The Saints still have four restricted free agents that do not have signed contracts with the team. While Lance Moore and Roman Harper haven’t let that prevent them from coming to OTAs, Pierre Thomas and Jammal Brown have elected not to participate as they hold out for contracts. Before anyone panics, we all know that a long term extension is coming for Thomas. My guess is that his extension is Mickey Loomis’ offseason priority at this point, so I expect something to get done in the not too distant future. I am a little surprised PT decided to skip these practices, though, because I was under the impression he wasn’t going to put up much distraction while his contract was worked out. Perhaps they’ve come to a sticking point in negotiations and his agent advised him to change his approach to help things along? Long term deals for running backs are always the toughest to negotiate, because the back feels like they’re a playmaking contributor that deserves a hefty sum, and the team fears investing too much long term in a position that is so vulnerable to injury. I think most running backs realize their durability is less assured than some positions, so that adds to the issue as they want to get paid while they’re healthy.
As we’ve discussed ad nauseam about Jammal Brown, there’s still no telling where that is going. With the Saints trusting Jermon Bushrod and Zach Strief, and with them drafting Charles Brown, they don’t need to invest longterm in Jammal. Based on his latest injury he does not have much of a bargaining chip. I still think he could get traded, but you can’t trade a player with no contract. I could speculate about how that situation will resolve itself, but the reality is neither I nor anyone else (possibly including the Saints’ front office) have any idea.
Good to see Roman and Lance getting their practice in regardless of the lack of movement in their long term deals. I’m sure they’ll get their deals locked down, too, soon enough.
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