Should the Saints franchise Brees
 

Drew Brees’s contract extension is taking longer than everyone had hoped and some have been wondering if the New Orleans Saints are going to franchise tag Brees. I do not think it would be in either party’s best interest if Brees were to be franchised. I think the Saints need to do everything possible to get a deal done for Brees as fast as they can so they do not have to use their franchise tag on him. Brees is obviously the Saints’ number one free agent priority but they have other players they are going to have to address. Other key unrestricted free agents the Saints have are OG Carl Nicks, WRs Robert Meachem and Marques Colston, and CB Tracy Porter.

The Saints would love to keep all of them, but with Brees expected to get a big payday it does not seem very realistic that the Saints can retain them all. However, if the Saints do not use their franchise tag on Drew Brees then they could potentially use it on one of their other free agents such as Nicks, Meachem, or Coslton. I personally think the Saints will do what they can to retain Carl Nicks as he is arguably one of the best offensive linemen in the league. With that said, the Saints need to get a deal done for Brees before they can consider franchising Nicks. I think in any scenario that plays out the Saints will not be able to retain both Meachem and Colston. Both are valued receivers and I know their stocks have risen since this past season; so I would look for the Saints to resign one of them while the other gets picked up by another team via free agency.

All of the Saints’ free agency moves will depend on if and when they can get a deal done to retain Drew Brees. Once a deal is made everything will fall into place and the Saints can start resigning other guys, possibly using their franchise tag on a player, or letting players leave through free agency if they do not have the money to resign them. Whatever happens, one thing is for sure, Drew Brees will still be a New Orleans Saint; the team cannot and will not let him go.

Should the New Orleans Saints Franchise Tag Drew Brees?

Its the nuclear option. The only way we franchise him is if his agent forces our hand.

This would not be a smart choice. I for one, don't want a pissed off Drew Brees.

Pay the man.

Pay the man, if we franchise him we have to go through all this BS again next year and i'm sick of it taking so long.
Give Drew how much he wants, he would be negotiable to keep the players we need under the cap

"Pay the man" makes no sense at all.

How much do you pay him? Do you give him a blank check so we're forced to surround him with 52 players at league minimum?

If thats the case then "Don't Pay The Man!!!"

Drew at 100 million keeps us competitive for several more years.
Drew at 200 million destroys this team.

Brees would never sign the franchise tag contract. I suspect the deal will be between Brady and Manning's contracts, leaving enough room to keep either Colston or Nicks but not both which is reasonable.

It should never come down to it.