NOLA_Pride

Yesterday, ESPN’s official NFC South blogger Pat Yasinskas published a post which explains that the New Orleans Saints lead the league in potential free agents this offseason with 27. While he makes it clear that no player will reap the benefits of free agency until a labor agreement is agreed upon, it is obviously still an area of concern for this Saints team. With this dilemma in mind, let’s take a look at each Saints player eligible to become a free agent. The most recent Collective Bargaining Agreement states that players with 3 years or less of NFL experience are restricted free agents (any offer from another team can be matched by the player’s current team), while all other players can become unrestricted free agents. The following list of players was acquired from an article written by Mike Tripplet for NOLA.com about a month ago. The odds of the Saints re-signing each of player cannot be determined with certainty until the new CBA is in place, but why not speculate a little? Who do you think stays and who goes? Keep in mind, the Saints won't have the money to sign whoever they want, so they'll have to be smart about who they bring back.

6 years or more experience: LB Scott Shanle, C Jonathan Goodwin, S Darren Sharper, FB Heath Evans, DT Anthony Hargrove, DE/DT Jimmy Wilkerson, RB Julius Jones, RB Ladell Betts, LB Danny Clark, LB Kawika Mitchell, S Pierson Prioleau, S Matt Giordano.

5 years: S Roman Harper, WR Lance Moore, TE David Thomas, OT Zach Strief, WR/KR Courtney Roby, CB Leigh Torrence.

4 years: RB Pierre Thomas, OT Jermon Bushrod, DT Remi Ayodele, DE Jeff Charleston, LB Marvin Mitchell, S Usama Young, S Chris Reis, TE Tory Humphrey, RB DeShawn Wynn.

3 years: G Carl Nicks, K Garrett Hartley, LB Jo-Lonn Dunbar, LB Anthony Waters.

BlackandGold.com Blog Entry