The Saints have now jumped in feet first into the cesspool that is the offseason fat trimming exercise. The roster victims this time around with voided contracts are tight end David Thomas, who had been a Saint for four seasons, and cornerback Johnny Patrick who had two years tenure. The move saves the Saints about $2 million in cap space, which leaves them around $13 million over by my calculations (which are admittedly probably off).
The Thomas cut suggests the Saints might actually be serious about getting a legitimate backup to Jimmy Graham this season, something they've been in desperate need of since Jeremy Shockey left. Tight end depth has been a major weakness on this roster the past two years and I was clammoring for the Saints to draft one last April, specifically Ladarius Green who was available to them in the 3rd round. Either way, Thomas spent almost all of 2011 concussed and didn't rebound to have a very good season in 2012, so I approve of this move entirely.
Johnny Patrick's cut makes tons of sense as well because he wasn't, well, any good. He struggled mightily this season and never really justified the 3rd round pick that was spent on him. Another colossal failure by the Saints scouting department, reaching on a defensive player with a high draft pick that couldn't cut it (no pun intended). This song and dance is becoming all too familiar and all the more frustrating. I approve of the cut, but it does make me a little bitter and sad that the Saints just can't seem to get it right with their defensive draft picks.
That said, both guys are high character and they were good people to have on the team. I wish them the best and hope they catch on elsewhere.
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