Tim Hightower Discusses Contract Negotiations
Saints running back Tim Hightower has a new appreciation for the business side of the NFL after having negotiated his own contract last offseason.
- The Panthers announced that Luke Kuechly has returned to practice. The linebacker hasn’t suited up for the team in 20 days, when he was concussed during his team’s win against the Saints. The 25-year-old has 102 tackles and two sacks this season.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/7/2016
Today’s practice squad moves:
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: CB Charles Gaines
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: S Justin Currie
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: S Stefan McClure
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: TE E.J. Bibbs
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: OT Rob Crisp
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: CB Brandon Dixon
San Diego Chargers
- Signed: CB Randall Evans
Saints HC Denies Brandon Cooks Trade Talk
Could the Saints consider trading Brandin Cooks? Both Ian Rapoport of NFL.com and Adam Schefter of ESPN say that New Orleans could explore such a move this offseason. For what it’s worth, Saints coach Sean Payton says that’s not the case. 
“That’s garbage. It’s a false report,” Payton said (Twitter links via Nick Underhill of The Advocate). “It’s an agent picking up the phone and calling a reporter.”
Meanwhile, Cooks himself denies making a trade demand or doing anything of that nature. Still, Cooks has been vocal about his inconsistent targets as of late and has been voicing frustration about his role in the offense. Payton and Cooks both say that the trade talk is baseless, but it’s fair to wonder if Cooks is frustrated enough to want out.
Reportedly, the idea of a Cooks trade isn’t new. League sources told Schefter that a trade between the Saints and Patriots was brewing earlier this season that would have shipped Cooks to New England in exchange for linebacker Jamie Collins. Of course, that deal didn’t go down and Collins wound up being sent to the Browns instead.
So far this year, Cooks has 58 catches for 809 yards and six touchdowns. That means he is on pace for roughly 78 catches and 1,079 yards, which isn’t too far behind his numbers from last season. But, after seeing five targets in Week 10 against the Broncos and zero targets in Week 12 against the Rams, Cooks isn’t completely satisfied with his role. Someone might want to let Cooks know that the target volume typically runs hot and cold in a Drew Brees offense.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/6/2016
Today’s practice squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: P Matt Wile
- Cut: LB Reshard Cliett
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: RB Stephen Houston
Clevleand Browns
- Signed: S Justin Currie
New Orleans Saints
- Cut: LB Lamar Louis
New York Giants
- Signed: DE Jordan Williams
New York Jets
- Signed: WR Darius Jennings
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: DT Shaniel Jenkins
- Cut: WR Kevin Smith
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: WR Bernard Reedy
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: LB J.R. Tavai
Latest On Marques Colston
Free agent receiver Marques Colston hasn’t drawn any known interest since being released by the Saints in February, and that could be by design. As Colston explains to Joel Erickson of the Advocate, he’s just about ready to hang up his cleats for good.
[RELATED: Saints Could Explore Brandin Cooks Trade]
“Nothing official, but I’m not actively looking to play right now,” Colston said. Although an August report indicated that Colston could begin looking for work after rehabbing a shoulder injury, the longtime Saints receiver tells Erickson that wasn’t his intention. “I was rehabbing the shoulder for a while,” Colston said. “I got to a point where I knew I wasn’t going to move forward, and really just having a lot of things lined up off the field made it an easy transition.”
Colston, 32, had been with the Saints since 2006, when he was selected in the seventh round of the draft, 252nd overall. The Hofstra product had been one of the most productive pass-catchers in the NFL – and the Saints’ all-time leading receiver — since then, racking up six 1,000-yard seasons and 9,759 overall receiving yards over the last decade.
NFL Spending By Team Over Last Four Seasons
The NFLPA has released the official data on team spending over the last four seasons. The Collective Bargaining Agreement stipulates that each team must utilize 89% of the salary cap over two four-year periods, 2013-16 and 2017-20. As previously reported, the Raiders are the only team that has yet to satisfy that requirement for the closing period. The CBA also requires the league, as a whole, to spend 95% of the cap, in cash, for the same period. That requirement has been easily met.
Here is the full rundown of every team’s spending in declining order:
Philadelphia Eagles – $613,928,134
Denver Broncos – $587,712,791
Seattle Seahawks – $584,305,975
Green Bay Packers – $583,138,740
Miami Dolphins – $577,975,260
Kansas City Chiefs – $575,541,332
Buffalo Bills – $573,647,850
Chicago Bears – $568,301,610
Cincinnati Bengals – $567,289,411
Baltimore Ravens – $562,425,698
San Diego Chargers – $562,232,116
Indianapolis Colts – $556,335,689
Atlanta Falcons – $550,614,572
New York Giants – $543,787,033
Arizona Cardinals – $543,327,538
Los Angeles Rams – $541,957,711
New Orleans Saints – $539,836,498
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – $539,736,102
Minnesota Vikings – $539,162,454
New York Jets – $533,151,519
Washington Redskins – $532,545,662
Pittsburgh Steelers – $530,698,171
Detroit Lions – $530,210,549
Tennessee Titans – $524,505,256
Dallas Cowboys – $523,033,036
Houston Texans – $517,212,166
Jacksonville Jaguars – $516,908,734
Cleveland Browns – $516,158,864
San Francisco 49ers – $514,488,198
New England Patriots – $500,083,836
Carolina Panthers – $495,149,346
Oakland Raiders – $491,433,408
Saints TE Josh Hill Done For Year?
Saints tight end Josh Hill has a broken fibula, according to a source who spoke with Nick Underhill of The Advocate (Twitter links). Hill also has an ankle injury, though it is thought to be a high sprain and not a fracture. There is no word yet on Hill’s timetable for recovery, but it stands to reason that he will be placed on IR and shut down for the year. 
Hill is technically listed as the No. 2 tight end on the Saints’ depth chart behind Coby Fleener, but he is a vital part of the team. This offseason, the Bears tried to swoop in on the restricted free agent by offering him a three-year, $7.5MM deal with $3.25MM in guaranteed money. Within to the week, the Saints matched the offer sheet and retained him.
In his four years with the Saints, Hill has averaged just 13 receptions per season. He may not move the needle in the passing game, but the Saints lean on him for his blocking ability.
The Saints are 5-7, behind the Falcons and Buccaneers (both 7-5) in the NFC South.
Saints Could Explore Brandin Cooks Trade
Brandin Cooks is one of the most talented young wide receivers in the league, but his role in the Saints’ dynamic offense has diminished a bit this year. He is on pace to receive 30 fewer targets than 2015, and he was not targeted at all in last week’s victory over the Rams. He felt compelled to voice some frustration earlier this week, saying, “closed mouths don’t get fed.”
And yet, the Saints offense continues to thrive, leading some to wonder if the New Orleans system is the best one for Cooks. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com says that the Saints are expected to explore trading Cooks this offseason prior to the opening of free agency, and if that happens, Cooks would of course garner significant interest. ESPN’s Adam Schefter confirms the report, and adds that league sources believe a Cooks trade was brewing earlier this season, a deal that would have sent the former first-rounder to the Patriots in exchange for Jamie Collins.
The Saints, of course, traded Jimmy Graham and his highly lucrative contract a few seasons ago, and although Cooks is still playing under his rookie deal, he is eligible for a long-term extension at the end of the 2016 campaign. Plus, he is a deep threat who is not being used that way, and it appears as though Willie Snead and Michael Thomas better fit what New Orleans does on offense.
Head coach Sean Payton, however, took exception to the trade rumors, retweeting a reader who suggested that Rapoport was blindly throwing darts and did not do sufficient research to substantiate his report (link via Mike Triplett of ESPN.com).
Nick Fairley Was Motivated By Lions' Fifth-Year Options Decision
- When the Lions declined defensive tackle Nick Fairley‘s fifth-year option for the 2015 season, the club’s brass defended the decision as a motivational tactic, hoping the sting of the move would incite Fairley into improvement. That strategy worked, Fairley tells Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com, as the current Saints defender says Detroit’s choice not to pick up the option “hit home” and forced him to self-evaluate. Fairley, who will face the Lions on Sunday, has since signed consecutive one-year deals with Los Angeles and New Orleans.
How Will Kevin O'Dea Help Saints Special Teams?
- The Saints added Kevin O’Dea as an assistant coach to help with their struggling special teams, as Christopher Dabe of The Times-Picayune writes. “I think when you have some struggles in an area immediately I think the reaction is people want heads to fly,” Payton said. “I think for us, it’s about bringing in someone that can help. I think [special teams coordinator] Greg [McMahon] and [special teams assistant] Stan [Kwan] and those guys, this is a low-ego business. We want to win, and that’s the most important thing. So a guy like Kevin I think can help us. He was fired up. He got in here (Monday) afternoon.”
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