The Saints will be returning two quarterbacks under contract for 2016 as of today. That would be Drew Brees and 2015 3rd round draft pick Garrett Grayson. The veterans who were on the Saints’ roster this year in Luke McCown and Matt Flynn are both set to enter free agency, though one or both could easily re-sign. For the sake of this post, let us assume Drew Brees will be the Saints’ quarterback in 2016. We’ll take Sean Payton and Mickey Loomis at their word that he’s coming back, while hopefully tweaking his contract to bring down the massive $30 million cap hit. I fully believe that’s what’s going to happen. With that said, he just turned 37 and he just missed the first start of his career with the Saints in 2015 due to injury. It’s safe to say he battled his body breaking down more in 2015 than ever before, save the big shoulder injury prior to the Saints signing him. Part of that was due to him taking more hits, but at 37 that’s not a sustainable model. For that reason, backup quarterback is more important to the Saints than ever. So who will be waiting in the wings should disaster strike?
First off, kudos to Brian Pavek for evaluating what each of these players did for the Saints in 2015. It helps paint the picture of where they are currently. But what happens in 2016 based on what we’ve seen so far, and what the future could possibly hold?
McCown is the most intriguing situation of them all. In his lone start and his fake field goal pass, he was excellent. He played so well it made me wonder if he could garner a contract for more than the minimum on the open market. I actually thought McCown played his way out of New Orleans, in some ways, based on how good he was. But then he had some freak back injury at practice that required immediate surgery and IR status. Where that leaves him is a huge enigma. Is he back in 2016? Does he retire? The injury must make him less appealing on the open market, so does that mean he’s destined for another minimum contract if he does return? If so, re-signing him is a no brainer. And assuming he comes back to the same form (which may be bold – I have no idea), it will be extremely difficult to unseat him as the Saints’ backup quarterback.
Flynn came in and seemed to do a good job learning the offense quickly. It was a little surprising he leaped Grayson on the depth chart. Surprising, and a little concerning. Flynn doesn’t seem like the type of guy that has any long term future with the Saints, but the odds of him being brought in for training camp regardless of what happens with McCown are high. If McCown retires, I would place it at a near certainty. The question is, could Flynn make this team again once the season starts?
Grayson is the biggest question mark. The Saints drafted him to learn from Brees and be a prospect that could potentially become the quarterback of the future. And while I wasn’t expecting anything from him in year one, it says a little that the Saints rushed to sign Flynn when McCown went down and Flynn immediately leapfrogged Grayson. It’s not like Flynn is a stud backup by any means… let’s remember he was available and looking for a job when McCown went down. It leads me to wonder if the Saints regret the pick. Maybe they don’t and it’s just a progressive thing. Payton has said they have a “good feel for where he’s at” – but that doesn’t necessarily mean good news. Hopefully Grayson makes a big jump from year one to year two. If he’s the lone backup behind Brees, we’ll know the Saints trust him and feel extremely confidence in his development. If he’s not, do the Saints keep 3 quarterbacks on their 53 man roster again? Or do they cut him, try to stash him on the practice squad, and hope he clears waivers? How he performs in camp/preseason will be very telling.
Lastly, there’s a question of whether the Saints would sign a new backup, or maybe draft another passer. There were reports linking Robert Griffin III and Sean Payton as a possible fit. Personally, I can’t see a scenario where that happens with Brees on the roster. The Saints aren’t going to pay a quarterback more than the minimum given that they’re already paying Grayson and Brees takes up so much cap space. RG3 will expect a starter’s salary, or at least a high priced backup. That said, I could see the Saints getting a different minimum vet if they don’t love Flynn and McCown doesn’t return. Drafting a quarterback feels much less likely, but if they do, then the writing is on the wall for Grayson.
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