New Orleans SAINTS official thread 2016-17

[treeduck]

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[treeduck]

Saints cut Jahri Evans

 

Posted by Zac Jackson on February 8, 2016, 4:59 PM EST

 

The Saints released six-time Pro Bowl guard Jahri Evans Monday.

 

Evans was due $3 million if he was still on the roster on Wednesday. He was set to make $4.9 million in 2016.

 

Evans, 32, has been with the Saints since 2006 and started all 153 games he played. He took a pay cut after the 2014 season, his sixth straight Pro Bowl season. He started 11 games in 2015.

 

Evans joins Riley Cooper and William Moore as notable cuts on the first day teams can make roster transactions. The Saints also cut wide receiver Seantavius Jones, linebacker David Hawthorne and linebacker Ramon Humber.

[Lorraine]

Here's hoping this SAINTS thread gets as much traffic as some of your others! :)

[lerxt1990]

http://memecrunch.com/meme/P9A4/drew-brees-ring/image.png

 

That's be the Eagles ringtone too. :(

 

[laughedatbytime]

http://memecrunch.com/meme/P9A4/drew-brees-ring/image.png

 

That's be the Eagles ringtone too. :(

 

Now that Riley Cooper is gone and they're looking at bringing Foles back, happy days are close at hand.

[treeduck]

http://memecrunch.com/meme/P9A4/drew-brees-ring/image.png

 

That's be the Eagles ringtone too. :(

 

Now that Riley Cooper is gone and they're looking at bringing Foles back, happy days are close at hand.

Maybe if Chip can get himself fired from the 49ers like Ron Jeremy did they can get the band back together.

[treeduck]

Here's hoping this SAINTS thread gets as much traffic as some of your others! :)

I don't know what they see in these threads!

[Lorraine]

Here's hoping this SAINTS thread gets as much traffic as some of your others! :)

I don't know what they see in these threads!

Treeduck, your name alone on threads pulls in a cast of thousands! :)

[treeduck]

Here's hoping this SAINTS thread gets as much traffic as some of your others! :)

I don't know what they see in these threads!

Treeduck, your name alone on threads pulls in a cast of thousands! :)

Well there's nobody on here today!

[troutman]

Here's hoping this SAINTS thread gets as much traffic as some of your others! :)

I don't know what they see in these threads!

Treeduck, your name alone on threads pulls in a cast of thousands! :)

Well there's nobody on here today!

 

And for good reason.

[treeduck]

Here's hoping this SAINTS thread gets as much traffic as some of your others! :)

I don't know what they see in these threads!

Treeduck, your name alone on threads pulls in a cast of thousands! :)

Well there's nobody on here today!

 

And for good reason.

You love it in here! :nya nya:

[Lorraine]

Here's hoping this SAINTS thread gets as much traffic as some of your others! :)

I don't know what they see in these threads!

Treeduck, your name alone on threads pulls in a cast of thousands! :)

Well there's nobody on here today!

:o What am I, chopped liver? :hi:

 

And Troutman dropped in to pay a visit too. :)

 

The others sneak a peak when you're not looking.

[troutman]

Here's hoping this SAINTS thread gets as much traffic as some of your others! :)

I don't know what they see in these threads!

Treeduck, your name alone on threads pulls in a cast of thousands! :)

Well there's nobody on here today!

:o What am I, chopped liver? :hi:

 

And Troutman dropped in to pay a visit too. :)

 

The others sneak a peak when you're not looking.

 

Well,

 

We all need a good laugh now and then. :D

[treeduck]

Here's hoping this SAINTS thread gets as much traffic as some of your others! :)

I don't know what they see in these threads!

Treeduck, your name alone on threads pulls in a cast of thousands! :)

Well there's nobody on here today!

:o What am I, chopped liver? :hi:

 

And Troutman dropped in to pay a visit too. :)

 

The others sneak a peak when you're not looking.

Hello Mrs Chopped Liver!! :hi:

[treeduck]

New Orleans Saints LB Dannell Ellerbe restructures contract, source says

 

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New Orleans Saints weakside linebacker Dannell Ellerbe has restructured his contract, according to a source.

 

The terms of the restructure are unknown.

 

The Saints had to move quickly on Ellerbe. According to CBS Sports, Ellerbe had clauses built into his contract that would guarantee his original $4.1 million base salary for 2016 if he remained on the roster by Wednesday, the third day of the waiver period. He was also due a $1 million roster bonus.

 

While the details of the new contract are not yet known, Ellerbe originally signed a three-year deal with the Saints after being traded from the Dolphins last offseason. He was originally set to count $5.9 million against the cap in 2016, with a base salary of $4.1 million.

 

While Ellerbe was a key part of the Saints defense when healthy, he played in only six games for the Saints this season due to multiple injuries that lingered throughout the year. Ellerbe has played in only seven games in the last two seasons, dating back to his time with the Dolphins. He has never played a 16-game season.

 

Ellerbe's injury history combined with the Saints tight salary cap squeeze made him a potential cap casualty or candidate for restructuring. A more team friendly contract likely guarantees his spot on the roster this upcoming season.

 

Even with Ellerbe's return, it's likely the Saints will take look at linebackers in free agency or the draft. The team released linebackers David Hawthorne and Ramon Humber on Monday, getting thinner at a position that was already sparse last season.

[treeduck]

How much is Drew Brees worth? Sizing up a potential extension with Saints

 

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Four years ago, Drew Brees' lucrative new contract with the New Orleans Saints helped fuel a robust market for NFL quarterbacks, many of whom have cashed in with big deals of their own in the years since.

 

But as Brees and the Saints prepare for a return to the negotiating table in the coming weeks, pegging a "market price" for an elite quarterback isn't as easy as it sounds.

 

For one, top quarterbacks almost never hit the open market. Most free-agent quarterbacks are backups, journeymen or former starters looking for a second chance.

 

Average salaries are further skewed by the younger quarterbacks who came into the NFL under the new collective bargaining agreement that drastically reduced rookie contracts.

 

There are a few quarterbacks who are fairly similar to Brees -- in age, performance and meaning to their franchise -- but even those comparisons have their quirks.

 

Don't expect Brees' agent to spend much time talking about New England's Tom Brady, who signed a three-year extension in 2013 that was well below market value. (The deal has since been amended to make it even more team-friendly.)

 

Other comparisons -- like recent contracts signed by Eli Manning and Philip Rivers -- might be more favorable to Brees, but involve players a few years younger.

 

QUARTERBACK CONTRACT PATHS

 

We looked at the contracts for other NFL quarterbacks to get a better sense of the market as Drew Brees and the Saints pursue the possibility of an extension in the weeks to come.

 

We reviewed the contracts of all 32 starting quarterbacks in the NFL, trying to get a sense of where Brees' new contract might fit.

 

Most notably, only four quarterbacks signed their current deals as true free agents. The most highly paid in that group -- Cleveland's Josh McCown and Houston's Brian Hoyer -- average about $5 million a year. (Ryan Fitzpatrick of the New York Jets and Buffalo's Tyrod Taylor are the other two).

 

The other 28 quarterbacks fall into one of four chronological categories:

 

Step 1: Original rookie contracts (8 quarterbacks)

 

Who: Jameis Winston (Buccaneers); Andrew Luck (Colts); Blake Bortles (Jaguars); Teddy Bridgewater (Vikings); Derek Carr (Raiders); Sam Bradford (Eagles); and Kirk Cousins (Redskins)

 

What it means: If you were drafted before the new collective bargaining agreement, you could cash in with a huge deal (see, Bradford's $50 million in guarantees when he signed with the Rams). Nowadays, rookie contracts are modest, meaning teams that find a starter can enjoy bargains for at least four years.

 

Step 2: Extension after rookie deal (9 quarterbacks)

 

Who: Cam Newton (Panthers); Joe Flacco (Ravens); Matt Ryan (Falcons); Andy Dalton (Bengals); Matthew Stafford (Lions); Ryan Tannehill (Dolphins); Colin Kaepernick (49ers); Russell Wilson (Seahawks); and Nick Foles (Rams).

 

What it means: Free agency must seem like a myth to most drafted quarterbacks who earn a starting job. If they show even the slightest signs of being a franchise quarterback, they're not going anywhere.

 

Step 3: Mega-extension (7 quarterbacks)

 

Who: Aaron Rodgers (Packers); Eli Manning (Giants); Jay Cutler (Bears); Tony Romo (Cowboys); Ben Roethlisberger (Steelers); Philip Rivers (Chargers); and Drew Brees (Saints).

 

What it means: This is typically the third contract of a quarterback's career and if they make it this far, it likely means they're a proven veteran and face of the franchise.

 

Step 4: Late-career deals (4 quarterbacks)

 

Who: Carson Palmer (Cardinals); Peyton Manning (Broncos); Alex Smith (Chiefs); and Tom Brady (Patriots).

 

What it means: This is either the final contract signed in an accomplished career (Manning and Brady) or the result of a career revival by a veteran who has been a free agent (Smith) or traded (Palmer).

 

BOTH SIDES DOING HOMEWORK

 

Brees' next contract will likely fall into that fourth category of top-level but aging quarterbacks on their fourth major contract. But if his agent is successful, it might look more like the more lucrative deals in Step 3.

 

Hashing out the details will be two sides who can summon binders worth of data to support their arguments.

 

NFL front offices have databases of contracts that they can quickly and easily compare. Saints general manager Mickey Loomis will likely assign a top executive like Khai Harley to research and assist in negotiations with the team's top player.

 

"Do we know what the contracts are around the league? Absolutely. We know what the precedent is for different teams and different positions," Loomis said last month. "It has nothing to do with Drew specifically. But we have access to it, so we study it."

 

 

Brees' camp will do its homework, too.

 

Nashville-based agent Tom Condon, a former NFL offensive lineman and NFLPA president, leads the football division of Creative Artists, perhaps the most dominant agency in pro sports.

 

Four years ago, neither side blinked until just before training camp.

 

In 2016, the artificial deadline is March 9, when the new league year begins and teams must be under the 2016 salary cap.

 

Brees is signed through 2016, and there's no reason he couldn't sign an extension after March 9, but much of the urgency is driven by the salary cap and the flexibility the Saints could gain by extending Brees' deal now.

 

AT THE NEGOTIATING TABLE

 

If the Saints want to appeal to Brees' sentiment, they'll cite Tom Brady. Over and over again.

 

A future Hall-of-Famer at the end of his career, Brady accepted an extension with less money to give the Patriots flexibility to sign a better supporting cast. A "hometown discount" is hardly unprecedented in professional sports, but the extent to which Brady has gone to accommodate the Patriots was shocking even to rival team executives.

 

Because Brady's deal was so anomalous, Condon and Brees might argue that it doesn't make sense to use it as a comparison.

 

Condon might cite Peyton Manning, Tony Romo and perhaps even Eli Manning (all his clients, by the way) as better comparisons. All three players are slated to earn top-level money well into their late 30s.

 

MEETING IN THE MIDDLE

 

Brees said last week that negotiations on a new deal have yet to begin. He also promised that when they start, he'll keep details quiet until an announcement is ready to be made.

 

Both sides, of course, can walk away from the table at any time, as Brees is under contract through 2016.

 

Both sides also have leverage.

 

Brees will make $20 million in 2016, but the Saints are on the hook for another $10 in previously paid bonuses, making his cap charge a league-high $30 million.

 

The Saints could do nothing, of course, and let Brees play out the final year of his contract, but that would leave them with a crippling cap charge for 2016 and uncertainty for 2017, when Brees would be a free agent.

 

Free agency could be a cash cow for Brees, but it also carries risk of injury or an age-related decline that would affect his value. That's why an extension is in his best interest too, and why a deal is likely to get done.

 

It's hard to imagine Brees' camp seeking anything lower than $20 million a year, his current rate, even if the Saints try to argue for something more modest. But compromises on a few million dollars are easy.

 

The length and structure of the deal is more difficult.

 

The Saints might be more comfortable with a two-year extension. If they agreed to a three-year extension, which would run through 2019, they'd probably ask for a reasonable exit strategy in the final year.

 

Like any good agent, Condon will try to get as much guaranteed, concrete money as possible. The Saints might have to be creative in that regard. After all, converting some of Brees' current salary into a bonus is one of the reasons an extension was imperative in the first place.

 

Four years ago, Brees set a new benchmark for elite quarterbacks. In a few weeks, he could do the same for quarterbacks approaching their 40th birthday.

 

"I feel like there's nothing I can't do now that I couldn't do 10, 15 years ago," Brees said. "As long as I'm having fun, can stay healthy, and can play at a high level, I'm going to play as long as I can."

 

Edited February 10, 2016 by treeduck

[treeduck]

Brees picks up more leverage, sort of

 

Posted by Mike Florio on February 11, 2016, 4:57 AM EST

 

The news that more than half of Drew Brees‘ salary for 2016 became fully guaranteed on Wednesday wasn’t news. From the time the five-year deal was signed and filed, it was known that more than half of the base salary in the out years of the contract would become fully guaranteed on the third day of the waiver period.

 

The fact that the Saints neither cut Brees nor restructured the deal before Wednesday gives Brees extra leverage. If they cut him at this point, the Saints will take a $20.85 million cap charge for 2016. If the contract has offset language, however, the extra $10.85 million that vested on Wednesday would disappear if he were cut and then signed by a new team for that much money, which undoubtedly would happen. (If there’s no offset language for the 2016 salary, there’s no way the Saints would cut him at this point.)

 

Here’s one last point on Wednesday’s trigger. It’s accepted in league circles that a vesting date tied to the waiver period in February is used not to give the team a chance to cut a player, but for funding purposes. If the team wants to retain the ability to cut the player, the vesting date is tied to the start of the league year in March. When teams cut players before a vesting date tied to the waiver period in February, it’s viewed by agents as a major breach of etiquette, making it harder to get agents to agree to use that device in future deal.

 

As of March 9, Brees hits the books for $30 million in 2016, which will make it very difficult for the Saints to put a competitive team around him. The only way to reduce the number will be to extend the contract — unless Brees unilaterally decides to take less cash in 2016.

 

Putting a value on an extension becomes the challenge. In 2012, Brees parlayed significant leverage into a then-record contract worth $20 million per year. How much will he want per year at age 37? Another $20 million per year? Or will he want to get back to the top of the market, where Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers currently is making $22 million per year?

 

However it works out, an extension would allow the Saints to convert a huge chunk of the $19.75 million base salary into a signing bonus, spreading it over multiple years and reducing the cap number significantly for 2016. Apart from the raw numbers of an extension, the structure of a new contract will say plenty about the duration of the team’s commitment to Brees.

 

 

 

 

[treeduck]

Jahri Evans refused pay cut, plans to play this year

 

Posted by Darin Gantt on February 11, 2016, 4:22 PM EST

 

Before they cut him last week, the Saints offered to let veteran guard Jahri Evans hang around, as long as he took less money.

 

Agent Jerrold Colton told WIP Radio that the Saints offered Evans a reduced salary, after doing the same thing a year ago.

 

“The Saints came to us for the second year in a row about doing a little contract adjustment and pay cut this year,” Colton said, via Evan Woodberry of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. “We weren’t going to do it again.

 

“He’s healthy and hungry and looking forward to the next chapter of his career.”

 

The Saints saved $3.1 million by cutting the 10-year veteran, and had to do it when they did because $2 million of his salary would have become guaranteed this week.

[treeduck]

No offset language in Brees guaranteed salary

 

Posted by Mike Florio on February 11, 2016, 5:04 PM EST

 

The Saints definitely will be keeping quarterback Drew Brees for 2016.

 

Wednesday’s non-news news that $10.85 million of his $19.75 million base salary had become fully guaranteed omitted a piece of new news that means Brees will not be going anywhere. Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the Brees deal has no offset language for 2016.

 

This means that, if the Saints were to cut Brees, he’d still get the full $10.85 million without reduction for any money earned elsewhere, meaning that the Saints would carry $20.85 million on the books for Brees in 2016, no matter what.

 

If the deal had offset language, the Saints could have moved on from Brees if the two sides failed to work out a new deal for 2016 and beyond, since someone else surely would have paid Brees that much for the coming season — and the Saints would have gotten a dollar-for-dollar credit for the guaranteed pay.

 

So as it now stands, Brees has maximum leverage. He can either proceed with a $19.75 million base salary and a $30 million cap number, or he can sign an extension that reduces the cap number in exchange for cash and other considerations beyond the current season.

[treeduck]

Sean Payton: Jahri Evans was an integral part of our success

 

Posted by Josh Alper on February 12, 2016, 3:50 PM EST

 

We’ve known for a few days that guard Jahri Evans won’t be back with the Saints in 2016, but the team didn’t officially announce his departure until Friday.

 

The statement about the release is headed with a message of thanks on the Saints website along with a list of Evans’ accomplishments while he was a member of the team. It also includes praise from General Manager Mickey Loomis, who said Evans was “one of the best guards” in the league over his time with the team, and coach Sean Payton.

 

“Jahri has been a fantastic player for our team and an integral part of our success over the last 10 years,” Payton said in the statement. “He’s one of the toughest and smartest players I have ever been around in coaching and that coupled with his unselfishness and dependability made him one of the most respected players in our locker room. When we arrived in 2006, he was a part of our first draft class, which became the foundation for our 2009 championship team.”

 

Evans’ agent says his client wouldn’t take a pay cut to remain with the team and is “healthy and hungry” to move on to another team for the 2016 season.

 

In addition to formalizing the Evans move, the Saints announced the previously reported departures of linebacker David Hawthorne, linebacker Ramon Humber and wide receiver Seantavius Jones. They also announced that they have re-signed cornerback Tony Carter and fullback Austin Johnson. Both ended the season with the team, although Carter didn’t play after signing in December.

[treeduck]

Loomis confident a Brees extension will happen

 

Posted by Mike Florio on February 17, 2016, 5:56 AM EST

 

Saints quarterback Drew Brees has a $30 million cap number for 2016, and a ton of leverage when it comes to the strategies for reducing it. Saints G.M. Mickey Loomis is confident that, eventually, a new deal with a more palatable cap charge for the current year is coming.

 

“We want Drew to be our quarterback this year, next year and the foreseeable future,” Loomis said Tuesday, via Alex Marvez of FOX Sports. “I know he feels like he’s got more years left in him. I would say we feel that way as well.”

 

Loomis also said “it’s not mandatory” that a new deal be executed before the start of the new league year on March 9. Still, that’s the point when the $30 million cap number kicks in, resulting in roughly 20 percent of the total spending amount being allocated to one player.

 

“We’ll get that worked out in a way that helps our team and obviously fits in with what he wants to do,” Loomis said.

 

If Brees wants to play for a competitive team, he’ll need to work with the Saints. Or maybe, alternatively, his position will be that it’s not his job to manage the team’s cap, and that his only obligation is to get paid as much as he can while he can.

 

It’s the American way, really. But when it comes to America’s new pastime, fans don’t like it when players do what they have to do maximize earnings.

[treeduck]

Report: Cameron Jordan restructures deal with Saints

 

Posted by Josh Alper on February 17, 2016, 8:54 AM EST

 

Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis said this week that he hasn’t spoken to quarterback Drew Brees about an extension that would lower his $30 million cap charge, but continued to express confidence this week that the team will work things out in a “way that helps our team.”

 

While they wait to work out the Brees situation, the team has reportedly struck another deal to help clear cap space ahead of the new league year. Field Yates of ESPN.com reports that defensive end Cameron Jordan has agreed to restructure the deal he signed with the team last year.

 

Per Yates, a $6 million roster bonus that Jordan was set to receive this year has been transformed into a signing bonus. That creates $4.8 million in cap space this year and pushes $1.2 million in cap charges into the four remaining years on the deal.

 

Jordan has played every game for the Saints since joining the team in 2011 and is coming off a 45-tackle, 10-sack season in New Orleans.

[treeduck]

Sean Payton: Our structure is why I want to stay with Saints for rest of career

 

Posted by Josh Alper on February 19, 2016, 12:07 PM EST

 

 

When the offseason began in New Orleans, there was some question about whether the team might part ways with coach Sean Payton.

 

That didn’t wind up happening and it won’t happen until Payton’s ready to stop coaching the NFL altogether if he has his way. During an interview with ESPN, Payton said the only other place he could see himself coaching is for his son’s school team and said that the team’s “structure” is a big reason why he doesn’t find the grass greener elsewhere.

 

Payton said he thinks “more than half” the teams in the NFL are “dysfunctional” when it comes to how the coach, owner and General Manager work together and that’s not something he feels with Tom Benson and Mickey Loomis.

 

“The communication between that triangle of ownership, general manager and head coach,” Payton said, via the New Orleans Times-Picayune. “And I see each year things that take place and I think ‘man, we don’t have to worry about them.’ Now we might on that Sunday. But we don’t have to worry about them winning the whole thing. And that’s something that changes. It’s not a permanent thing for any team, nor is it permanent for us. We don’t take it for granted in any way. We’ve got to find a way to do a better job in personnel. We’ve got to find a way to get north of this 7-9 season we just had. I don’t take that triangle for granted at all because, man, what would be more frustrating than coaching somewhere where you had no chance?”

 

The point about needing to do a better job in personnel is the one that could be the biggest stumbling block to Payton realizing his goal. The Saints have missed the playoffs two years running and much longer on that side of the fence isn’t going to speak well of the structure that’s currently in place in New Orleans even if things run more smoothly than they do for other teams.

[treeduck]

Report: Saints expected to release Marques Colston

 

Posted by Josh Alper on February 23, 2016, 2:31 PM EST

 

Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis recently called wide receiver Brandon Coleman the “heir apparent” to Marques Colston in the Saints offense and it appears Coleman is going to get his chance to prove Loomis right pretty soon.

 

Mike Triplett of ESPN.com reports that the Saints are expected to release Colston “in the coming days.” The move would clear $3.2 million from the Saints’ salary cap, although there would be $2.7 million in dead money left behind.

 

That money left on the cap stood as a reason to think that the Saints might try to get Colston to stick around at a lower salary, but Colston’s 2015 season provided reason to move on. He caught 45 passes for 520 yards in 13 games and has gradually slipped away from being the dangerous target he was early in his Saints career.

 

Colston opened that career by catching at least 70 passes for more that 1,000 yards in six of his first seven seasons while adding 58 touchdown catches. He helped New Orleans win a Super Bowl along with guard Jahri Evans, who has already been released by the Saints as they move further away from the most successful days in franchise history.

[treeduck]

Tom Benson fires back at “ungrateful” heirs

 

Posted by Mike Florio on February 24, 2016, 8:25 PM EST

 

Saints owner Tom Benson scored another win in court on Wednesday against family members hoping to overturn Benson’s decision to change his will to bequeath ownership of the NFL team and the NBA’s Pelicans to his third wife, Gayle.

 

Via the New Orleans Times-Picayune, the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a judge’s ruling that Benson was mentally competent to alter his will. After the ruling, Tom Benson issued a statement that took aim at those in his family who sued him: his daughter, Renee Benson, and her children, Rita and Ryan LeBlanc.

 

“I am grateful that the 4th Circuit Court of Appeal has affirmed the ruling that was handed down in the Civil District Court by Judge Kern Reese in this case where my daughter and two grandchildren attempted to have me interdicted,” Benson said. “This continues to be a very sad and trying time for me and my wife Gayle. I am hopeful that the 4th Circuit’s Opinion today will end this litigation.

 

“Last week, I signed the documents to settle the Shirley Benson Trust in Texas – a trust that I established, managed and successfully grew for the benefit of my daughter and grandchildren over many years. That settlement had my complete consent and authorization as the assets in that trust were left to my daughter and grandchildren in my former wife’s will. I saw no further need to manage those assets for those who have demonstrated such ingratitude toward me over the course of the last year.

 

“I am hopeful one day soon that all of their ungratefulness will end and I can continue to enjoy my work with the Saints and Pelicans without further interference.”

 

That probably won’t be happening soon. Benson’s estranged heirs have the right to appeal the decision to the Louisiana Supreme Court. Via the Associated Press, Benson’s heirs recently filed paperwork with the Louisiana Supreme Court aimed at unsealing some of the court records from the case regarding Benson’s mental capacity.