Scott Fujita, the forgotten man that could slip away from the Saints
 

Today is the last day of the free agent signing period when teams can make offers to restricted free agents in hopes of keeping them with their teams. It is also the day before any unrestricted free agents can claim free agency totally and get away scott free.

So far we've seen the Saints give offers to 13 of their 18 RFAs in hopes of no team signing them away. If they do then at least the Saints will get something in return.

We've also heard plenty of talk about how the team did not put the franchise tag on safety Darren Sharper who had a stellar season in 2009. The Saints didn't use the tag on any player and seemingly are going to allow Sharper to test the free agent market.

Recently there has even been a lot of talk about Charles Grant and the man is neither an RFA or UFA, but just not worth his current contract.

But what about the other UFA starter? What about the guy that has been a stable backbone of a defense that went from cellar-dwellers to Super Bowl champs? How could we forget about Scott Fujita?

Scott Fujita, the forgotten man that could slip away from the Saints (slide show)

Re: Scott Fujita, the forgotten man that could slip away from the Saints
 

I would hate to see Fujita go, I loved his trash-talkin' to Peyton during the SB.

Re: Scott Fujita, the forgotten man that could slip away from the Saints
 

I'd hate to see him go. He has been great fro the Saints.

Re: Scott Fujita, the forgotten man that could slip away from the Saints
 

Since Fujita wants to remain a Saint, lets hope the front office feels the same, and that they give him a reasonable deal to stay.

Re: Scott Fujita, the forgotten man that could slip away from the Saints
 

No, they have to re-sign Fujita! I love that man! He has definitely been a big help to the Saints!

Re: Scott Fujita, the forgotten man that could slip away from the Saints
 

Bye bye Scotty, an easy upgrade.

Re: Scott Fujita, the forgotten man that could slip away from the Saints
 

Re: Scott Fujita, the forgotten man that could slip away from the Saints
 

so what are the chances of him staying?

Re: Scott Fujita, the forgotten man that could slip away from the Saints
 

I actually like the chances. He has bounced around the NFL for years and has found his best fit in New Orleans, professionally and personally. If I am not mistaken, his children were born here and his wife loves it. He is at a point in his career where family and future weigh against the pocketbook. It is true he could get a few more coins elsewhere, but at what cost? The Saints would like to keep him and he wants to stay. I can easily see them coming to a deal slightly less than his open market value.

Re: Scott Fujita, the forgotten man that could slip away from the Saints
 

fujita going to meet with the browns today

either way i'll get to root for him

unfortunately for danno......its not easy to upgrade players like that......if it was that easy we would've done it a long time ago......posts like that drive me insane because its not true at all

that goes for any starter.......if it was easy to replace them....then we would've ****ing done that already

Re: Scott Fujita, the forgotten man that could slip away from the Saints
 

I think NO will make an offer to him and he will take it. He wants to be a Saint....he will be a Saint. Besides, I like Fujita...a solid vet and a good leader.

Re: Scott Fujita, the forgotten man that could slip away from the Saints
 

Are all the dots some kind of morse code?

And yes, mediocre role players are easy to upgrade. Its called the draft and free-agency.

Re: Scott Fujita, the forgotten man that could slip away from the Saints
 

im ok w/ him walking if stanley arnoux is as good as i think he is

Re: Scott Fujita, the forgotten man that could slip away from the Saints
 

nope sorry on both accounts

dots are called periods....they are a form of punctuation that you learn about in school

and starters are starters for a reason. they are not as easy to upgrade because they are starters. if they werent starters and were merely backups then you could probably make the argument that they are easier to upgrade because they dont get to play. but starters do get to play and therefore you need to find a player who can not only play as much as the last player, but do a significantly better job to call that new player an upgrade

not easy to do.....just like its not easy to get into the NFL in the first place.....just like there are only 24 starters on an NFL roster while there are 53 players on an active roster and some of those 24 starters will never relinquish their positions

so no matter how good you are, you may never start in the NFL and because of that reason, you cant assume that upgrading is easy

Re: Scott Fujita, the forgotten man that could slip away from the Saints
 

Jason David was a starter
Josh Bullocks was a starter
Mike McKenzie was a starter
Mike Karney was a starter
Jamar Nesbit was a starter
Kevin Kaesviharn was a starter
Courtney Watson was a starter
Sedrick Hodge was a starter
Aaron Brooks was a starter
Joe Horn was a starter
Jerome Pathon was a starter
Fred Thomas was a starter
Tebuckey Jones was a starter
Wayne Gandy was a starter
Montrae Holland was a starter


YES...upgrades do happen....Fujita is a mediocre player...easily upgradable...Or if you insist... Easily Replacable...Likely upgradable

Re: Scott Fujita, the forgotten man that could slip away from the Saints
 

heres the thing tho......most of those guys were starters for several years......in fact...guys like aaron brooks actually beat out guys that we brought in to replace him.....aint that a b&*%#

while i agree with your assessment that fujita isnt all that and a bag of potato chips....he is one of our leading contributors both on and off the field and he does a lot more for us than his supposed replacement last year(dunbar) has done.

we bring in guys every year to help out and push our starters and for some reason.....they still start....arent you just the least bit curious why that is?

a first round draft pick is supposed to come in and start right away....and contribute heavily.....but it doesnt always work like that and using a pick on a player who may in fact back up a current starter is not worthy of the pick IMO

its much easier to replace a kendrick clancy who is starting because of our lack of talent at that position, not because he is truely starter material....having said that, he has performed admirably but he is much easier to upgrade than fujita or shanle simply because he was brought in to be a back up.....not a starter

Re: Scott Fujita, the forgotten man that could slip away from the Saints
 

Well obviously I don't want him upgraded with a downgrade.

Dunbar wasn't brought in to replace Fujita. Dunbar was a longshot undrafted free agent who barely made the team. OLB was the least of our worries for the past few seasons. We were a lot more interested in upgrading CB and Safety. You can't upgrade everywhere all in one season. Now its time to adress the weak links on this team, which in my opinion is DT, DE, and OLB, with Fujita being the weakest link at OLB.

Does this sound better to you...

Fujita should be relatively easy to replace with at least a comparable player, and likely upgradeable with a high draft pick or an upper tier free agent.

Re: Scott Fujita, the forgotten man that could slip away from the Saints
 

Re: Scott Fujita, the forgotten man that could slip away from the Saints
 

Losing Fujita wouldnt upset me as much as losing Sharper. If we have to choose between the two for some unknown reason, I would choose to keep Sharper.

I think we can find a replacement easier for Fujita than Sharper.

Re: Scott Fujita, the forgotten man that could slip away from the Saints
 

While Fujita has been a solid linebacker for us, I'd have to agree that if he were to leave, he'd be easily replaceable with the players available via free agency and the draft. He's going to be 31 soon and his production is slowly declining. The market is rich with linebackers this year... I wouldn't mind biting on some of those RFA guys either.

Re: Scott Fujita, the forgotten man that could slip away from the Saints
 

Lights out?