Saints Game Changing Off-season Moves: Goodbye Grant

by Dave Cariello on Apr 18, 2010 6:00 AM CDT

Sponsored Post: This post is presented by Sprint. Bringing you the first wireless 4G network from a national carrier. Only on the Now Network.

It's time to pay a few bills around this place. You may remember that the good people at Sprint were a sponsor of ours here last year. As it turns out, they love SB Nation so much that they've signed on for another go around of sponsorship. Thanks, Sprint! So what does this mean for us here CSC? We'll run a series of six posts discussing the Saints top game changing off-season moments this year over the course of the next couple of months. Each of these posts will display the Sprint branding you currently see before you. That's it! Now you know about their wireless 4G network and we can get back to talking about the Saints.

Game Changing Move #1 - March 4th, 2010 - Saints cut Charles Grant

Let's be honest: This has been the lamest off-season in Saints history. Lamer than lame. Ironic, considering it follows the greatest season. There haven't been many moves made at all by the Saints since their Super Bowl victory, let alone ones I would label as game changing. So I figured the best way to attack this would be from a chronological stand point.

Which leads us to the release of Charles Grant, among other players, earlier this year. Ahhhhh, I remember it like it was just last month. Because it was last month. I don't think many of us were very surprised about the move and an equal number, if not more, were probably happy about the news.

Grant, whose production just never matched his exorbitant contract and who always had a reputation for taking plays off, was the victim of the expiring CBA. Normally, cutting the defensive end would have been a very costly move for the Saints front office and the penalty would have probably kept them from making it at all. But thanks to the lack of a CBA this off-season, the team was able to part ways free and clear.

How can getting rid of a player with such minimal production be so game changing, you ask? It's not so much about what Charles Grant did, or rather didn't, do on the field as it is about what not having him on the payroll allows the Saints to do with everyone else on the roster. Cutting Grant freed up a significant chunk of change which the team used to get it's numerous free agents under contract this off-season and will also help pay the fat contracts that will be due some of the truly important members of this Saints team in the near future. Players like Drew Brees, Jahri Evans and possibly Pierre Thomas. It also inevitably paved the way for what will be another one of our game changing off-season moments: The signing of Alex Brown.

What do you guys think? Will we inevitably look back on the release of Charles Grant as one of the important early steps toward repeating as Super Bowl champions?

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Comments

Now he can focus on professional eating contests full time

Good luck, Chuck.

P.S. I have to admit I like the color choice of Sprint’s logo.

In Breesus' name we play

by Breesus Christ Superstar on Apr 18, 2010 7:53 AM CDT reply actions

yup - game changer

it had to happen, and it couldn’t happen at any other time

first baby step of the offseason of baby steps to keep us strong on top of the mountain

good call, Dave

this response was brought to you by Sprint, as well

"I have all of the love in the world for Darren Sharper. I just don't have all the money in the world for Darren Sharper." Mickey Loomis

by Hans Petersen on Apr 18, 2010 8:54 AM CDT reply actions

Couldn't Agree More

Good post Dave, this kind of discussion is what makes your CSC a successful site. You’ve attracted some very insightful and knowledgeable posters that makes for the perfect read for fans like myself. Question: why do the Saints not have more local talent?

OldFartFan

by OldFartFan on Apr 18, 2010 9:17 AM CDT reply actions

How many hometown players is the norm.

We got Devrey, Gay, Porter. And we had Skyler recently.

by ReggieVilma on Apr 18, 2010 4:35 PM CDT up reply actions

Good call, Dave

I think your explanation is on the mark. It looks like the Saints brain trust (how many times have we ever been able to say something like that with a straight face?) is following the Patriots Method of team building. I hated to see Fujita go, but I certainly see why the Saints couldn’t overpay him to keep him. Releasing Grant is the same kind of move. Grant wasn’t a horrible player, but he wasn’t worth his paycheck.

This comment brought to you by Plod – we only have a 3G network.

by Philistine on Apr 18, 2010 10:59 AM CDT reply actions

This post brought to you by Droid

I couldn’t agree more with the Grant move. I truely believed he was severly overpaid for what he did last season. I was aghast when I was looking at salaries last year, I saw how much he made compared to what Drew made, I was surprised. But then I thought about the conditions of how Drew was signed, I wasn’t as surprised. Matt Leinert was getting paid more than Derw, but we know who came out better in the end, the Superbowl MVP.

by Saintsfan75 on Apr 18, 2010 11:12 AM CDT reply actions

The back up QB was making quiet the salary also.

What wonderful little gifts April Fools Day brings.
~D's Pappy

by OldFartFan on Apr 18, 2010 12:09 PM CDT reply actions

You are correct sir

The barometer to test if you’ve made a mistake cutting a player is if another team hurries to sign him. Since none have hitched their horses to the Chuckwagon, we know it was a smart move.

by WhoDat_OH on Apr 18, 2010 3:18 PM CDT via mobile reply actions

did we hurry to sign Sharper last year? Just wondering…

by Ezio_Auditore on Apr 18, 2010 9:10 PM CDT up reply actions

I didn’t remember him being cut. I thought his previous contract expired.

by FriarBob on Apr 18, 2010 11:32 PM CDT up reply actions

According to Wikipedia

An unrestricted free agent after the 2008 season, Sharper signed a one year deal with the New Orleans Saints on March 18, 2009.

by WhoDat_OH on Apr 19, 2010 4:54 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions

Ironic that "Sprint" gets a plug on a post about a guy who only sprints when the "Hot Donuts" sign at Krispy Kreme turns on.

Snap, place, kick! And it's good! It's good! It's goo-hoo-hood! Pigs have flown! Hell Has frozen over! The Saints are going to the Superbowl!

by Joseph William Stern on Apr 18, 2010 5:33 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs

Have y'all read M. Detillier's piece on the possible trade for Rocky McIntosh?

He talks about all the big trades that have gone down already around the league and hints that Saints fans should be prepared for one that could very well happen in the next 3 days left before the draft for the Saints to go after LB Rocky McIntosh from the Redskins who has played under Gregg Williams before already. Here is the article if y’all haven’t read it:

http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20100418/OPINION01/100419438/1103/SPORTS?p=all&tc=pgall

by realheavyd on Apr 19, 2010 8:24 AM CDT reply actions

This just in from Mike D. on possible trades involving R. McIntosh and J. Brown...

CBSsports.com Saints message board posting
PRESSURE_by_#90
April 18, 2010 11:32 pm

Mike D was on the TV Show called Final Play which airs every Sunday at 9:30pm. They had a Draft special and were talking about few players that he thinks the Saints would be interested in. Pretty much the same guys that we all are saying. Hughs, D.Washington, Odrick, Weatherspoon ect. ect. What i found real interesting was that he said to watch real close for the Saints and Redskins to make a deal involving Mcintosh. The connections that the Saints have with him makes it very interesting.

The one thing that got me real excited was that he said he believes that Jamal Brown will be in another uniform come next year. I was floored when i heard that. I know thats something that we as fans have been talking about for awhile. But, to here it come from somebody i have a lot of respect for and who is close to the Saints organization, it was something that just got me excited. To move Brown, whom i like alot, would allow us to make some serious moves in the Draft.

http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/messages/chrono/21074862?tag=pageRow;pageContainer

by realheavyd on Apr 19, 2010 9:26 AM CDT reply actions

I’m curious why people would want another average LB in McIntosh….we have plenty of those on roster. Guy’s ok, not quite good, hardly great. Though frankly with people giving up 5th round picks from actually GOOD linebackers like Sims, who knows. If we give up more than our 6-7th round pick for him…mistake.

Also Not a fan of moving Brown at all. Guy is a suspect run blocker, but he is by far our best pass blocker. If we trade for less than a 2nd…HUGE mistake. Plus Bushrod is suspect at best and needs way too much help at times. It would force us to spend an early pick as either a replacement or key backup. 1 backup OT in Strief isn’t acceptable.

by jeff.l.b on Apr 19, 2010 3:01 PM CDT up reply actions

I prefer to leave the football decisions to the experts in the Saints front office...

I prefer to leave the football decisions to the experts in the Saints front office myself. I have total faith in the Payton brain trust and you just sound like a complete moron Jeff…

by realheavyd on Apr 19, 2010 6:51 PM CDT up reply actions

unrec!!

by maybetoday on Apr 19, 2010 7:21 PM CDT up reply actions

What's "unrec!!"?

by realheavyd on Apr 19, 2010 7:26 PM CDT up reply actions

do you guys know each other?

Wanna say something? Sign up! It's free!

by Dave Cariello on Apr 19, 2010 8:36 PM CDT up reply actions

I thought the question was “and how long have you two been married again?”

by FriarBob on Apr 19, 2010 10:15 PM CDT up reply actions

You know, I’ll try to be a lot more polite about it than others, but this really makes zero sense.

McIntosh isn’t as average as you seem to think. And the Saints almost drafted him instead of Harper. So Loomis already wanted him… and now he has GW around to give him even more of a fan club in the building.

And Brown is a suspect run blocker? And by far the best pass blocker? What Saints team were you watching, the 2003 edition? Stinchcomb improved a TON last year. And Brown in 2008 was a holding penalty machine. I’m not sure how many of them were actual holds and how many were bad luck / good acting by the opponent, because I saw a lot of penalties in 2008 I thought were bogus crap… but he was still called for quite a few penalties. But if those were legitimate calls, then you have to ask why was he holding? And the obvious answer was because he was beaten and he was trying to avoid getting Drew drilled in the back.

And Bushrod needed help last year, true. But that doesn’t begin to guarantee he will continue to need as much help this year. The experience (plus offseason weight room work) will make him a better player this year.

by FriarBob on Apr 19, 2010 10:26 PM CDT up reply actions