C and RG are the obvious glaring holes right now... CB is just speculation until he signs on the dotted line.

 

I fully expect our first move in FA is going to address the RG position. This will show the few available Centers what they have around them and make it easier to bring them into our organization. We should have a time to "court" the available Centers while we are hammering out the holes in the defense quietly in the background.

 

Long story short... the defense will mend itself with or without Davis. Its the Oline that we will be dancing with the most come March 11^th.

[backshoulderfade]

Vontae for sure. He is a big, physical press man corner. All the other corners on the market dont have the size of Vontae. As someone said before, Byrd is a luxury.

[Colts_Fan12]

Don't get this Byrd is a luxury thing. He's a FS we didn't even have a FS all last season. Bethea and Landry are both SS. So IMO FS is a HUGE need.

[James]

Safety is more important, and in addition Byrd is the better player.

If the Seahawks had to choose between Earl Thomas and Richard Shermen, they'd choose Earl Thomas.

[UKColt13]

Vontae. No doubt. It is easier to find a better safety in Bethea in the draft than it is to find someone with Davis's attributes and size, especially where we are picking.

[throwing BBZ]

Byrd in a heartbeat.
An excellent single deep FS is a rarity.

[Drewbacca]

CB's are worth more, so that means Davis is #1 priority for us since we do not have a replacement in-house or really on the market that fits our man-to-man scheme.

[Bulldog Colt]

Byrd, especially since all signs point to win now you need the biggest difference maker you can get. There are a few other decent options if Davis walks not so much with safety. Byrd will help make up for avg corners.

[Dark Superman]

We could still afford to sign them both.. And a quality DE.. And maybe a center.. But that's wishful thinking.. Patience.

[canadiancolt1298]

id sign byrd and shields shields has the ability to shut down receivers was only good corner GB had or has  

[bavanlan]

In our defense, CB is much more important than S.  It's not even close.

[Yoshinator]

You sign Byrd. Byrd is the best FA this year and he fills a big gaping hole where there are no other decent options available at Safety. There are plenty of CB's available for cheaper in FA and in the draft. We take the best player at any position at Byrd, and fill the CB with a guy that's close to Davis' production like a Verner or Shields or even get Baptiste in the draft. Byrd is a must though.

[Hamster360]

Personally I'd rather have Byrd than Davis. There are a lot of good CB out there this year, and hardly any good FS. Take byrd, then go get Shields and draft Tolers replacement. Thurmond would be a cheap option too.

[Manning1887]

Neither. I don't feel that either player is worth that kind of money.

 

I would rather put the money towards Alterraun Verner, who I believe is much better than Davis (much more consistent). Verner excels in man coverage and is tough (for any size).

 

Vontae Davis is absolutely not worth $9 million+ per season. If some team out there wants to waste that kind of money on him, they will regret it, and I think Davis will ultimately regret leaving Indy.

 

I am not as high on Byrd as most of the people who post on here. He is clearly one of the better free safeties in the NFL, but I just don't feel that you need an elite free safety to win.

[James]

Byrd all the way