Halo

If the Saints follow through on coach Sean Payton’s words, Reggie Bush will become one of the most expensive role players in NFL history next season.

Despite having a salary that will leap to $8 million in 2010 from $2.6 million in 2009, Bush is not going anywhere, Payton told the Times-Picayune last week.

Amen to that.

Although Bush has been nowhere near as productive in his first four seasons as most experts expected (including Payton, although he never would admit it publicly) when New Orleans drafted him second overall in 2006, he is too talented to discard as the Saints try to become the first NFL team to repeat as Super Bowl champions since the New England Patriots in 2004.

It is easy to bash Bush for his shortcomings. If the NFL kept a stat for percentage of touches that ended with a runner out of bounds and upright, he’d be among the league leaders. More than once, he has headed for the sidelines prematurely when he easily could have picked up a first down.

He has not been an every-down back, failing to rush for 600 yards in any season and gaining 100 yards only once in his 57-game career. He finished 2009 with fewer carries than teammates Pierre Thomas or Mike Bell. Bush has missed 12 games in the last three years with assorted injuries, the product of being a small back in a big man’s game.

His touted breakaway ability has been almost nonexistent in the regular season. His longest reception since his rookie year is 42 yards, and before he broke off a 55-yard gain this year, his longest run was 43 yards.

He has been insecure with the ball at inopportune moments, including a fourth-quarter fumble (on a bad pitch from Drew Brees) that forced the New Orleans defense to make a huge stand against Philadelphia in the 2006 playoffs and a muff that might have cost the Saints the NFC Championship Game against Minnesota if the Vikings had not committed a matching turnover a few plays later.

He even lost his mojo on punt returns this season. Amazingly, he ranked second to last among regulars, averaging a paltry 4.8 yards on 27 attempts. Only Arnez Battle (2.9 yards) of San Francisco was worse.

Still, his positives outweigh the negatives. Opponents have to account for him as a receiver every time he lines up the backfield. Although his catch total has dropped every year, going from 88 in 2006 to 73 in 2007 to 52 in 2008 to 47 in 2009, his presence distracts defenders and gives his teammates more room to make big plays.

His decision-making as a ball-carrier improved tremendously this year. He hit holes faster, turning upfield more often rather than trying to outrun pursuers around the corner. The proof was in his average per carry, which rose dramatically to 5.6 after three sub-4.0 seasons.

Don’t underestimate the wow factor, either. Bush is less effective than Thomas as a primary runner, but he can do things no one else on the team would dream of attempting. His six-yard leap to the end zone against Miami (see YouTube video below) was awe-inspiring, the type of athletic play the Saints could not replace if he were gone.

Get Bush to the postseason, and he becomes a different guy. His 88-yard touchdown reception against Chicago in the 2006 NFC Championship Game is a career best. His 46-yard now-you-see-him, now-you don’t touchdown against Arizona in the Divisional Round this year was the best run of his career. He added an 83-yard punt return for a score to finish off the Cardinals.

The Saints appear ready to part ways with Bell, who had 71 yards on his last 36 carries after a hot start to 2009.

As Payton understands, they’d be crazy to get rid of Bush even though they will have to overpay to keep him. Triple threats don’t come around very often.

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