Grant was a good DE for a season or two, and he was playing like a 1st rounder during that time-span, but he declined rapidly and just didn't have the mental side to make a lasting impact. While you can and do naturally take the mental side into consideration when scouting players, it's a much harder thing to get right than the physical prowess of a certain player, so it's hard to blame the scouting department for that.

Grant's extension was an overpayment for sure - given what we know now - and it was even more so damaging because it set a precedent for Will Smith to ask for an equally pricey extension when his turn came around... the contract he is on at the moment, although it was re-structured.

It's pretty much the same thing with that contract as happened with Jahri Evans and Carl Nicks - although Evans is on a completely different level than Grant and has earned his keep many times over - which basically set a precedent for Nicks that the Saints couldn't afford to pay him. And that is the one thing I criticize Loomis for: overpaying on extensions. Roman Harper is another example of this, and a definite overpayment. This is also why I was glad they let players like Meachem and Porter go elsewhere rather than overpaying them to stay.