FinSaint |
02-26-2012 08:38 PM |
Quote:
Originally Posted by alexonfyre
(Post 380533)
Brees definitely has to come first, I agree with that. And they will probably sign Colston and tag Nicks. The problem is that next year Nicks will walk, since he already announced as much, if he gets tagged. It is the guys after that I am worried about. Meachem is much more valuable than most fans give him credit for, and Aubrayo Franklin needs to stick around so that Spags has more than one person who fits his scheme. If a deal isn't done some time early this week, frankly, we have no chance at keeping either of them, which would leave us in a pretty awkward position in FA and the draft. We would pretty much have to go back to picking up a WR and an extra DT instead of a cover safety and linebackers like we so desperately need. It totally bones the entire road map set up by the last couple years.
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Brees' contract will be done, and I would be stunned if they can't reach an agreement before the tag deadline arrives - it wouldn't serve either the Saints' or Brees' interests.
It is hard to say what will happen with Nicks, it all depends on whether or not the Saints want to have him around on a multi-year basis or if they just want to keep him around for another year while they will find/groom his successor. If the Saints want to keep him around, they will sign him into a multi-year contract. The cap won't be the problem since they can structure the contract to be end-heavy and with the rising cap space in the future, Nicks' most expensive years won't matter as much in relative terms.
Now don't get me wrong, this would mean that they'd have a lot of money invested in Brees, Nicks and Evans, but they can do it if that is the way they choose to go.
Basically the same goes for Colston and/or Meachem, but they won't overpay anyone, so if another team makes an offer which is more than the Saints' estimated worth of a given player - they'll let that player walk.
The bottom line is that the cap space isn't as one-dimensional limitation as is the common understanding of it. There are numerous things that a capable GM and FO can do to "massage" the cap numbers, and the Saints have one of the best "masseurs" around as their GM. But this all takes time and careful planning, which is why we haven't yet heard anything about contracts being finalized. Also, the later the Saints "show their hand," the less time other teams have to plan their FA strategies.
And, finally, to address your draft remark... I would hope that the Saints plan on picking up a DT from the draft, because this year's DT class is really good and large, so there'll be good DT prospects around even in the later rounds.
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