Chris Hope is an unrestricted free agent. He's young. He hits hard. He's still learning. He shouldn't command a royal payday. Those are his good attributes. On the other side of the coin - he misses some tackles, he hits too high and gets carried and he just won the Super Bowl. Ask around the league what the ring is worth on the free agent market. As much as I want this defensive backfield to stay together for consistency's sake, I do not want to simply outbid all comers for Hope. Hopefully Kevin Colbert has a number in his head that is fair and he won't deviate too far from it. When you look at this rationally, Hope is near the bottom rung on the 11 player defense's ladder. In no particular order, the other starters that are more important to the team on defense are Smith, Hampton, Kimo or Keisel on the other side, Porter, Farrior, Haggans, Polamalu and Taylor. That leaves Larry Foote, Hope and Townsend as the least important. I could very easily see Townsend getting replaced with McFadden or Coke next season. The way the Steelers draft and develope linebackers, Foote can also be replaced. Hope is interesting to say the least. I like him and I want him to stay, but if he gets a ridiculous offer, they can survive without him. Like I said earlier, Randle El can walk and we'll miss his versatility on gadget plays and punt returns - not on the starting 11. For the life of me, I can't think of one reason why we would miss Chris Hope if he left. Sign him - just don't go crazy with the zero's.
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