Richard Marshall: Pursue or No?

Richard is a 25 year old restricted free agent. Carolina tapped him with a second round tender. He started 14 games also seeing action at nickel in his first 3 years and took over as a full time starting corner in 2009, registering 88 tackles and 4 interceptions. From what I've seen, he's a pretty good cover guy. He's not very big, but he is physical, has good ball skills, and hits hard.


Rotoworld has good things to say about him:

The Panthers have extended a restricted free agent tender of just the second-round variety to CB Richard Marshall.
Either Carolina is just being cheap or it saw something bad from Marshall in 2009 that we didn't. As a starting corner one one of the league's top pass defenses, Marshall picked off four passes, recovered two fumbles, and has always been a big tackler. The 25-year-old is likely to draw interest.

There's a lot to like here. He's only 25 and has a lot of playing experience. He started 16 games for the league's 4th ranked pass defense.

Looking at Pro Football Focus, there are some things I don't like. He gave up the ninth most receptions in the league and allowed two-thirds of the balls thrown at him to be completed. One thing to note, though, is the average was low, 10 per catch, which is better than guys like Revis, Asomugha, and Woodson. He's not getting beaten deep, and he's tackling well, which are good signs for a defense that puts a ton of pressure on corners.

The price might be a bit high. Again, 25 years old with experience hitting the market. The Jets not only have to beat other teams for him, they have to make sure Carolina wouldn't match the offer. Then they'd have to give up a second round pick. Marshall's a good player. He'd make a nice tandem with Revis, but I tend to think there will be more economical options. I wouldn't be distraught to see him in green and white, though.

I vote do not pursue.

How do you vote?