Colts next decision is whether to keep David

 

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -By next Friday, Jason David will know whether he’ll spend the next four years in Indianapolis or New Orleans.
Either way, he’ll be a rich, happy man. David signed a four-year offer sheet with New Orleans on Thursday, a deal agent Cary Fabrikant said would change David’s life.
“Right now, Jason is in a great situation,” Fabrikant said Friday. “The Colts could be in a great situation and the Saints are in the same situation.”
It all depends on what the Colts decide.
Indianapolis gambled by giving David, a starting cornerback on their Super Bowl championship team, a one-year tender of $850,000. It wasn’t enough to prevent the Saints from pursuing him.
Now the Colts have until Friday to decide whether to match the offer for David, a restricted free agent, or take a fourth-round draft pick from the Saints as compensation.
Fabrikant isn’t sure what the Colts will do, declining to give financial details. He also would not say whether the deal was structured in such a way that the Colts couldn’t match it because of their salary cap situation.
“I think any team could pretty much match any offer today, it’s just how bad they want to,” Fabrikant said in a phone interview from Florida, where David was playing in a charity golf tournament. “It’s always doable. In this situation, it is hard because the Colts have a big (cap) number.”
Fabrikant said that although David expected a higher tender, he isn’t upset with the team that made him a fourth-round draft choice in 2004.
“He loves the organization, he loves his Super Bowl ring and he loves all the guys on the team,” Fabrikant said. “But how can’t you listen if it’s a good deal?”
The potential departure of David could cause serious problems for the Colts, whose defense has already been shredded by free agency.
They lost former Pro Bowl linebacker Cato June to Tampa Bay and their other starting cornerback, Nick Harper, to division rival Tennessee. Backup safety Mike Doss, who lost his starting job last year to rookie Antoine Bethea, also has signed with Minnesota.
Defensive tackle Montae Reagor was released in a cost-cutting move and signed with Philadelphia after starting for 3 1/2 seasons in Indianapolis, and the Colts still haven’t made a move with former Pro Bowl defensive tackle Corey Simon. Simon sat out last year with an undisclosed illness.
Now the Colts must decide whether to keep David or enter next season with two new starting cornerbacks.
“He’s somebody who’s worked hard and now he’s getting the fruit of his labor,” Fabrikant said. “He’s every deserving of this.”