I know I’m likely in the minority on this one, but I actually like the fact that the Saints signed former Colts tight end Coby Fleener. I think it was a good move and a smart one. I know that many of you disagree with me on this though, Andrew Juge and Ralph Malbrough do for sure, and that’s totally fair. So before we get into any tactics, any of the hoopla about ‘potential’ and ‘risk’, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. The MONEY. Fleener signed a 5-year 36 million dollar contract yesterday and that has some members of the Saints fan base losing their MINDS. It isn’t really because they think its a bad signing or because Fleener can’t play (although we will get into his fit in a few minutes), but that the Saints who constantly stress the cap spent 36 million bucks on a tight end with a team desperately in need of defensive help.
Looking at the numbers:
But did they really? Nick Underhill of The Advocate gave us what look to be the details of Fleener’s contract here. (Also apologies to Nick for my twitter photo…don’t bet with Juge he’s cruel) If you look at the contract you will notice that pretty much all of the guarantees are gone after year 3. The Saints gave him a decent signing bonus, but really the bulk of Fleener’s guaranteed money will come in actual salary over the next two seasons (when the Saints have MUCH more room). Something all fans have to remember with the NFL is that it is nothing like the NBA or MLB where awful contracts are fully guaranteed and it’s hard to get rid of players. The NFL not only gets rid of players deals early, but it builds it right into the contracts. The Saints did NOT sign Fleener to a 5 year deal, they signed him to a 3 year contract at a good rate for an upper-mid tier tight end (who has strong upside). The Saints would face practically no penalty if they cut him after year 3, and by that time the penalties they are paying now for awful contracts like Galette’s will be gone.
The Saints are also making a very smart financial move here by making it a 5 year deal. This allows them to spread the contract out over greater time lessening the hit, while also getting a player whose a near perfect fit in their offense. Something else to remember while you are busy raging over him getting about 6.5 million a year…the cap is going to continue to rise EVERY single year. The longer Fleener’s contract goes for the less the penalty really is. And ALL of that is assuming he doesn’t live up to the contract and they don’t extend or restructure him down the road. So even if we assume the worst case scenario the real negative impact to the Saints here is minimal. But let’s look at it from the other side for a moment here…what is the potential benefit?
Looking at the field:
We know the money, and whatever your position on that the reality is the money is spent. The real question here is can Fleener help make this team better, because the reality is that if he produces the money is well spent no matter how much any of us want to complain about it. But why get Coby Fleener over say a player like Ladarious Green (assuming he was ever interested)? The answer to that for me at least is pretty simple, its fit, and beyond just fit its need. The Saints offense needs a player with Fleener’s skill set. Fleener is able to work the seems and be the 3rd down target and red zone threat that Ben Watson was last year, but with greater tools. But what he adds that Ben doesn’t ARE those tools.
Fleener is a 6’6″ player who ran a 4.51 40 yard dash (for reference Jimmy ran a 4.56) and who is a very polished route runner who understands zones and timing very well. Fleener doesn’t have elite athleticsm or explosiveness like a Graham, but he’s a very smooth player whose effectiveness stems from his technique as much as it does from his gifts. Fleener is much more like a Greg Olsen than a Jimmy Graham and that is what this offense needs. The lack of a player able to work the middle of the field and ALSO flex out wide held the Saints offense back last year. But beyond just looking at the past in the future Fleener could really open up the offense for both Brandin Cooks and Brandon Coleman (more on him in the coming weeks) as he will be able to draw safety attention away from them. I fully expect Fleener to put up good numbers in New Orleans, and possibly very good ones, but the impact he could have on the offense as a whole is greater than just the raw stats. He isn’t an elite blocker, but when called upon he is both effective and willing, something Graham never was. This means in mutliple tight end sets (which Payton seems to love now) the Saints actually have a piece they can move around to attack the defense (another Sean Payton favorite)…especially with the way Ingram proved he can catch the ball as well as run it last year.
Fleener adds a great deal to this offense. He adds formational flexibility which with Drew and Sean is deadly. He adds a reliable and consistent tight end with youth and athleticism. He adds a smart player without a history of health problems who probably feels like he has something to prove, and he adds production. Fleener is VERY unlikely to just go out there in THIS offense and fail to produce solid numbers. If he is able to be just the player he was in Indy it’s a good signing, but if he can be the player he can be then it is a great signing. There is never something wrong with signing a quality player at a position of need to a good contract. The Saints didn’t damage their cap, didn’t over pay (look at other tight ends) and likely just made next year’s offense better all at the same time. That’s a good move. They need to make more and the reality is that if they don’t have a very good draft they won’t be much better this year anyway. If they can get a starting caliber weakside linebacker and a veteran guard in the rest of free agency this is a resounding success. Let’s wait and see what all their moves look like before we fly off the handle.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
