14 UFA's... Who to keep?
 

G Carl Nicks,
WR Marques Colston,
WR Robert Meachem,
WR Courtney Roby,
TE Tory Humphrey,
TE John Gilmore,
T Pat McQuistan,
CB Tracy Porter,
CB Leigh Torrence,
DT Aubrayo Franklin,
DT Shaun Rogers,
LB Jo-Lonn Dunbar,
DE Jeff Charleston
K John Kasay

My preferences in red.

Do we carry 2 kickers again this year?

I say let Kasay walk...

and let Franklin and Rogers walk aswell; I think Mitch King and Tom Johnson can pick up the slack...

Nicks is a keeper, but we can't afford it.
Colston is a keeper and we have an outside shot.
If we keep Colston, Meachem is a goner.
Roby, Humphrey, Gilmore, McQuistan are gone.
Porter is a cap casualty.
I think Torrence is a keeper. Cheap/effective (just how I like my women).
Franklin and Rogers are probably out of our limited price range.
Dunbar could be back if we cut Vilma for cap space.
Charleston and Kasay are gone.

Possible restructures: Vilma, Ellis, Greer
Possible cuts: Vilma, Ellis, Henderson, Herring, Hall
Definite cuts: Shanle

While I think Kasay more than deserves a spot, we signed Hartley to a 5 year deal so we're invested in him. Keep Kasay on speed dial and hope no one picks him up.

Colston, Meachem, Humphrey, Franklin, Dunbar, Charleston, Porter

I think we need to keep Kasay. Hartley has yet to play a complete season. History has proven we NEED a second kicker if Hartley is on the roster.

Having played only 27 out of 48 regular season games gives him a 56% health rating in terms of just playing a game.

Kasay has not missed a game since 2004.

Any one of the big three would be really nice, but I doubt any of them will be available at the price the Saints' FO are willing to pay for their services.

One of the young TEs should probably stay put, and I did like Gilmore's blocking in the limited time he was on the field. Probably depends on what happens with Thomas.

Torrence will probably follow GW to St. Louis like he has done in the past, that is if GW won't be banned form the league - in any case there'll be UDFAs who can probably do exactly what Torrence can, but only cheaper.

Porter would be a nice depth addition, but he'll probably cost more than it would be justified for the Saints' FO to pay a depth/nickel corner.

I agree with you Danno on that I'd like to see Franklin come back on another 1-year deal, which would hopefully be around $2.5-3M range. Then pick up 1 or 2 DTs from the draft.

I'd like to see Dunbar return, but not to be the starting MLB. If they can work out a cheap deal for him to return to create depth at the LB position it would be great. I think his future depends on what happens to Herring and Shanle, and also Vilma.

Charleston is probably going to be a phone call away if the Saints suffer any losses to injury within the DE corps, so there's no need to re-sign him immediately after they already re-signed McBride.

Definite no to Roby, Rogers, and Kasay (if Hartley doesn't get injured again in the pre-season). And I have no idea what McQuistan can bring to the table, so I won't even say anything about him.

Agreed.

Someone made a comment about being invested with Hartley; but Kasay has proven to be more than adequate and with a whole lot less drama...

And, right now, we've got enough drama...

Porter and Kasay are the only ones that I don't think will be back. I do hope we can resign the top three.