Shocking news coming out of Saints camp today as the team cut defensive end Bobby McCray. The Saints also released Charles Grant this offseason, but they also added veterans Alex Brown and Jimmy Wilkerson. McCray struggled with a balky back for the majority of 2009, but he was responsible for knocking both Kurt Warner and Brett Favre silly in the playoffs. I guess this means Wilkerson is recovering from his injury better than the team expected, and Anthony Hargrove might see more snaps at end. The player that’s probably most beneficent of this news is veteran Jeff Charleston, because all of a sudden his chances of making the team received a huge boost. Apparently the Saints saved a $1.25 million roster bonus that was shortly due to McCray with the move to release him. Perhaps the Saints will use that money, and the cash they saved by trading Jammal Brown, to lock up Pierre Thomas, among others. The Saints have a sticky cap situation, remember, and they’ll have to make tough decisions like these to keep around the players they want to hold on to.
I’m sad to see McCray go. He was a fun pass rusher to watch, though he was a big of a one trick pony. He was a terrific role player in his first year with the Saints, but last year he regressed severely due to his back problems. Perhaps the Saints felt like he wasn’t making much progress. All the same, he’s no longer on the team and looking for a new NFL job effective today.
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