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Not for a second should anyone think the New Orleans Saints didn't act in the best interest of the franchise when Jammal Brown was traded to the Washington Redskins on Saturday.

The Super Bowl champs are about winning games and aside from a feel-good signing of Deuce McAllister here and a Super-Bowl-ring presentation to Mike McKenzie there, sentiment takes a backseat.

And even then, sentiment didn't interfere with business. The one-game signing of Deuce, the leading rusher and touchdown scorer in franchise history, was ceremonial and inspirational and brilliant in its timeliness, and McKenzie played five games before being shut down in favor of more effective cornerbacks.

But for all the Saints did for themselves with the trade, which will yield a conditional draft pick or possibly two next year, they certainly appeared also do a good thing for Brown, the two-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle who wanted a lucrative, long-term deal but hardly was going to get that in New Orleans.

The Saints simply could've squeezed Brown this season and basically whittled his options down to signing his one-year, $3.619 million tender or sitting out the season. Given that option, Brown most certainly would've caved and come in for the money.

Then, the franchise simply could have patted itself on the back for having created the kind of competition and depth at left tackle that NFL teams only dream about. Then, New Orleans would've had Brown, who started all 58 games he played in five seasons with the Saints, scrapping for reps with Jermon Bushrod, who started 14 regular-season games and all three postseason games last season, when Brown sat out after having surgery for a hip injury.

And given that Brown hadn't publicly given an indication he had a mind-set that paralleled holdout Redskins defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth - all for one and one for one - he would've gone along with the program, if reluctantly.

If he'd started and again had played at a Pro Bowl level, that would have been great. But if he couldn't beat out Bushrod, the Saints would've had a great insurance policy.
That was believed to be the preferred option. Instead, the Saints shipped him to Washington.

True, that's an obvious indication that New Orleans feels Bushrod is the better choice at this time. The Saints, after all, won the Super Bowl with him and he only figures to get better. Or it might signal some concern that Brown could've become a locker room distraction. It might even suggest the Saints aren't completely sure how well Brown has recovered from surgery.
All of those are sound, legitimate business concerns. All of them are good reason to part ways with Brown.

But all of that aside, Brown certainly benefits from the split, too.
First, he gets a better opportunity to play, given that the Redskins won't have anyone as accomplished as him playing right tackle, the position he'll move to and the spot he played as a rookie in New Orleans.
Second - and better, where Brown is concerned - he'll have a much better chance to get the contract and terms the Saints didn't have the inclination, or necessity, to give him.

Did Brown get hosed by the "Final League Year" of the collective bargaining agreement, in which there's no salary cap but huge restrictions on free agency? You bet he did. Brown became a restricted free agent instead of an unrestricted free agent; his movement was crippled given that the Saints would've been handsomely compensated if another team had signed Brown to an offer sheet that the Saints declined to match. And he got hurt, had surgery and missed the season, which didn't help matters.
But that's business.

The Saints actually gave him the out he sought, minus the cash.
Sure, the franchise might not have traded Brown with the intention of setting him up for life. The Saints saw something in the deal for themselves and they moved on it. Brown, a valuable member of the team when he played, doesn't place in the McAllister/McKenzie category.

But he can't at all be displeased with how things developed.
The Saints probably feel that they got what they wanted from the deal, but Brown, definitely, has to feel that way.

New Orleans Saints did Jammal Brown an unintentional favor with trade to Washington Redskins | NOLA.com