504state

I will say it. If Pierre does in fact believe he is worth top money in this league he needs to go. With the exception of Brees and his protection there is not a single player on offense that has much of an arguement when it comes to negotiating a top 10 or so contract at their respective positions. As much as I like the dude Pierre is a product of our system. Period. IMHO there are plenty of backs we could get for WAY under top RB money to plug and play in Pierre's spot. We spread the ball around way to much, Pierre is not the featured back as it is done by committee, and I still believe he is suceptible to injury. IMHO the days of RB's getting huge contracts will soon be a thing of the past anyway as more and more teams build a committee with a utility back, a "regular" back and a 3rd down back. In fact I believe you will see MANY teams in the NFL in the near future look at us and try to build their backfield based on ours. Anyhow just one mans opinion. I like Pierre, but we already have an over paid back on the team.

papz

How much do you think he's worth?

Danno

And we have a winner!

Whats he asking for?
Whats he worth?

I can't think of many backs better than PT. Maybe 3 or 4?

CantonLegend

depends on what you look for in a back

health?.....work load?.......consistancy?....blocking? if those are 4 of the top things you look for then PT isnt the guy

if you look for a guy who can catch screens and break tackles then sure

but i can think of a few guys right off the top of my head that are better than PT and if i actually was forced im sure i could come up with more

PT is talented as he proved to me this season....however, he is not a top back in this league and shouldnt be paid like one unless he is trying to inflate the market

"deal with it or you can go play the saints and get trounced by 30 and you won't have to worry about it."-colin cowherd

Danno

Blocking- He's very good. No complaints.

Health-How many games has he missed? He's healthier than any RB we've had in 10 years. He's missed 3 freaking games in 3 years.

Consistency-As consistent as any top 10 RB

Workload-We don't know yet, the only legit complaint you have.

C'mon Canton, you gotta do better than that. We all know you didn't like him last year, and he proved you wrong. Do you wanna be proved wrong again?

Name 5 RB's better than Pierre Thomas.

CantonLegend

chris johnson, AP, steven jackson, deangello williams, thomas jones, ladanian tomlinson, maurice jones drew, ray rice, cedric benson, jonathan stewart, ronnie brown, michael turner, marion barber, frank gore......heck even people were starting to believe that PT wasnt even the best RB on our team when mike bell filled in and led the team in rushing over the majority of the season

the problem you have is that you love the saints so much that it clouds your picture of reality

PT showed me that he was a good back....he didnt prove me wrong because i didnt say he was terrible.....all i said was that i needed to see more of him.....he showed me that he can carry the rock and he does it well

however, to say that he deserves top 10 money.....even top 15 to 20 money is probably stretching it

there are some RBs that have to share the backfield with another guy....and both of them are better than PT

"deal with it or you can go play the saints and get trounced by 30 and you won't have to worry about it."-colin cowherd

Speedy Ron

i dont think he is worth that money either. im not quite sure who he thinks he is all of a sudden, but your probably right, he is a product of the system. Good Rb he is...top RB he is not. we would have the most expensive backfield in the nfl and it is no secret that we are a pass first team. pierre hasnt even played an entire season with out injury nor can he carry the load. he isnt really a bruiser rb and his best play is the screen. i really have to think that all of this is due to his agent. these agents are money hungry whores and thats all they care about. if i do find out that PT is behind this douchey hold out i will turn on him

papz

Not to call you out in particular, but has anyone seen a quote by Pierre saying exactly what he wanted or what he thinks he's worth then what was supposely "reported" by a media outlet?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3273710
I think that's a solid barometer for PT's worth. I'd have no problem giving that to him. Would that make him overpaid?

stockman311

I believe the Saints are having a hard time trying to figure out what Pierre is worth.
He was 5th in the league last year in Yards per Attempt at 5.4, behind only Felix Jones, Jamaal Charles, Chris Johnson, and Justin Forsett. He had 6 rushing TD's to only 1 fumble, and he made HUGE plays for us throughout the playoffs and Superbowl.

At the same time, he shares carries and only toted the rock 147 times last year. He also has proven to be a bit fragile and miss games because of his stature. He doesn't have the home run potential that Bush has, but is equally valuable to the team. Bush's contract by it's very nature is keeping what the Saints can afford to pay RB's down, but they have to live with the agreement they signed based on his draft status.

If I had to guess, I would bet that the Saints will give Pierre a deal in the $4-5MM per year range, with the ability to earn up to $2MM per year more based on hitting certain measuring sticks such as carries, yds per carry, and TD's. Probably a 4 year deal that is more back loaded and incentive laden than the relatively risk free front loaded contract Evans just got.

strato

I think 4.5 to 5 mill a year is fair...