Don’t expect Drew Brees to sign another extension before the season. The 38-year-old Saints quarterback is again entering a contract year but wants to wait until after the season to discuss another deal to stay in New Orleans. Brees said waiting until the end of the year is best for himself and the team, Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com reports. Brees’ one-year extension from 2016 will pay him $24.25MM this season.
The 17th-year quarterback is also not exactly endorsing the Saints taking a signal-caller early. While that may be in the best interest of the franchise post-Brees, the current starter doesn’t want a high draft pick that will sit behind him and not help the team in 2017.
“The flip side is, if I’m going to start and that quarterback sits, well that’s not helping our team right now,” Brees said, via Katzenstein. “So, I want somebody who’s going to help our team right now. When I leave here, I want this organization to be successful — whenever that is — so I want them to be prepared for that. They need to be thinking about that, but then again, I don’t want to make it seem like this is my farewell tour. That’s not the way I view it.”
Here’s more from the league’s South divisions.
- The Panthers‘ free agency plan focused on established veterans, and Dave Gettleman and Ron Rivera pointed to the success the more veteran-laden 2015 Super Bowl team had compared to its successor. “You go back to the Super Bowl year and you look at what we had with Roman (Harper), Charles (Tillman) and Jared Allen. Those three veteran guys right there. And then you look at what we did with (Mike) Adams, (Captain) Munnerlyn and Julius (Peppers),” Rivera said, via Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer, pointing to the additions of a 36-year-old safety, a soon-to-be 29-year-old nickel corner and a 37-year-old defensive end. “Are we trying to copy what we did? You’re darned right. We really are.” Both Adams and Peppers are actually older than the players the Panthers are bringing them in to emulate.
- Rivera hopes Peppers’ decision to sign a one-year pact doesn’t amount to a farewell tour. The seventh-year Panthers coach said the 16th-year edge defender has a lot left in the tank and wants him to consider playing beyond this season. Peppers’ three mid-30s seasons produced a combined 25 sacks, adding to Rivera’s point.
- Carolina also will consider using Munnerlyn outside in addition to his usual slot role, Person notes. Munnerlyn has far more experience than James Bradberry or Daryl Worley but has spent the majority of his career in the slot. The now-two-time Panther could be competing for an base defense starter’s role while sliding to his customary nickel on passing downs.
- The Titans worked out Miami tight end David Njoku on Saturday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. They hold picks 5 and 18 in the first round. Njoku’s soaring value has induced mock drafts to route him to teams picking in the range of Tennessee’s No. 18 selection. The Titans still have Delanie Walker under contract, but he will be 33 in August.
- Having been connected to Tony Romo throughout the offseason, the Texans are also a candidate to take a quarterback early. Bob McNair said as much earlier this offseason. But Bill O’Brien may not necessarily be ready to start a rookie. “I think it’s tough to play quarterback as a rookie in our league,” O’Brien said this week. “I think that there’s no substitute for experience. So, I think it’s hard to ask a guy to come in straight from college and Day 1 he’s a starter on your team. But I know that there are some really good quarterbacks in this draft that we’re looking at and we’ve met with a lot of them. We’re excited about continuing to get to know them. But, I just think for me as a general rule, that’s tough to start them as a Day 1 guy.”
Panthers have got things going in the media with Rivera saying Cam Shaken last season and Ealy would be better off with the Patriots In Belichicks System. Then 7 years of Rivera saying Cam needs to improve. Then Rivera last year Benching Cam over a tie. When is it enough? Well with the Rumors of a Panthers 49ers trade for the 1st rd. 2nd Pick I’m beginning to wonder about a couple of things.
The whole NFL was excited to see a Cowboys QB Dak Prescott and Zeke Elliot combo scares me so much I’m thinking the unthinkable. The cost to land that 1st rd. 2nd pick is at least 2 1st round picks.
Then Kyle Shanahan leaves the Falcons as OC to take the HC job with the 49ers. It’s no secret that the 49ers need a QB.
So could it be possible that the Panthers are talking trade of Cam to the 49ers for the 2nd pick and other picks In hopes of Landing RB Leonard Fournette and QB Deshaun Watson.
Well if you look at it for a moment you get of the top players In this years draft. Cam’s Cap will hurt, but looking at Prescott taking the starting job from Tony Romo is it stretching things to imagine that.
Could this be the best thing for Cam hooking up with Kyle Shanahan and making Falcons QB Matt Ryan the 2016 MVP.
So on April one anything is possible.
I’ll never understand the NFL coaching philosophy of “no substitute for experience”, which seems to apply only to QBs. How is someone supposed to acquire experience sitting on the bench and not getting practice reps in favor of the starter? Sure, they can learn some things by watching, and talking to veterans, but then that’s not experience. That’s just accumulating knowledge. You can wait a year or two before you put them in the game, but they’re still starting from square one. Why don’t you start them right away if you want them to be the future and start getting them actual experience? If there were a minor league or D league, that would be perfect. But there’s not, so why stunt the growth of these players at the most important position on the team who are supposed to be top options by sitting them down for a whole year? It’s not hard to start them when you don’t have clearly better options. Bill O’Brien would probably have sat Dak Prescott the whole season in favor of a below average backup with years of benchwarming experience.