But in your mind, is it better to trade Howard or not be able to give new contracts to Deuce, MM, Bentley, and Horn? Cause that is the trade off for keeping Howard in case you weren\'t aware.

give me another will smith and courtney watson with $14million to spend!

Howard faces uncertain future
Saints defensive end could be caught in a numbers game
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
By Josh Peter
Staff writer
Dumping his belongings into a trash bag, defensive end Darren Howard cleaned out his locker Monday, wondering if it would be the last time he\'d do so as a member of the Saints.

No player\'s future with the team has prompted as much speculation as Howard\'s.





A day after the Saints\' season ended, as players packed their personal belongings, Howard said he knows whether he\'ll return likely will come down to money and what role he\'ll play on the team.

\"It\'s going to be interesting to see what happens,\" said Howard, who completed his fifth season in the NFL, all with the Saints. \"Maybe I\'ll be here next year, and maybe not.\"

After drafting Will Smith in the first round in the 2004 draft, the Saints face a logjam at defensive end.

Howard, Smith and Charles Grant, a first-round pick in 2002 who has 27½ sacks in his three seasons with the Saints, all are highly regarded. This season, Howard led the team with 11 sacks, while Grant was second with 10½, and Smith was third with 7½.

But it\'s unlikely the Saints can pay market value to three players at the same position and maintain enough room under the salary cap for priorities such as securing a long-term deal with running back Deuce McAllister and acquiring new players.

Howard\'s $6.5 million salary this year might make him more expendable than Grant, whose salary is scheduled to count $1.32 million against the cap next year, and Smith, who has an even lower cap number. Howard said he knows General Manager Mickey Loomis will have to make a business decision and ultimately answer to owner Tom Benson.

\"I would try to sign all of (us) if I was the GM,\" said Howard, a second-round pick in 2000. \"If I was the owner, that\'s a different story. He\'s the guy with the pockets. That\'s the GM\'s job, to try to make the owner happy. . . . They can\'t dish out a whole lot of money all in the same position.\"
Attempts to reach Loomis for comment were unsuccessful. Saints coach Jim Haslett said, \"I don\'t know if we can keep them together, but it\'s a great trio.\"

Clearly, Howard is not happy with his evolving role. With the emergence of Smith, Howard frequently was moved on third-down passing situations from his preferred spot at end to tackle. Smith and Howard primarily play the same spot, right defensive end. Grant plays left end.

\"It\'s a whole \'nother world in there, giving up another 40, 50 pounds to some of those guys, and it\'s rough on my body,\" Howard said of playing defensive tackle. \"It\'s something that I can do every once in a while. But a large dose of it, I\'d rather not.
\"(Smith) is a young guy. He\'s going to be a great player here for the future. At the same time, I want to be part of a team where I\'m in the rotation all the time, not coming in every other series or third down going inside. I\'d like to play and I\'d like to rush off the edge. That\'s what I do (best). I want to be able to use my abilities to the fullest.\"

Last year, the Saints put the franchise tag on Howard, preventing him from testing the free-agent market while guaranteeing him an average of the top five salaries of players at his position. With that figure expected to jump from the current $6.5 million, Howard said he doesn\'t think the Saints will use the franchise tag on him again. That would allow Howard to offer his services to the highest bidder, and he said he has no intention of playing for less than market value.
The Saints discussed a long-term deal with Howard\'s agent, Gary Wichard, last year. But the two sides never came close to an agreement, Howard said. Attempts to reach Wichard Monday were unsuccessful.

The deadline for NFL teams to impose the franchise tag on a player is in February.

\"You got a couple of months for them to think about what\'s going to happen,\" Howard said. \"Right now, I\'m just trying to celebrate the last few games we won.\"