Brees Extension Could Help Saints With 2017 Free Agents

The hope going into the 2016 offseason was that the New Orleans Saints could get an extension done with quarterback Drew Brees to not only lock him into the team for the long haul, but to alleviate some cap relief as well.

The team was backed up against the wall heading into free agency; with Brees’ $30 million dollar salary cap hit hanging over their heads as well as copious amounts of dead money from deals like former tight end Jimmy Graham and linebacker Junior Galette.

But as it always seems with the Saints and Brees (or more like his agent Tom Condon), they were unable to strike a deal before the season ended, or on the eve of free agency; which has lead to some bargain shopping and a bit of unexplained magic math that has allowed them to sign their own in-house free agents, as well as ones like tight end Coby Fleener and linebacker James Laurinaitis.

With free agency now stretching into the two and a half week mark, the likelihood of them being able to get Brees locked down to benefit this year is probably more about getting space to help sign their 2016 draft class and add a few more outside players for depth.

Now of course that’s not even counting the possible signing of former L.A. Rams DT Nick Fairley, who as our editor Barry Hirstius reported earlier via Ian Rappaport of NFL.com, is expected to be signing a deal with the Saints after talks between he and the New England Patriots failed to reach an agreement.

Obviously, a Brees extension would most certainly have to be in the works for any such deal with Fairley to be consumated.

Dec 27, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) gestures during the first quarter of their game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

Just yeterday, ESPN’s Ed Werder recently said that the Saints and Brees are working towards a four year extension that Brees himself told Saints beat writer Mike Triplett he sees getting done “sooner than later”.

But we’ve heard that same song and dance before, most recently from head coach Sean Payton — who while at the NFL Scouting Combine in February said he was confident that a deal was “getting done quickly”, yet his own extension was done before Brees’ was.

It’s understandable that Payton’s is easier; since you don’t have a salary cap to contend with (with it being a coach’s contract and not a player’s contract).

On top of that, there’s added difficulty when you have a someone like Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco getting a handsome 3-year extension worth $66.4 million, which means then that negotiations can drag on.

A deal will get done no doubt which will benefit the Saints and Brees financially not only just for now, but especially for the next season as well.

If you are wondering why I’m already glancing into next season, then look no further than someone who is charged with protecting Brees than left tackle Terron Armstead — who will be a free agent.

Armstead has been solid for the Saints at his position ever since he took over and was ranked #3 out of all left tackles by Pro Football Focus in 2015, even while dealing with an injury.

Sep 20, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints tackle Terron Armstead (72) against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second quarter of a game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

To show you how spectacular he is, PFF’s own Steve Palazzolo recently said in an interview on WWL 870 AM’s Double Coverage that the reason why the Saints offensive line was graded so high, one that was lampooned by fans, was because Armstead brought the whole group’s average up.

Brees Extension Could Also Help Saints With 2017 Free Agents

By Gene Higginbotham | Mar 25, 2016

The hope going into the 2016 offseason was that the New Orleans Saints could get an extension done with quarterback Drew Brees to not only lock him into the team for the long haul, but to alleviate some cap relief as well.