It's that time of year and we're fast approaching free agency, so we'll take a look at every group of positions going into free agency and the draft. Right now the quarterback position remains stable with Drew Brees still in his prime, under a long term contract, and consistently durable. Brees has not missed one start except for a meaningless week 17 game prior to the playoffs since 2006. Not only is he ridiculously good, but he takes ridiculously good care of his body which puts less stress on the Saints to invest in a meaningful backup.
Currently on the roster: Drew Brees, Ryan Griffin
Free Agent: Luke McCown
The big question…
is whether the Saints will bring back McCown or not. The Saints need all the cap room they can find and a vet's minimum for McCown would cost about 955k. An undrafted rookie like Griffin, by contrast, costs about half at 495k per season. The Saints want Griffin to win the backup battle, but they're not just going to give it to him. Still, it's no accident the Saints brought in former Tulane quarterbacks coach Mike Neu to replace Joe Lombardi (now the Lions' offensive coordinator) as the Saints' quarterbacks coach. Not only is Neu familiar with the offense as Tulane runs a very similar one with Curtis Johnson as the head coach, Neu also worked very closely with Griffin at Tulane his senior season. I think the Saints made that move in part to keep Griffin comfortable and ensure his development. I know Sean Payton likes his potential very much and he'd like to see him develop into a possible starter for the Saints one day.
The Saints aren't going into camp with two quarterbacks, though, so the question is who will compete with Griffin for the backup job? I still think McCown makes a lot of sense if the money will work out. The Saints like him a lot, he's got a strong arm, and he showed very good command and understanding of the offense last preseason. It will be a tall order for Griffin to outperform McCown and that should prove to be a great battle. Alternatively the Saints could go the cheaper route and bring in a couple undrafted rookie free agents to compete (or maybe a low draft pick). In that scenario Griffin would have a major leg up having a year in the system and having a previous relationship in college with the team's new quarterback coach.
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