Saints fans have been walking around in a haze, with their heads down, and tears streaming from their face ever since Vernon Davis squeezed an Alex Smith pass with only :09 seconds left in the NFC semi-final in January. That moment started a string of bad news for the Saints organization and fans alike that has rivaled the saddest of country music ballads. Saints fans finally got some good news today when it was announced just hours before the start of free agency that Marques Colston has re-signed with the club inking a deal worth 40 million dollars over the next five years.
Gregg Williams fled for St. Louis and left a “spy-gate” sized scandal involving bounties that has left the Saints on the wrong side of the issue of player safety. Commissioner Goodell is sure to be harsh and levy fines, suspensions, and strip draft picks. The Saints then failed to reach a long term deal with Drew Brees forcing the organization to use the franchise tag on the greatest player in their history. Brees was reported to be, “furious.” Saints fans were left to wonder, could we lose Drew Brees?
Lose. That was the word many Saints fans expected to associate with many of the teams unrestricted free agents. Cap space is tight. Mr. Benson is historically guarded. Carl Nicks (a two time pro-bowl player), Robert Meachem (a former first round pick), and Tracy Porter (a former Super Bowl her0) are all but guaranteed to be suiting up for teams that play above sea level next season. Facing a fleecing, Saints fans were desperate for some good news.
Mickey Loomis (Saints GM) couldn’t let Marques Colston follow the others out the door. Colston is a home grown talent. The Saints drafted Colston in the seventh round in 2006 just four picks from the end of the draft. Colston arrived at his first training camp as an undersized tight end who played his college football at underwhelming Hofstra University. (Hofstra doesn’t even have football anymore). The Saints developed Colston into one of the best wide receivers in team history. Colston is a silent leader in the locker room and represents everything that the bounty scandal doesn’t. Colston is calm, he hands the ball to the ref after touchdowns, and he lacks the bravado and verbaciousness that many wide receivers around the league define themselves with.
Colston has been one of the most productive offensive players in the team’s history. In his six seasons with the Saints, Colston has eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark in five of them. Historically, Colston is on pace to break all of the Saints all-time records most of them currently held by Eric Martin.
With Colston signed and Brees secure via the franchise designation, the Saints will now focus their attention on trying to keep Carl Nicks. The Saints will likely need to re-structure veteran contracts or release a veteran or two. The Saints entered free-agency with about $6 million in cap space and the Colston contract has probably eaten up most of that.
