New Orleans re-signed guard Jahri Evans on Wednesday, almost seven months to the day after releasing the Saints legend the day after the Super Bowl in a salary-cap move that saved the team $3.1 million at the time. These are the winners and losers from Drew Brees’ contract extension with the Saints.
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With that in mind, there were both those who benefitted and those who didn’t from Brees’ contract extension getting done.
Grayson was drafted in plans of being the successor to Drew Brees.
Instead of maxing out his value – which could have been enormous if he hit the open market next March – Brees left money on the table and turned this deal into a win-win. Henderson was diagnosed with the inflammatory bowel disease late previous year, and has since had two operations on his intestines. “But this is what was in the best interest of the team”.
“It’s two years, everything he’s done for the city and everything it’s not that big of a risk, maybe next year you get a quarterback in the draft and he’s got a year to groom that cat or something, so I’m good with it”, said Craig Morvant, who runs Sports Beat Pub & Café in Metairie.
Former 3rd round pick and hopeful Brees heir, QB Garret Grayson, was released today to make room for Jahri Evans on the roster.
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees – easily the greatest player in franchise history – signed in essence a one-year extension through the 2017 season on Wednesday.
Brees had previously said he would not continue contract talks once the regular season began.
Brees’ deal comes about six months after coach Sean Payton, who designed the offense that Brees has run, agreed to an extension in New Orleans through 2020. Another team might have backed up the money truck for Brees next spring.
“What he’s brought to the Saints, what he’s brought to New Orleans post-Katrina and the philanthropic work that he’s done, the things that he stands for, I’m really proud to call him my friend”.
“This allows me to be around here for a bit longer, and I’ll be here as long as they’ll have me”, said Brees, who has thrown for more yards in any 10-year span than any quarterback in National Football League history since signing with the Saints in 2006. “I personally believe very strongly in that”. Certainly, I am. I’m very happy. I want to play my entire career here and I’m just taking it one step at a time, one year at a time, one opportunity at a time.
Brees, 37, will make $44.25 million over the next two seasons.
But Brees was hoping for a longer-term deal.
“It’s probably a bit more complicated than it should be”. But there’s a lot of factors along the way.
Can you imagine? Hopefully, because it never happened and since the Saints left their defense in San Francisco, they have been to the playoffs once since then and gone 7-9 three times in four seasons.
Brees has insisted repeatedly that he plans to keep playing at a high level into his 40s.
And I’ll probably implore the Saints to re-sign him again, just as I did this offseason. However, the final three seasons are voidable, meaning the Saints and Brees, who turns 38 in January, will have to revisit the possibility of another extension next year. They were wise not to push him out of the building.
“We don’t have to worry about that, do we?” defensive end Cameron Jordan said.
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“We don’t have to worry about that, do we?”
