What were the Saints up to?
They dished out restricted free agent tenders to guard Tim Lelito and tight end Josh Hill. They re-signed tight end Michael Hoomanawanui and created a kicker competition between Kai Forbath and Josh Scobee.
Inexpensive, yet necessary moves for a team walking into this week leading up to free agency with less than $10 million of salary cap space. And just when you thought they would be out from the hot NFL free agency action, tight end Coby Fleener pulled them back in.
Fleener agreed to a five-year deal worth a reported maximum of $36 million with the Saints on Wednesday. New Orleans seemingly each year comes up with some splash of significance in free agency regardless of the financial ledger.
This will be the Saints' 2016 splash.
A deal worth $7.2 million per season doesn't sound all too lucrative given the way NFL teams spent a copious amount of money like it was Armageddon. For the Saints, it seems like they're basically maxing out the credit card they've been trying to pay down by finding change in the couch cushions.
General manager Mickey Loomis and cap guru Khai Harley will used creative accounting to make Fleener's 2016 cap hit with Fleener's figure reportedly only $2.4 million in the first year.
Will the Saints' splash pay off?
I completely understand any apprehension. Deals the last two offseasons have left the Saints with bad contracts for underperforming players like Jairus Byrd, Brandon Browner and C.J. Spiller. Each circumstance has been different, but each deal has hindered the Saints on the field and on the books.
The focus all offseason has pointed to improving the Saints' porous defense. Everyone on Airline Drive would openly admit the flaw. Loomis has. Sean Payton has. So why would the Saints throw a nice bucket of cash at a tight end?
I at least understand the logic behind the Fleener deal.
Tight end became a "must" position to fill once productive veteran Benjamin Watson agreed to terms with the Ravens. Watson, 35, was coming off one of his most productive seasons of his career and it sounds like Baltimore heavily swayed Watson to leave despite interest from the Saints to keep Watson.
In the meantime, the Saints gave Hoomanawanui a three-year deal Tuesday just before the news broke of Watson's departure. I don't know if it was always the Saints' intention to issue Hill a restricted free agent tender. Regardless, the Saints extended the offer to Hill on Wednesday anyone.
The Saints obviously like both of those tight ends, but they viewed those two players as depth guys with specific roles last year. That wasn't going to change in 2016.
New Orleans had a few options to find a tight end they felt secure about as the No. 1 option: target a top-tier player in free agency, settle for an inexpensive veteran and go tight end by committee or unearth their starter in the NFL draft.
We now know the Saints went with option No. 1. I can't blame them.
The Saints last went with the committee in 2007 before the days of clear-cut No. 1 players like Jeremy Shockey, Jimmy Graham and then Watson. Payton and Drew Brees value production from the tight end far too much to go backwards.
Gambling on the draft doesn't seem like a sound plan either. Numerous draft pundits have panned the tight end class outside of maybe three or four prospects. Landing a bonafide starter like Fleener, who turns 28 in September, saves the Saints from drafting a tight end.
The Saints seemed determined to pluck either Fleener or Chargers free agent Ladarius Green. Judging by the contracts between the two players, the Saints were almost hellbent in landing Fleener.
Green received a four-year deal maxing out at $20 million, according to the Houston Chronicle, with a $4.75 million signing bonus. Fleener's deal carries an $8 million signing bonus.
Fleener, a second-round pick by the Colts in 2012, caught 183 passes for 2,154 yards and 17 touchdowns while playing mainly with his college teammate Andrew Luck. You would think Fleener would fit right in with Brees in the passing game.
I'm sure you're wondering about the price. Fleener's $7.2 million average judging by last year's numbers would land him barely in the top half of the league for tight ends. It's the going rate for a solid starter.
Any splash seems risky involving the Saints for a number of reasons. Fleener will be their splash signing in 2016 giving the team's financial state. At least the Saints filled a hole with a viable option.
It's more than what I can say they've done recently at cornerback, defensive end, etc.
Link : http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2016/03/new_orleans_saints_coby_fleene.html
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