It’s May 16 and Drew Brees has yet to receive a long-term contract from the New Orleans Saints. As you would imagine, this has left the veteran quarterback extremely frustrated about his situation.
From ProFootballTalk.com:
“This is a big time for our team, especially when you look at what’s happened in this offseason, missing our head coach, Sean Payton,” Brees said. “There should be a sense of urgency and yet it seems like there’s not.”
“We’ve reached out on a number of occasions and at times I’ve been frustrated by the lack of response,” Brees said.
“It’s been extremely frustrating for me,” Brees said. “The negotiation shouldn’t have been this difficult.”
It’s understandable that Brees is frustrated but when you’re talking about a contract of this magnitude, it takes time for the situation to get settled. It’s not like Mickey Loomis woke up one day and forgot what Brees means to this team. And in the wake of the bounty scandal, the Saints are well aware that at some point they’r…
Drew Brees said to WWL-AM in New Orleans that Saints owner Tom Benson may have misled fans into believing there was a deal when there wasn’t last month. Benson said during his press conference in New York when he bought the New Orleans Hornets more than a month ago that a deal was close.
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We are entering the home stretch of the offseason. In just a couple months, New Orleans will open up training camp and, yes, Drew Brees will be there. Don’t fret, Saints fans.
So, what would be a great gift for the quarterback that—with a new long-term contract—has everything?
How about a new play toy to team up with Jimmy Graham: Dallas Clark.
Clark has spent the last nine seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, but has spent the past two years fighting through injuries. He hasn’t finished an entire year since the 2009 Super Bowl season. But what a season that was—100 receptions and over 1,100 yards receiving.
Now, the only way the Saints would even be able to consider adding Clark would be after Brees signs long-term and drops his cap number down. Doing that would give New Orleans enough wiggle room to strengthen a very thin tight end position behind Jimmy Graham.
Behind Graham, the Saints have David Thomas, a solid blocking tight end who has had trouble staying healthy with concussion problems. We all know how touchy concussion issues are, and Thomas might be one away from retirement. Behind him is Michael Higgins, an undrafted receiving tight end from 2011 who has upside, but just isn’t ready yet.
Clark had a freak wrist injury and a knee injury early last season, but working as a backup with limited snaps could extend his career a couple more years.
Since this position wasn’t addressed in the draft or in free agency, Clark would be a great low-risk, high-reward acquisition at the right dollar and I’m sure offers aren’t beating down the door right now.
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Drew Brees says he’s frustrated by a lack of communication with
the New Orleans Saints in his ongoing contract negotiations and
believes the club should show more urgency to get a long-term deal
done.
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QB Drew Brees said he understands the bounty scandal has been a big distraction for the Saints and has hindered his contract negotiations to WWL-AM in New Orleans. But Brees said he’s upheld his end of the bargain of his original deal and deserves to be compensated fully on a new deal.
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The NFLPA recently filed two different grievances against the NFL for suspensions of various current and former Saints players stemming from the bounty scandal in New Orleans. More specifically, the first hearing dealt with whether or not the Saints should be cleared because the actions they were suspended for occurred before the new collective bargaining agreement was signed.The first arbitration hearing took place on Wednesday in New York City, lasted more than two hours and concluded without arbitrator Shyam Das ruling.According to reports from NFL.com, no further hearings in this particular grievance has been scheduled. (For more on the differences between the grievances, check out CBSSports.com’s interview with NFLPA lawyer Jeffrey Kessler here.)Kessler argued for the NFLPA, while NFL outside counsel Dan Nash handled the arguments for the league.Das, per the Associated Press, has not determined or said when he would rule. Anthony Hargrove (now of the Packers) and Scott Fujita (now with the Browns) attended the arbitration hearing. Will Smith and Jonathan Vilma (both still with the Saints) did not attend the hearing.There is a separate arbitration hearing scheduled for May 30 in New York City relating to the second grievance filed by the union.
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Drew Brees said he’s most frustrated with the lack of communication with the Saints in his contract negotiations, via WWL-AM in New Orleans. Brees said he’s reached out a number of times but is not happy with the lack of response. Brees also feels the contract numbers have been heavily inflated by the media. Brees later said he wished there would be a sense of urgency on the Saints to get a deal done.
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Drew Brees on why he doesn’t have a long-term contract yet, via WWL-AM in New Orleans: “I don’t know. It’s been extremely frustrating for me. The negotiations shouldn’t have been this difficult.” Brees said there’s an appropriate number that he’s looking for in his salary that he doesn’t find unreasonable.
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Though Joe Vitt will coach the New Orleans Saints in Sean Payton’s absence, no one will sit in the suspended coach’s chair while he’s away.
