Portis on NFLN "Want's to play for Shanny"

[Beneil (diehard since 87)]

Originally Posted by dgack

It was a good thing the Saints won the Super Bowl.. According to Shefter, over half the players on the team are up for new contracts this offseason. 18 RFA's and 11 UFA's, plus they are certain to extend Brees with a long term deal. So they can't pay everyone.

Which means they are probably going to get cherry picked.

Put our points together. A handfull of Saints are probably gonna want more money. Brees no doubt deserves it, but so does Brady. Brees may pull a Brady and NOT ask for a ton of money to ensure the team's longevity as a contender by freeing money for a great supporting cast.

Bell is gonna be a free agent. Now i seriosly doubt they will try harder to keep Bell than keep Pierre Thomas. Statisticly he's just barely above everyone else. He's been as important as Reggie Bush. If they keep Bush and Thomas, Bell can be replaced cheaply from within, thus a more likely option for other teams... unless he wants to leave. I bet Bell is out and Thomas will stay. But there really isn't any telling.

[dgack]

Originally Posted by Beneil (diehard since 87)

Put our points together. A handfull of Saints are probably gonna want more money. Brees no doubt deserves it, but so does Brady. Brees may pull a Brady and NOT ask for a ton of money to ensure the team's longevity as a contender by freeing money for a great supporting cast.

Bell is gonna be a free agent. Now i seriosly doubt they will try harder to keep Bell than keep Pierre Thomas. Statisticly he's just barely above everyone else. He's been as important as Reggie Bush. If they keep Bush and Thomas, Bell can be replaced cheaply from within, thus a more likely option for other teams... unless he wants to leave. I bet Bell is out and Thomas will stay. But there really isn't any telling.

Yeah, and who knows what the price tag for some of those defenders is going to be. There are two O-Linemen (Bushrod and Brown) that are going to be RFA's and every other team in the league that values upright QB's tend to spend well on their lines, so we'll see which way they go.

Most people believe Reggie Bush is gone because he's due to make $20mil over the next two years, and while he has bona fide game-changing skills, is he worth that kind of dough by default? I don't see it. (And surely, neither do the Saints). But maybe they keep Reggie and Pierre and resign Brees, leaving one or both of their RFA OT's vulnerable?