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After the most thrilling season in franchise history, the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints have followed up with perhaps their quietest offseason.

The Saints have not added a player to their roster since the free-agent signing period began nearly four weeks ago, joining only the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers in that exclusive club.

Although that might be a little boring for fans who've grown tired of replaying that Super Bowl XLIV DVD over and over again, General Manager Mickey Loomis insists it hasn't been a source of frustration for the defending champions.

After all, they're not exactly in a rebuilding mode.

"There's always part of me that wants to go get something, go do something. Because we've done that. That's been our history, " said Loomis, who had added Jabari Greer, Darren Sharper and Heath Evans among a handful of veteran backups to the Saints' championship cocktail by this time last year.

"But I think the one thing that I do have is patience, " Loomis said. "And I think in the circumstances we're in, that can serve us well, even though it is hard for our fans to be patient, and it's hard for our players without a contract to be patient, and I'm mindful of that."

There are a number of reasons for the Saints' inactivity in free agency.

For one, they have the luxury of working with a deep roster. Though they've parted ways with a handful of veterans this month, they don't have many gaping holes to fill.

For another, Loomis said they want to re-sign as many of those core players as possible to long-term extensions in the next year or two, so they don't have a lot of room in the budget for new additions.

Most significantly, however, are the new league rules that were put in place when the NFL went into an uncapped season this year, the final year of the current collective bargaining agreement.

The Saints were particularly hamstrung by a rule that prevents the final four playoff teams (the Saints, Colts, Vikings and Jets) from signing any unrestricted free agents until they lose one of their own first.

On top of that, the entire free-agent talent pool was thinned league-wide because fifth- and sixth-year players who normally would have become unrestricted free agents were designated as restricted free agents instead.

The Saints still are able to sign veteran players who have been released by their former teams, and they became eligible to sign one unrestricted free agent after they lost linebacker Scott Fujita to the Cleveland Browns.

But Loomis said that doesn't mean the Saints will relax their standards.

"You don't just sign somebody just to sign somebody, just to fill a slot. We're trying to find guys to help our team, " Loomis said. "There just are not a lot of guys out there that we see as significant upgrades over the people we have in our building."

That doesn't mean the Saints are done shopping. Loomis said they'll continue to evaluate players in the open market and players who will enter the open market, and with the Saints' recent history, you can never rule out the possibility of trades for veteran players.

They also might be waiting for certain players to lower their asking prices, as they've been doing with their own free agent safety Darren Sharper, who remains unsigned while recovering from a knee surgery at the beginning of the month.

Sharper's courtship process around the league has been put on hold because of the knee surgery, which he described as a minor clean-up procedure. So it's unclear how much interest he will draw from other teams once he's able to go on visits and pass a physical.

What is clear is that the Saints are holding firm on the value they've set for the 34-year-old veteran, who was an All-Pro in 2009 but still offers the risk of a declining skill set.

Loomis did not comment on Sharper directly, but he talked about the critical eye the Saints need to have in making all of their offseason decisions.

"Listen, we have to be diligent about looking at our team very carefully and evaluating it no differently than if we had not even made the playoffs, " Loomis said. "You've got to have a critical eye, and that's what we've tried to do."

The Saints could lose some of their 14 remaining restricted free agents as well. But so far, there has not been much activity in the restricted free agent market league-wide. The deadline for restricted free agents to sign an offer sheet with another club is April 15.

The Saints lost backup tailback Mike Bell to the Philadelphia Eagles, but they had tendered him at the lowest qualifying level, which meant the Eagles did not have to give the Saints any draft picks as compensation.

The Saints' only other restricted free agent who has visited with another team so far is backup defensive tackle Anthony Hargrove, who met with the Detroit Lions. If Hargrove signs an offer sheet with Detroit, the Saints could match the offer or receive a third-round draft pick as compensation.

Soon, the Saints' primary focus will shift to the draft, which is being held over a three-day stretch this year, from April 22 to April 24.

And though they don't pick until the final slot in Round 1 -- No. 32 overall -- the Saints eventually will add some players to the roster, ending the drought for all those members of Who Dat nation who have less patience than their general manager.

New Orleans Saints are being deliberate, patient during offseason | - NOLA.com

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