Safeties

[phil413]

I mentioned my stance on Iloka (tagged) and Nelson (signed if reasonable) with the first response to the OP. The thing I should have brought up was the secondary in general. Of coarse Mikey doesn't want to match an overpayment or give significant guaranteed money in Reggie's twilight years, but I wonder if "continuity" gets a few extra bucks. These two positions are literal safety nets behind the corners and the rest of the defense, and the corners are still sort of questionable. Dre is in his final year, Dennard is coming off an injury, Shaw is a young tweener, plus Pacman and Hall are FAs. Corner is a big money position, so if they upgrade or replace the corners it may be with a draft pick before a free agent. That may be even more reason to pay an extra couple mil total on a 3 year deal to match a Nelson deal. If experience and experience in the system specifically is reason enough to hire an OC or pass on a theoretical trade, then it may be enough to make Nelson a bigger priority than first believed.