Brees,'I will be beyond stunned' if deal isn't reach with Saints
 

Saints coach Sean Payton said this week that soon-to-be free agent quarterback Drew Brees will be back with the team. Today Brees said he agrees with that sentiment completely.

Brees told the Associated Press he would be “beyond stunned” if he and the Saints don’t reach an agreement on a contract extension.


Brees will be

Now, that is what I'm talking about.

He's gonna be stunned????? I'll have a heart attack due to stupidity!


"Brees also said he hopes that his deal doesn’t prevent the Saints from re-signing other free agents, including guard Carl Nicks and receivers Marques Colston and Robert Meachem".

I knew he wanted to get paid but not hurt the team.

You're a good man Drew!

What's this Nicks is expected to leave crap? Why would we do that? Makes no sense to LET a pro bowl guard just walk out the door. I call :bs:

He's talking about the money. He'll probably be the 2nd highest paid player in the league.

Will that prevent them from signing Evans and others? We'll see. We have a lot of free-agents we need to keep, but we also aren't doing so bad with the cap from what I've read.

Brees on his contract. How could you not like this guy?
 

Drew Brees optimistic for extension

Associated Press

METAIRIE, La. -- Drew Brees said he would be "beyond stunned" if he and the New Orleans Saints are unable to agree on a contract extension during this offseason, echoing comments by coach Sean Payton this week.
Brees added he doesn't believe his next deal will prevent the Saints from bidding for some other key members of their record-setting offense who will become free agents, including Pro Bowl guard Carl Nicks and receivers Marques Colston and Robert Meachem.

http://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=...nsparent=false
Brees

"My No. 1 priority, and it always has been this, is keeping our team together and making sure we have the right guys in the right positions to make a run at this for a long time," Brees said Friday by phone from his offseason home in San Diego. "We all kind of work together on this thing.
"Put it this way: I'm not worried one bit about my contract or our ability to keep guys at key positions."
At the same time, Brees indicated whether some players return is somewhat out of his control, as is the case every year.
"Is it realistic to think we can keep absolutely everybody? I don't know how realistic that is just because every year on a team there's turnover and I think that's just the business we're in," Brees said.
"That's the biggest reason why it's so sad when the season ends. It's not because the season is over and you don't get to play anymore games or you know you're not going to win a championship that year. The biggest sadness comes in because you're looking around the room and you know that there's guys you've become very close to that you might not be playing with anymore."
Brees is expected to command an annually salary in the range of $18 million, which would be commensurate with the average yearly pay of New England's Tom Brady and Indianapolis' Peyton Manning.
Brees' agent is Tom Condon, who also represents Manning.

NFC South blog


http://assets.espn.go.com/i/columnis...skas_pat_m.jpgESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas writes about all things NFC South in his division blog.• Blog network: NFL Nation




In 2011, Brees set NFL single-season records with 468 completions, 5,476 yards passing and a completion percentage of 71.2. His prolific passing numbers helped the Saints set a new NFL high for total offensive yards in a season with 7,474.
The former Super Bowl MVP led the Saints to a 13-3 regular-season record and second NFC South division title. New Orleans defeated Detroit in the first round of the playoffs before falling in the final seconds of their second-round game at San Francisco, which hosts the NFC title game on Sunday.
Brees has been invited to the Pro Bowl and plans to attend. By then, he hopes the emotional pain of losing in the playoffs will have subsided enough that he can look back fondly on New Orleans record-shattering season.
"I haven't been able to enjoy it yet to be honest with you. It's been tough this week. I really have tried not to turn on the TV," Brees said. "It's hard not to think about what could have been. But you know what? I take solace in the fact that we fought our heart out, we gave it our best and you know what? It just wasn't meant to be.
"If we're not playing for a championship, I guess there's no place I'd rather be than going to Hawaii for a week with the family and be able to enjoy the Pro Bowl and be around other guys that have earned that trip. And maybe that's going to be the time to decompress and reflect back on the season a little bit, but for now it still stings."
Brees arrived in New Orleans in 2006, less than a year after Hurricane Katrina had struck. Since then, he has passed for more yards than any other quarterback in the NFL (28,394) while lifting the Saints to new heights and simultaneously helping a region heal from Katrina's devastation.
In addition to lifting the spirits of football fans, he and wife Brittany have worked through their Brees Dream foundation to sponsor millions of dollars in projects primarily aimed at improving the lives of children in the area, through the refurbishing of schools or renovation of athletic fields and facilities.
He said his family's increasing strong ties with the region is another reason it's hard to envision playing anywhere else.
"It's been an unbelievable journey over the last six years to watch how far, not only our organization and out team, but just the mental psyche of the city" has improved, Brees said.

Cap will eventually be an issue, probably this year. Glad to see Drew sees that as well. Time to get creative, like Benson donating a million to Brees' charity and then paying Drew a little less

also, Arrington's rise might mean Devery or Meachem have become too expensive,

He's such a class act. How will we ever be able to come close to replacing this guy. I say come close, because until Brees, I never even imagined we would have someone of his caliber. As a fan from the 70's, I hope all of the younger Saints fans realize just how lucky they are to be a part of the Drew Brees era!!!!

The short answer is that he is not replaceable .... I shutter to think of the day he retires ...

I know this is just sort of pulling stuff out of my butt, but I had a feeling for a long time, or a hunch. That the the agent, Tom Condon, had his two star clients lined up on the track, like trains coming into the station -- first Manning was gonna get the biggest contract ever, and then his plan was that Brees was gonna come along a year or so later, and top it, be the highest paid QB ever, by just a hair more than Manning -- both with the same agent. To an agent, that's like winning back to back consecutive Super Bowls. Quite a hat trick, he'd be the toast of the town.

And I think the ridiculousness of the Michael Vick deal, in the middle of that plan, was sort of unexpected, and kind of insane money -- I think it sort of blew the wind out of that plan, this storybook idea of having Brees' contract come along and top Manning's contract, both with the same agent. And I think the freakish injury to Peyton maybe had something to do with it as well. So now I think they are looking at a much more realistic number, a Tom Brady type number.

Told ya! Brees is such a class act. If you don't like this guy, something is seriously wrong with you. I see statues of this guy in front of the dome one day. ;-)

I think the figure will be somewhere in the middle, meaning we will have to give up something. Brees is a great guy but I don't see him bending too much and rightfully so, he's earned it and without him the Saints are nothing more than an average team at best.

I don't think that is completely fair towards the other 52 players on the active roster every single week, or towards the staff who spend countless hours preparing for the games, but I do agree that no one can argue that Brees isn't a significant part of the success the Saints have had since 2006 - and one without which it would be tough going forward.

Still, I don't think we would see a similar situation with the Saints if Brees went down for an extended period of time as it were with the Colts this season missing Manning - they are too well coached and managed in order for that to happen, but it would be tough nevertheless.

Arringtons what? He is our 6th WR for a reason. I have not seen any rise from him at all.

Henderson couldn't catch anything his first two years, and Meachem was inactive practically his entire rookie year. SP obviously has confidence in AA or he would have brought someone else in. He has had two years to look at him, so there must be something there.
He's our 6th receiver bc the top 5 are all above average, and Drew can get the ball to anyone, including a 5th string TE named Higgins

My point is that we are going to need the money, and if that means losing Devery or Meachem and moving AA to the 5th spot, I'm fine with that

I'm more hopeful at the prospect of both Morgan and Tanner being able to elevate their game and maybe earn an active roster spot than Arrington suddenly becoming a lot better... unfortunately I think we've already seen his back of tricks.

we'll see...was Morgan's injury for real? We have a penchant for putting guys on IR w/ marginal injuries just so we can keep them and get them a paycheck.
I think Tanner is a practice body, and if he could have, he would have beaten out AA already

But you have to remember that neither of these guys hardly had any OTAs or extended pre-season practice camps whereas AA has been given these opportunities, but still his development hasn't really impressed anyone in particular... at least I haven't read a single press release where someone from the staff had praised AA's development.

And Morgan was indeed really injured in the pre-season - he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery, which in itself would probably not have ended his season, but missing those 4 to 5 weeks it takes to rehab after that type of a surgery really put him behind the 8 ball towards claiming a roster spot.

There are number of technical benefits to "red shirt" a rookie player for the year instead of trying to get him back to the roster at a later date, but I have no doubts that if he hadn't gotten injured he would have made a serious bid for the #6 WR spot ahead of AA.

UK_WhoDat said he would be "beyond stunned" too

I know I am naive, but I wish the "Big 3" of the off-season would sit together with the FO and work out a deal that is fair for all of them and also allows the team to prepare for the future.

Failing that, I hope Drew leads by example and bypasses a little bit of $$$ in exchange for keeping his team together. I mean, how awesome would it be if, at Drew's HOF induction, the person giving the induction speech is able to bring up how he sacrificed some cash to win a few more championships (knock-wood).

There aren't a lot of athletes in any sport that seem willing to do that sort of thing in this day and age...

Three sides to this equation

1 - Loomis - Obviously wants him here and has a history of "makin' it happen".

2 - Brees - Obviously wants to remain a Saint and simply wants to be paid what he's worth.

3 - Condon - A sports agent, and I'll just leave it at that

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Brees,'I will be beyond stunned' if deal isn't reach with Saints

Drew you hold key. Make the deal LOL

I wouldnt call AA's 2 catches for the year a rise, he was only in because of Moores injury..plus id rather have Devery or Meachem over AA. JMO

"I'm not worried one bit about my contract or our ability to keep key guys at key positions," said Brees.