Officially the 2009 season ended for the New Orleans Saints late into the evening on February 7 after defeating the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV.
The brand new season though didn't actually begin until March 5 when free agency began.
Very few moves have been made by the Saints since winning the championship, but that isn't necessarily their fault. New rules in place this year put great restrictions on the teams that made it the deepest into the playoffs. The biggest of those restrictions is that the Saints could not sign a free agent until losing one of their own.
Hence they were kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place, but still some movement has happened and it's time to grade how that has all done so far.
- Release of Charles Grant - Grant is a name that has been synonymous with the Saints for years now and it figured to be one for a long time coming after the contract extension a couple seasons ago. But injuries and underachieving play on the field caused him to be expendable even though there has not been a true replacement yet named. Still, the Saints did the right thing cutting him now during an uncapped season and avoiding a huge cap hit. Chances are he may go somewhere and prove he's still got a lot left in him, but this was a good move for the team.
Grade: A
- Release of Jamar Nesbit and Mark Simoneau - Released at the same time as Grant, the absence of these two players really won't plague the team. Nesbit has been with the team since 2004 but played sparingly and even less since there is a tremendous offensive line in place now. Simoneau has been injured since 2007 and not really been missed either. No big loss here and necessary moves.
Grade: A
- Scott Fujita signing with the Cleveland Browns - Maybe it's just me and I should look at this as advancement since defensive coordinator does like to have younger players on his squad, but I'm still not entirely sure this was the right move. Fujita is only thirty and could have been an extremely valuable asset for another year or two as a starter and mentor for the numerous young talents at linebacker that the Saints have. The man was not only a great leader on the field but in the locker room as well and it's quite a shame that he was allowed to get away. We shall see though if the Saints were right in thinking he wasn't worth $8 million over 3 years (which he received from the Browns).
Grade: C-
- The treatment of Mike Bell - Bell has signed an offer sheet with the Philadelphia Eagles and two days have gone by now without so much as a word on whether the Saints may attempt to match the offer. I was originally surprised at the low tender that Bell was offered honestly and expected a bit more of an effort to keep him around, but maybe the Saints believe the trio of Pierre Thomas, Reggie Bush, and second-year back Lynell Hamilton is the answer. I'm rather inclined to agree with the decision too so we just need to wait and see if Sean Payton and Mickey Loomis are right again.
Grade: B-
- The treatment of Darren Sharper - At first I believed the Saints to be totally insane for not placing the franchise tag on Sharper, but then free agency started and not so much as a peep was made from other teams. Maybe the Saints realized that no teams would be willing to offer Sharper as much as the franchise tag would have given him (about $6.5 million) so they wanted to wait and see what was put on the table before him and then offer the same or a tad more. After word got out that Sharper had microfracture surgery on his knee too; it started sinking in more and more that the Saints had made the right choice. My only concern is if it comes back to bite them because I feel that having Sharper back for another season or two would be a worthy investment. The guy still has it in him to play at a high level and I sincerely hope it's for the Saints next season and not against them.
Grade: B
- Free agent visits - Well, the Saints had no visits planned until they lost Fujita so it took a little bit to get a player or two down here, but when they did...it wasn't very thrilling. Three guys in their mid-thirties and a running back?? Ok, so former Charger Jamal Williams would have been a great addition but he didn't even make it to his visit after signing with Denver. But Leonard Little and James Hall are not who I expected to see come in for visits when Williams finally started setting them up. Not that they are flops or anything, but come on. Next up was former Raider Justin Fargas who would have been a worthy replacement of Bell, but then that messes up my whole thought of the Saints being happy with their current trio. I don't know...just confuses me. I was rather happy about Jake Delhomme coming in for a visit, but then he stopped in Cleveland and decided to set up camp. Kind of underwhelming on the free agency front so far and I expected a bit more once they could get rolling.
Grade: D+
- Checking out Pacman Jones - Oh, had you not heard about this one yet? Well, NFL.com is reporting that there are four teams attending the workout today (Friday, March 19) of Adam "Pacman" Jones and the Saints are one of them. Along with the Lions, Jaguars, and 49ers; the Saints will have representatives checking out Jones' workout to see if he'd be an asset to their team. Kind of surprising the Saints would be looking at a cornerback considering they've got two very valuable starters in Tracy Porter and Jabari Greer with back-ups in Malcolm Jenkins and Randall Gay. I doubt that Jones' ego would be a problem in a Saints' locker room that would squash it quickly, but his off-the-field problems are something the champs just don't need.
Grade: C-
Alright, so there we have the bulk of the Saints' moves so far with some looking pretty good while others are quite questionable. It's still very early though and we have a long way to go before everything is said and done so I'm simply going to put my trust in the minds of Payton and Loomis. What do all of y'all think of the Saints and their moves so far? Should they be doing more? Should they have kept Grant? Was letting Fujita go the right move?
Keeping up with free agency:
- Justin Fargas comes to town for a visit
- Bell signs offer with Philly
- Hargrove and Bell schedule visits
- Saints' news and notes
- Bell to visit with Seattle
- Fujita signs with Browns
- Julius Peppers and Chester Taylor signed by Bears
- Free Agency News: Mid-Friday
- Free Agency is almost here so let's go around the NFL
- Saints to cut Charles Grant, Mark Simoneau, and Jamar Nesbit as free agency looms
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Comments
First and foremost, it's waaay to early to start rendering on free agent moves that haven't come to fruition yet. As you stated, the Saints still have time to decide if they want to match the offer made to Bell. Perhaps they are waiting to see what happens with other visits from some of their own free agents and perhaps they believe it's time to see what Bush can do with more touches on the rock. Let's not forget the tenacity he played with during the post-season. Bell also started to get a little banged up in the bruiser position last year for us. As far as Pacman Jones goes, it's just a visit thus far and after last year's laundry list of injuries to the defensive side of the ball, how can you say that at least looking into another talented (albeit troublesome) player would be a detraction. You can structure the contract to include only very little guaranteed money. Finally, the lack of interest in Darren Sharper this far into the free-agency should only confirm Payton's decision.
Hmmmm, I like the checking out of the Pacman (not like the Saints are unfamiliar with character "risks", see, Hargrove, Anthony). Dude's pretty much an idiot, but he can play. Let's say Sharper leaves and Pacman enters. Jenkins moves to Safety (with I guess Usama as backup and maybe that kid from Wake -- everybody said he looked good before he got hurt). So you've got some young, athletic safeties (and Jenkins too has a nose for the ball) combined with Porter, Greer, Jones, Gay at CB. That sounds alright to me :)
Hmmmm, I like the checking out of the Pacman (not like the Saints are unfamiliar with character "risks", see, Hargrove, Anthony). Dude's pretty much an idiot, but he can play. Let's say Sharper leaves and Pacman enters. Jenkins moves to Safety (with I guess Usama as backup and maybe that kid from Wake -- everybody said he looked good before he got hurt). So you've got some young, athletic safeties (and Jenkins too has a nose for the ball) combined with Porter, Greer, Jones, Gay at CB. That sounds alright to me :)
I find it interesting how teams like Denver and Cleveland have done everything in their power to keep players away from the Saints. Seems like if the Saints have someone they want to look at, other teams become desperate to sign them and not let them leave to make their visits to the Saints and maybe are even overpaying to do so. Anyway, Fujita was particularly hard to take but I understand why they let it happen. I would have loved to have kept Fujita but age go in the way. As for the other visits I'm not impressed and so far neither are the Saints. I feel there will be better situations that can help our team that will come up and there's no sense in signing someone just for the sake of doing so. Pac Man Jones needs to be out of football period. This guy is a thug and has spit in the face of everyone that has tried to help him, I hope the Saints do what the nation should with the health bill and just say NO!
It appears as if Pacman canceled his workout here today at Tulane. Not sure why or what caused the cancellation, but he didn't end up coming. Oddly enough, his agent landed here in New Orleans, but the player did not.
Strange.
Releases -- Yeah, those all had to be done. Good moves. A
Fujita -- Yeah, it stings, but no way is he worth $5M+ per season, w/ half that guaranteed. He was our 3rd best LB, but I'll miss him anyway. A- for not overpaying. Bummer though.
Bell -- I don't get the fuss. Dude had a grand total of 3 good games last year, all early. He was terrible once teams realized he wasn't a threat to catch OR bounce outside. We all love big hits, but Hamilton is a more than capable replacement and Fargas is better and more versatile (assuming he's healthy). If we thought he was worth $1.5-2M, we'd have tendered him higher; he's gone. A-
Sharper -- See: Fujita. He's worth having back, but he's not worth overpaying to keep. Hopefully he'll come to his senses and accept something like $3-4M/yr for 1-2 years. We've gotta get Jenkins on the field somehow. B
FA -- meh, nothing's out there really. Incomplete.
Pacman -- Dime back? No thanks. A for homework. F if he signs.
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