Information always comes at a fast and furious pace during these early days of the free agency period, so I wanted to recap everything that's happened thus far as it relates to the Saints.
Of course the biggest news was the re-signing of wide receiver Marques Colston to a 5-year deal worth $40 million dollars, $19 million of which is guaranteed. For those of you not doing the math at home, that works out to an average of $8 million a year. It's not Pierre Garcon money, but hey...
The other big news from yesterday was the signing of wide receiver Robert Meachem by the San Diego Chargers. Didn't see that one coming, considering the Bills were the team being mentioned as a possible landing spot for No. 17. Meachem was able to score himself a nice, fat 4-year contract worth $25.9 million, including $14 million in guarantees. The former first round pick will be missed, but it's certainly not the end of the world.
Other than that, the Saints have yet to make a splash in free agency with any signings. They do, however, have a visit scheduled with Baltimore Ravens offensive guard Ben Grubbs today. Grubbs, who is 6'3, 310lbs, is a damn good guard and arguably the second best available in free agency, behind Carl Nicks of course. So if the Saints are going to lose Nicks, Grubbs is the best option to replace him. Something to be optimistic about. A contract for Grubbs will probably be in the neighborhood of $7 million a year.
Speaking of Nicks, the big man will be making a visit to division foe Tampa Bay today, which sucks. The Buccaneers have a crapload of cap room so they can definitely afford to pay Nicks what he's looking for. That may not be his only stop on his 2012 North American free agency tour, either, as the Eagles are reportedly interested in his services as well. Given the fact that the Saints made a "reasonable" offer to Carl late Monday night, I'm thinking he'll explore all options before making a decision. That decision almost assuredly will determine what the Saints do regarding the aforementioned Ben Grubbs.
Also receiving interest from other teams is cornerback Tracy Porter, who is apparently on the radar of the St. Louis Rams and the feelings are mutual. Porter was disappointing last season but we all know damn good and well he can be awesome. We'll just have to wait and see what happens.
That's about it for all of your free agency related Saints news. Consider yourselves up-to-date and well-versed. And with that, this thread is now open for business...and free agency chatter!