Suppose Drew Brees suffers a season ending (but not 2017 threatening) injury. Garrett Grayson then goes on a Tom Brady-esque sophomore season tear, leading the Saints to an improbable Super Bowl victory. Brees's agent won't back down from $20M/yr guaranteed to return, be it as a starter or a backup. However, he concedes the length of the contract to your discretion. Do you make like A.J. Smith and let Brees walk, or do you cut a deal? If the latter, for how long? If it depends on how long Brees played prior to the injury, i.e., how much he contributed to their 2016 success, what would that hypothetical "tipping point" be? - Cold P.
I don't even know why this is a question at all. We all love Drew Brees but he's not going to play forever. For the Saints to actually strike gold finding his successor immediately would be the absolutely ideal situation. The Saints could feel comfortable letting Brees walk and save themselves a crapload of money in the process, which they could then use to build an even better team around their new quarterback. No brainer.
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Who are the 5 WR's on the 53 man roster? So it's Cooks/Snead/Thomas/Coleman and RJ Harris, right? Not Meachem? Harris? Yes? - Stu J.
I certainly agree with you right now on the first four receivers, though Brandon Coleman isn't a guarantee. Robert Meachem is not on the team so that's not an option. But, surprisingly, there are a total of 12 receivers currently on the roster. Which means the Saints will have a good chance of finding somebody. Right now I'd actually lean toward Vincent Brown, just because he's a veteran with experience. Otherwise I'd say it might be Harris or Reggie Bell. But it's wide open.