Should the Colts part ways with Bob Sanders?

With Bob Sanders being placed on the IR again this year, it seems that Bill Polian and Jim Caldwell will have a major decision to make in the off-season.

While Sanders may be the former NFL Defensive Player of the Year, he misses almost as many games as he plays, and there’s no indication that he will be any healthier in the future.

Make no mistake, when healthy, Sanders is the best run support safety in the league. He is not nearly as good in coverage as Troy Polamalu or Ed Reed, but his ferocious hits and ability to knife through the defense have made him a fan favorite in Indianapolis.

I believe that the Colts need to sit Sanders down in the off-season and ask him to either take a pay cut, trade him or release him. He has the talent to be a difference maker, but is playing just over 50% of the Colts games. That’s not enough for the highest paid safety in the league.

Sanders cap hit to the Colts was $8.7 million in 2008 and will only be higher this year and next. That is the largest cap number in the league for a safety. The next highest is Polamalu with $6.8 million and he is a much more complete safety than Sanders. His replacement, Melvin Bullitt has played very well in his spot, and only represents a cap hit of $377,000.

As you can see in the table above, Sanders does not provide that many more big plays than Bullitt per game. Big plays are defined as interceptions, sacks and forced fumbles. He may have more tackles, but Bullitt hasn’t even started half the games he’s played in to this point.

For a team like the Colts that already have a top-heavy cap situation, they can’t afford to committ that kind of money to a part-time player. $8.7M will buy a Pro Bowl linebacker and a good nickel corner, both of which are badly needed by the Colts defense.

I hope Sanders realizes the situation he’s put the team in, and takes a pay cut to stay. I’d like to keep wearing my Sanders jersey, even if I’ll never have those biceps.