What you missed this week with the New Orleans Saints

It’s Super Bowl weekend, if you didn’t know for whatever reason. That means that the 2017 NFL season will officially be over after Sunday, and we’ll be left waiting for the New Orleans Saints to return. It’ll be a long road to get there, with free agency and the draft being the main highlights until OTAs starts in late May. Here’s a few things you may or may not have missed with the black and gold from the past week.

Quick Hits

• Alvin Kamara won a plethora of awards this week. He was named the NFL’s Rookie of the Year, Pepsi Rookie of the Year, and even took on Travis Kelce in the Madden Bowl.
• Jim Henderson, the voice of the Saints, has retired. It’s going to be really weird from here on out.
• Patrick Peterson gave advice to Marshon Lattimore to keep evolving.
• Those reserve/future contracts handed out to Josh Huff and Jayrone Elliott were disapproved by the NFL because the team was above the 90-man roster limit. Huff is expected back.
• Thomas Morstead handed over a $221,000 check to Children’s Minnesota Hospital.
• James Laurinaitis said his body didn’t feel good at all while playing for the Saints.
• Andrew Hawkins told a story about how the Saints couldn’t get into a club after their Super Bowl win because of P. Diddy.

Austin Carr is a pretty awesome dude.

Drew Brees reiterates his desire to stay with the Saints:

Brees also told Dan Patrick he could play until he’s 45:

Rich Eisen played Start, Bench, and Cut with Rich Eisen, which was kind of funny:

Baker Mayfield: Saints would be a great spot for me | NOLA.com
However, like most quarterback prospects, the idea of playing with Drew Brees is appealing to Mayfield.

"I would love that," Mayfield said at the EA Sports Bowl at the Armory in Minneapolis on Thursday night. "To be able to learn under him for however long he plays, I'd love that (and) to get a chance to be in New Orleans, a good franchise.

"I love Sean Payton. I love what they're about, so that would be a great spot for me."

You could read into this like the Saints are all aboard the Baker Mayfield train and they’ll for sure draft him no matter what, or you could say that it’s just the generic talk from a draft prospect trying to make an impression.

2018 NFL Mock Draft: 1st-Round Predictions For Every Team Ahead of Super Bowl | Bleacher Report
Developments from now until April could pave the way for the Saints to sneak up the draft by way of a trade to take one of the remaining QBs, who would learn under the 39-year-old Brees before taking the reins in a few years or sooner.

Sean Payton's team has the capability to package picks to move up, if necessary, as it has seven selections after the second round.

New Orleans could also wait for its turn at the 27th pick and take the best player available, which we currently have as Courtland Sutton.

Of course, the narrative is that a quarterback that sits behind Drew Brees will certainly learn from him and be groomed accordingly. But then again, the Saints tried that with Garrett Grayson, spending a 3rd Round pick on him, and he was nothing that even remotely resembled the future, even with multiple opportunities. Ryan Griffin could have been could have been an interesting one had he not been nabbed off the practice squad by the Bucs. The other quarterback New Orleans drafted in the Sean Payton era was Sean Canfield in 2010, but that definitely didn’t pan out. How the Saints choose to tackle Brees’ deal is everything here, and is it even worth saying something about Kirk Cousins being a free agent?

Can't take a joke? Falcons complained to NFL over Saints' trolling in Christmas Eve game | theadvocate.com
The Falcons took umbrage to the Saints' use of the 28-3 meme in the "Us vs. Them" series they run at all home games. The video clip used the scene of the Falcons leading 28-3 in Super Bowl 51 against the Patriots as their "defining moment." It contrasted with the Saints' defining moment as Steve Gleason's blocked punt against the Falcons in their return to the Superdome following Katrina in 2006.

I mean, if the Falcons didn’t want all this coming to them, then maybe they shouldn’t have blown a lead in the biggest game of the year? Snidely Whiplash whining and complaining is certainly a good look for Atlanta. After the Falcons beat the Saints on that controversial Thursday Night Football game, they played ‘Halftime’, or the song the Saints always end up playing after they score a touchdown (of course after Fats Domino, respectfully). So, credit them for drawing first blood.

Brotherly bond Saints developed during season is carrying over to Super Bowl week | theadvocate.com
One week after seven Saints and the coaching staff spent time having fun in Orlando, Florida, at the Pro Bowl, the New Orleans stars have descended on the Twin Cities for Super Bowl LII festivities, and they're extending the party to Minneapolis.

"I don't ever recall having this much amount of time with my brothers right after the season," running back Mark Ingram said. "To spend time with the guys, that's what it's all about."

If you remember the debacle of 2014’s squad on and off the field, then this is a pretty welcomed thing. The Saints have worked hard to get the right makeup on their team, and it finally paid dividends in 2017. Here’s to hoping that boils over into big success next season.