CB Brent Grimes Expected To Leave Falcons In Free Agency

According to a report from Pro Football Weekly, the Falcons are preparing to move on from CB Brent “Grimetime” Grimes, when he hits unrestricted free agency in March. According to the report, The Falcons feel that they may be priced out of the market for Grimes and with 17 other free agents upcoming this year, they may be better off spending the money elsewhere.

Another potential issue that has emerged in this report, is that most Falcons were surprised when Grimes elected not to play against the Giants in the playoff game, as he seemed set to play throughout the week.

Now, I’m not sure how true this report actually is, but i think it would be a terrible mistake to let Brent Grimes go. I realize that the Falcons are looking to switch to a more aggressive scheme, where more pressure is placed on the corners to cover in man coverage and on paper you could say his smaller size could be a potential issue.

Follow the jump for more analysis of this news..

Despite his size though, he is still by far our best corner in man coverage and and at 28 years old he still has many good years left in him. His value to the team was shown very clearly the last few weeks of the season, when he was absent through injury and the level of play in the secondary dropped significantly. Up till that point in the season, Grimes was playing at a pro bowl level again and I can’t see how we doesn’t fit into our future thinking, regardless of who the defensive coordinator is and what scheme we run. For more on our defensive coordinator search, check out Greg’s latest column.

While Grimes will want top dollar and he flat out deserves it,we should be the ones giving it to him. He has worked his way up the hard way as an UDFA and also playing in NFL Europe for a time and has not had the opportunity thus far to make big money. This is his best opportunity and I can’t blame him leaving if the Falcons aren’t willing to give him the payday he deserves.

So what do the Falcons do if Grimes actually does leave? That is a big question!

Tomorrow, I will look at the Falcons current corner situation and hand out some grades based on this seasons performances. I will also look at the impact the new DC could have on the Falcons current crop of corners.

Going through all that i hope, I will have an encouraging answer to give you all, if Grimes does in fact leave in March.

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