Saints reach 4 year deal(12 million) with Pierre Thomas
 

NEW ORLEANS -- The New Orleans Saints have signed veteran running back Pierre Thomas to a four-year contract, Coach Sean Payton confirmed Thursday for NewOrleans.Com.

More to follow later today.

Saints reach 4-year deal with Pierre Thomas

Let me be the first one to say...

HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sound like the Saints are staying with Thomas does this mean trouble for Bush but anyway good new.

ITS ON BABY. THIS IS GETTING GOOD . seems like payton keeping superbowl team in tack.

This is good. The man had a serious ankle injury and people questioned him. He's going to play well.

this confirms were not going rb early anyway in the draft

I like it a lot. Not real happy about the shock going to carolina though

I never understood why folks thought this was such an unlikely possibility. Welcome to the team PT - you can bet we're happy to have you!

Cause someone that knows someone that's friends with someone who is related to someone who told someone that someone said Pierre Thomas wanted Steven Jackson money.

And I'd like the interest on your money that you're getting from the interest on Steven's money. Pay it forward! LOL
:mrgreen:

So glad PT finally got what he didn't last season. Welcome back and make us proud!!

This doesn't really excite me. Hope Ivory gets the starts.

But when Ivory goes on IR after 6 games, we have PT to count on.

Great signing.

Bye, bye Reggie Bust. :-)

Let's hope Lance Moore signs a multi year deal just like PT has.

I'm glad to have him for four more years.....even if it might really be only two years. Just spend some more time on the field.

What amount is guaranteed?

What effect will the new CBA have?

What is the sound of one hand clapping?

This doesn't excite me either. I was hoping the team would look into getting a bigger, more solid, less injury-prone back via the draft or free agency to handle the work load. I give credit to Thomas and everything he has done for the Saints. But I've grown sick of looking through the injury depleted running back corps over the past seasons and wondering from game to game who was going to shoulder (or knee, ankle, etc) the load. Going back to the last few injury plagued seasons of Deuce to Antowain Smith, to Aaron Stecker, to Mike Bell, to Thomas, to Hamilton, to Ivory it seems like the team thinks they can just throw a body out there and it will be good enough to get the job done. I don't agree with this. The most productive back in the team's history was obtained with a first round draft pick. Why the HECK is Payton satisfied with oft-injured unknowns to handle one of the most important spots on the roster.
I know a good run game requires good run blocking and that was lacking last season. But if we had a Stephen Jckson type back it would help our offense vastly. Rather than being able to run sometimes because teams feared the passing attack, we would be able to actually run the ball when we want to, which would open up the passing even more. Who knows, they may even be able to convert those 3rd and 4th down short yardage situations (Seattle playoff game anyone) that they seem to not get so often.
I dearly hope I am wrong and Thomas runs for 2,000 yards during the upcoming 18 game season, leads the Saints to their second Superbowl title and makes the pro bowl. But I don't expect it and I sure am not all excited about the prospect of the Saint's best running back being a guy who has averaged 41 yards per game and 5 games missed for injury over the 4 seasons he's been on the team.
Now go prove me wrong Pierre! PLEASE!

PT and Reggie brought us a Superbowl.
Steven Jackson gets hurt too.
I think Ivory is still a #3 RB.
Glad PT is here, hope Reggie stays at the right price and if not, there will be other options.

Why does everyone think this means Reggie is gone. This has absolutely nothing to do with Reg. Look, we need depth at RB. Do yall not remember what happened last year. Im glad we locked him up and I hope we lock up some more guys at RB. We need all we can get.

Well there are some other things you have to consider. PT has the sight, which is very rare in a RB. Faster stronger RB's don't mean anything if they don't have the sight. Ivory does not have the sight.
If you watch PT's footage he knows were guys are and how to move without thinking, you dont have time to think when running the ball. To me its an art form, your dealing 10ths of a second. Its a gift , you either have it or you dont, and PT has it. He might be slow and not as strong as people would like, but he also has a chip on his shoulder, another quality in a good RB. His ball control is amazing. I think the only thing hes missing as a RB is balance, he seems to struggle because of his brick build.

PT is a solid acquisition for 4 years. He could be rotated to 2nd or 3rd RB in year 3-4 with new talent taking a leading roll. I think he's one of the most underrated RB's in the NFL.

YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!

Or in other words, YES!!!!!

As I stated in a previous comment, I felt that Pierre Thomas was the number one priority. I know many do not agree with me, but I love his running style and the way he makes the most out of every run. He is also a good receiver.

Championship

when healthy the screen is the Saints money play

I think it's funny how the people who are opposed to this deal and who are in favor of Chris Ivory getting the starts because Pierre Thomas is "injury-prone." Um, are you kidding me??? Chris Ivory is great when he's healthy, but he had a whole host of injuries last year that kept him out of games. Pierre Thomas had a torn tendon and missed a bunch of games, but that does not mean in any way that he's not dependable. The two previous seasons he barely missed any time. I hope we keep Ivory and Bush but Pierre's my guy.

You can pull up all the footage you want from 2 seasons ago and talk about how artful he is all you want. It doesn't change that fact that Thomas with his "gift" of sight averaged 3.2 yards per carry last year while the blind Ivory averaged 5.2 (not that I'm hyping Ivory as a savior, but you brought him up). You say Thomas could be "rotated to 2nd or 3rd RB in year 3-4 with new talent taking a leading roll." What makes you think Pierre is capable of holding the lead role himself for even one year when he hasn't been able to do that once in any of the four seasons he was given a chance to? Do you think he's suddenly going to be back better, stronger and more durable next year after suffering TWO serious ankle injuries this year?

Look, I think Thomas is a fine back and I'm not going to knock on any of his accomplishments. Having him on the team is a good thing. But IMO he, and all of the other backs on the team, owe most of their success because other teams were more worried about (i.e. gearing to stop) the passing attack than the running attack. On a cold, windy day when passing is tough, or on short yardage situations when a run is likely the Saints have had trouble converting.

PT is hardly in the top 10 backs in the league. Signing/drafting a guy like that (a top 10 caliber back) would excite me. But re-signing a guy who missed 10 games last year and averaged 3.2 YPA when he did play, not so much. The Saints had the 5th worst rushing offense in the NFL last year. Let that sink in....5th WORST. If re-signing Thomas is enough to make you and others here jump for joy, rave about his artistic running and shout HELL YEAH!!!!, then good for you. Myself, I have higher hopes and expect more from the front office. If they go into next year planning on PT being the featured back, then I will consider them short sighted, be very disappointed, and will expect them to have continued RB injuries and be searching other team's practice squads for bodies to sign just like they did last year. Time will tell if I am right or not.

I like PT, so I'm glad we got this done. What it tells me is that we are now committed to the "Running Back By Committee" approach. You can debate whether that's a good thing or not, but PT is not a feature back like Steven Jackson so we are going to run different RBs out there depending on the situation. PT, IMO, is the best running back in the league at catching balls out of the backfield, especially on screens. He is such a threat and a great weapon in that capacity. The Saints now need to make sure they have enough depth to balance the load.

Just got home from work, and this instantly put a genuine smile on my face. I couldn't be happier. Most underrated RB in the history of our franchise, and one of the best screen catch and go RBs of all time. THANKS FOR STAYING WITH US PT, AND THANK YOU PAYTON AND LOOMIS FOR SHOWING HIM TO HIS HOME!

We can all breathe a sigh of relief. Glad PT Bruiser is sticking around!

Hmmm...Interesting thought. I mean it. Who would the other nominees be? Anyone? I'll throw Dalton Hillard out there.

Hokie Gajan?

Perhaps my comment was hasty. He's the most underrated I've personally had the pleasure of watching. I'm younger than most here, and have only taken the Saints and Football seriously since the Haslett/Aaron Brooks era. I retract my previous statement, lol. To be fair though, I definitely feel he has caught the most crap for someone who has helped give us so much. He helped us win our first superbowl, and just as soon as he gets hurt (which I feel was a legit injury) people want to dismiss him for some of the subpar talent out of the shallow RB pool in this years draft. Signing PT was great for us and now we get to hit the draft defense candy store. Hilliard for sure though. Had he not been plagued by injuries himself, I think he would've been further appreciated outside of Saints fandom.

(In my worst Lil Jon voice): "PIE-YEEAHIYAH!!"

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/l...pple_1-1-1.gif

I personally do not believe the Saints are done at addressing the RB situation. If Mark Ingram is available when the Saints pick in the first round, which is highly unlikely, my bet is they pick him. Another guy they may go for is Mikel Leshoure. I am not saying the Saints will draft a RB in the first round, but the chances are very likely if one of those two are available. I know there are some pressing needs on defense, but it was pretty obvious to me the lack of running game kept the Saints from making a strong run at a repeat.

As a big PT fan I am glad they came together and agreed on a deal that will keep PT here as a Saint.

As a big PT fan I am glad they agreed to a deal that both sides thought was fair. It doesnt matter if some fans think he is to slow, to small, injury prone or not a starting RB. He has done everything he needed to do to prove he is worth a 4yr deal at a salary he was content with.

Glad that might be the end of some threads that he will not be in a Saints uniform anymore, he faked his injury last year, he is just a product of our offensive system. PT worked his way onto this team and worked his way up to our leading rusher for 2 straight years. Pay the man. This should show Bush what his salary should be slightly less than PTs.

Coach Sean Payton revealed that Pierre Thomas' ankle surgery could keep him out of all offseason activities.
Thomas underwent "extensive arthroscopic" surgery, described as a three-step process. Details are unknown, though Payton believes Thomas' rehab will stretch into the summer, causing him to miss OTAs if there is no lockout. There's no indication that Thomas is in danger of missing training camp, and the new contract suggests the Saints aren't overly concerned.

Source: New Orleans Times-Picayune Mar 3, 11:13 PM

This craps on the ridiculous rumors of how PT was faking it last year. The man was really hurt. This should also put to rest of how he's in Payton's doghouse because of it... if he was, we wouldn't have gave him a 4 year contract.

Yep. I never believed that dog house crap from day one. One article "suggested" it and everyone kept repeating it for 6 months as if it were fact.

Yea boy!.. But we need another Back.. Bush and PT are injury prone.

And I hear there's tension between Bush and Payton due to Bush's injuries and his east-west dance routines, Which explains why he's getting less and less touches even when healthy.

I'm surprised. Contract looks fair too. I hope he can recover from that injury.

lmfao papz, so tru

i knew what u ment wood its a good pick he just has that something to give the saints i have to say i actually pumped my fist when i heard, , don't tell nobody okay. lol