Regardless of who is to blame for this, the reality is harsh. Drew Brees currently accounts for 19.4% of the Saints’s salary cap. That’s because he carries a $30 million hit against a $155 million cap in the final year of his enormous deal. Contracts are always backloaded and we have reached the end and most expensive part of an already big deal. Worse yet if you consider the dead money Junior Galette is taking up, the Saints have Brees and Galette combining for 27% of their allotted cap space in 2016. At least with Brees you’re getting a return, Galette is no longer on the team. To have almost 1/3 of your cap space attributed to a franchise quarterback and a player that is no longer on the team is crippling. It’s no wonder the team struggles so much to build the roster and depth at this point. There is nothing that can be done about the Galette problems, though, and they will go away in 2017. There is something that can be done about Brees – and sadly neither side seems to show any urgency to give the team what could be as much as $10 million in cap space.
Plainly, failure to alleviate the cap stresses prior to free agency is irresponsible on the Saints part. They are a 7-9 team in back to back seasons and not entering this period set up as well as possible financially proves, in my opinion, they are not serious about re-tooling the roster and rebuilding a historically bad defense. Don’t misunderstand me, the investments in C. J. Spiller, Brandon Browner and Jairus Byrd most recently left lessons to be learned. A lesson that clearly didn’t resonate when the Saints shelled out $7 million per season to Coby Fleener. This is beside the point – but Fleener is overpaid. I think we can all agree on that. I do like the player, though, and tight end is a need. You want to be in the business of adding good players, so I can live with this if he produces. Having cap space can make getting reckless tempting, admittedly. And that’s not what the Saints should be doing, especially given how much money has been given out to some of these players that will never live up to the money they are getting in this free agency period. That said, having space doesn’t mean you can’t be patient. Again, this is more about being prepared for the beginning of an important period – NFL Free Agency – and the Saints did not come in with their best foot forward. Why? Mostly because they have $30 million tied into Drew Brees in 2016, at least in terms of things they can currently control.
The Saints claim Brees is their guy in 2016 and beyond. Brees claims he wants to play until he’s 45 and wants to remain in New Orleans. So what’s the hold up? The posturing from Tom Condon nonchalantly saying: “I’m sure I’ll hear from Mickey Loomis in a couple weeks” as free agency is starting is alarming. Sean Payton teasing that a deal will get finalized easily and in short order, only for that not to happen, is alarming. Loomis saying “we don’t HAVE to tweak Drew’s deal” is possibly most alarming of all. Quite frankly, I don’t see urgency from anyone. This strategy almost makes it seem like this is a team ok treading water, or making little improvement in 2016. While this strategy would set them up to either “go for it” in 2017 with a new Brees deal and tons of cap room or “blow it up” by letting him go, it likely leaves them in a state of purgatory in 2016 either way. And with Brees 37 I’m not sure that’s what he had in mind, or what the fans had in mind.
Speaking of Brees, it really makes you wonder what his camp (I include Brees himself and agent Condon in that) is doing to alleviate the situation. Are they taking a “not my problem, pay me fairly” approach? It certainly seems that way. Brees is within his right to take that position. It’s not his fault the team made irresponsible moves with Byrd, Browner, Galette and others. At the same time, Brees has it within his power to make the team around him better. Right now the front 7 on defense and guard are major holes. From a success and longevity standpoint, he’d almost be stupid not to feel urgency to get a nice fat signing bonus (assuming it’s in the ballpark of what other top quarterbacks are making) and give his team the space to build around him. I’ll admit I’ve worried part of the hold up when it comes to negotiating with the Brees camp is the added agenda of setting precedence for the NFLPA. Brees is not just negotiating for himself, his family, or even his team (if he wanted to play ball). He’s negotiating for history and for the NFLPA. That’s a layer of complexity that the Tom Bradys and Joe Flaccos of the world don’t hold as dear. Unfortunately for the Saints and their cap status, that added layer perhaps makes for a more significant cog in the wheel.
We’re past the point of reaping real benefits from a new Drew Brees deal. At this point the ship has sailed for being properly armed to enter free agency. But it’s not too late to be in a position to bolster the roster in 2016. It starts with more cap space and that entails Brees and the Saints putting this to bed immediately. Some urgency would show they are desperate for immediate results while they still have a chance to win with an elite quarterback. Otherwise, I’m not convinced they are in that frame of mind at all and all sides are prepared for another season not making it into the postseason.
Put simply: Brees and Loomis have allowed Drew’s contract to stand in the way of the Saints’ 2016 success already. Soon it may be irreparable.
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