This episode, which is a bit late, sorry for that, we discuss what is up with free agency. What is going on in the Saints organisation and why the off season has gone the way it has gone so far… or should we say NOT gone at all?
Brian Bauer (@SaintBrian9)
I have to admit, when this off-season started I was a tad optimistic. Every year we start out under the cap, but Mickey always finds a way and suddenly we’re grabbing free agents (for better or for worse). The apathy of however the previous year turned out would always melt away when Loomis would magically transform half a million in cap space into 3-4 name free agents, and the positivity and promise of the next season would start building right then and there. I’m not saying it worked out, I’m saying the vibe was nice.
This year it’s a different vibe … one that feels worse by the day. When free agency opened, I surmised that Brees was seconds away from re-negotiating a team friendly deal that could make us players in a decent defensive market – at the very least, in line for one of the better guards available. Instead, as I type this, Brees situation is starting to look as ugly as it did four years ago.
The sides don’t seem remotely interested in solving the deadlock and with free agency waning, I’m not sure it matters (other than the ugly specter of next year). Meanwhile, Brees gets the Bernie Madoff treatment with this Advocare garbage, we sign a TE I hate (yes, I will mention that again) and any free agent we could have used is on another team. About the only thing that brought me back off the ledge was the Lauranitis signing, but fans seem a bit confused as to where he fits in.
Marijn Pessers (@Monedula_)
All you said is true, except that I did not see a Brees signing so fast. I had hopes but not real ones. I know some other Brian who would have jumped on the Lauranitis signing if he were in your position on the ledge of that tall building. Luckily for this blog he is not because he was very happy with Fleener. This kinda indicates what is going on here. Nobody has a clue. Disillusioned, after knowing 2009 and 2011 we could bounce back, to not be able to bounce back to a winning season, kinda tempered the feelings. People are cautious of what is happening. The signings are not what we want. Then again, even before free agency started, the guys that we all liked either went for lower deals to teams they wanted to go to (Long for only $2m to the Patriots) and we could not have gotten anyway, or went for ridiculous money to other teams. Those guys we don’ t even want for that kind of money.
So what is left? Nothing much. This years class is very thin I would say. No real good fit available that comes at a decent price like Lewis 2 years ago. If I have to look at it and what is happening in the Saints organisation I have mixed feelings.
On the one hand, they did sign Fleener for a lot of money. That might be to accommodate Brees. But I think it is rather Payton being fed up with having no TEs except for Watson. His system needs a good receiving TE and with Watson going, that meant he was like: “Let me have this one thing. I am still the boss.” On the other hand they have been really silent until a few days ago. They know they do not have the money. Brees is not willing to take a paycut as big as the Saints want. The prices for free agents are dropping by the day. Nobody is biting much anymore so the longer it takes the more likely a player will be ok to take less money. I feel this is Jeff Ireland looking at Payton like: “Oh no you don’t!” Brees his contract will settle at some point, but for now there is no need to re-sign Brees. There is no-one they want to sign now, and for Brees the same thing goes; the longer they wait the better the deal will be for the Saints. They will only pull the trigger when they have to to get a few free agents. But I could also see them eating the money now. Getting $10m and having no free agent to spend it on is just a waste.
Could I have a point here?
BB
You do, and I’ve thought about that. I actually quipped to Juge that the one thing I’m happy about is it’s probably prevented the Saints from going all in on some overpriced mess we’ll lament in 2 years. It makes a TON of sense just to take your medicine, however, the problem I have is by doing that we then roll into Brees’ final season. He plays this year like he did last year (and imagine if this year included playoffs) we’re going to have a big fat standoff just like we did in 2012. Only this time, it’s worse. His franchise number would be absolutely insane (a cap number in the 40s … yes, FORTIES), meaning the Saints might be in a position of having to let him test the market. That would be awful. QB is the most important position in football. Brock Osweiller got damn near $20M a year. Brees on the market, off another 4,000 yard, 28 TD season? Oh my. To me, eating that money this year, if that’s what happens, is a strong indicator that Brees has two years left on this football team, this and next.
Let me throw this out about Lauranitis … I like it. I suspect he becomes the middle linebacker/mic and they slide Anthony to weakside. That’s not a shot on Anthony, in fact, I suspect with the veteran in the middle he would actually have an even better year with that pressure off. Lauranitis is used to it and it’s a role he excels in. The whole thing very much has a Scott Fujita feel to it. Maybe that’s the optimism coming back, but it’s the one move they’ve made this off season that I like, old or not. If you’re going to have a team of largely young guys (and judging by what we need to draft, they’ll likely be even more), you need a veteran like this to call the shots and keep everyone on the same page.
By the way … why is everyone so mad about the Fairley possibility? He’s a bad guy, blah blah blah. How’s that team of 7-9 choir boys doing?
MP
Fairley… I have no idea who this guy is actually. He is not Suh, who I know by reputation, good and bad. The thing I hear about him is that he has character issues. That is exactly what the Saints are getting rid of. Galette, Stills (allegedly) and possibly Khiry were guys that had some question marks concerning their mental ability to be a general nice/good guy. They are now in cap hell because of Galette, and then they want to sign Galette 2? I think nobody else is a cancer like that. You need to keep him down. If he signs it will be a 1 year deal and the Saints can cut him easily if he is not to their liking. With that sword of Damocles hanging over him he hopefully behaves. Ideally you get Williams to sign again a 1 year deal and then look to draft his replacement late and redshirt/develop him in 2016 or draft high, or get a better free agent next year for that position.
Talking about the draft and getting back to what I was saying earlier; the Saints are not hosting many FA guys. Instead, knowing they had a “bye” for a few days of crazy FA money, they spent lots of time in depth scouting and talking/studying guys from big schools. They even hosted Shaq (as did 5 other teams). I think that guy has a decent chance to be there at 12 and if he is they will take him, all though with Saints luck and history, he will be taken at position 11. Luckily not by a division rival this time. If that happens I am now confident the Saints do know who they want and I think they will try and shop the 12th pick and trade down, get an extra 2nd round and draft 3 times in the first 2 rounds. Those people should be contributors and on this young team possibly start at the end of the year. So like an alligator they are laying low and waiting in the water, testing the water, till something interesting goes by and grab it when they can. They spend their time really well. Lets just hope this off season Brees and the alligator make up rather then Brees killing the alligator again.
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