Brees had been hoping to land a four-year, $100 million extension.
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Brees, meanwhile, deserves a ton of kudos for playing ball instead of playing hardball.
Without Brees, the Saints’ chances of winning are rapidly diminished.
The extension automatically voids to two years, committing Brees to the Saints only through next year, and gives Brees $44.25 million fully guaranteed over that span, according to ESPN’s Ed Werder. But if a single player swallows up 1/4 of the cap then how can the team make the necessary roster moves needed for him to get a shot at another championship before he retires?
The deal is a “win” for Brees, too, for a few reasons.
If the Saints are lucky, they will go 7-9 in the 2016 season, which opens Sunday at noon with the Oakland Raiders visiting the Louisiana Superdome.
Brees had stated this summer that, in an effort to prevent his contract talks from becoming a distraction, that he would break off negotiations before the first game of the regular season.
Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints waited until the 11th hour. “I think a lot of the initial shock of what the protest was about and the kind of significance of that was lost in the action and the message wasn’t really addressed”.
Now, the focus shifts to the team protecting Brees.
Evans established himself as one of the NFL’s premier offensive linemen during the past decade. He has been one of the league’s best quarterbacks during his time in New Orleans, leading the NFL in passing in four of the last five seasons. “I personally believe very strongly in that”. Certainly, I am. I’m very happy. “I want to play my entire career here…”
“I’m excited for him”, said backup quarterback Luke McCown, whose locker is to the immediate left of Brees’. So it’s understandable why he didn’t make that concession until right before his self-imposed deadline.
The real question now is whether the Saints can get things rolling again with a 37-year-old quarterback who is, of course, only getting older. Yes, either scenario is a huge gamble to take, and while Bress has continued to play at a high level, all it takes is one play to change everything. He’ll have to work to bring the team back to the playoffs, though.
So the Saints met with him, and are considering bringing him back.
But that won’t necessarily produce victories if the defense, which has ranked second-to-last two years running, doesn’t improve under coordinator Dennis Allen, who took over last November when Rob Ryan was sacked. They were wise not to push him out of the building.
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“We don’t have to worry about that, do we?”
