That’s a lot for a tight end

Power outages across Lafourche
March 11, 2016
3,000 lose power in Houma
March 17, 2016
Power outages across Lafourche
March 11, 2016
3,000 lose power in Houma
March 17, 2016

The New Orleans Saints did it again, folks.


They dumped big money onto a free agent player who will likely not drastically make them a better football team.

I wasn’t shocked this past week when news broke that New Orleans had signed former Indianapolis Colts tight end Coby Fleener. After all, it’s no secret that Saints coach Sean Payton values quality tight ends and all of the mismatches that they can create for opposing defenses.

Fleener is young piece who has both potential and a proven pedigree. It’s not far-fetched to assume that he will be a nice fit to the team’s high-powered offense.


But what I was surprised about is the amount of money that New Orleans gave to its new investment – especially considering the salary cap purgatory that the Saints are currently in.

For my dollar, five years and $36 million is a tad pricy. Nothing against Fleener, but I just think that if the Saints had that much money to throw around, they could have used it in other ways – specifically on a defensive unit that is hands-down one of the worst in the NFL.

The Saints are in a very, very awkward point in their franchise’s history.


The root of the problem is the aforementioned salary cap situation, which has forced General Manager Mickey Loomis to gut the Black and Gold’s roster of almost all of its veteran talent.

The past two or three offseasons have been brutal for Saints fans, as just about every fan-favorite not named Brees has bitten the bullet as a salary cap casualty.

For most NFL teams in this situation, the solution is pretty easy. The way that most remedy financial trouble is to sacrifice a season or two, get younger and then begin building a new foundation for the future.


But the Saints don’t have that luxury for two reasons.

The first is quarterback Drew Brees. At age 37, Brees is still a top-notch NFL quarterback, but for how long? The Saints legend doesn’t have time on his side, and the Saints can’t punt on two or three seasons, because by the time that would happen, Brees would be nearing retirement.

The Saints believe in the Drew Brees Era and are loyal to it – even if to a fault.


Heck, in today’s NFL, if you have a high-end quarterback, you always have a shot. So the Saints’ plan seems to be to try and string together the roster as best as it can with spare parts and flashy contracts (like Fleener’s), often pushing a lot of the dead money to the back-end of the deal to prepare for the “Armageddon” future that will occur when Brees retires.

It’s a strategy that’s popular amongst fans, but doesn’t often work – which is exactly why this deal with Fleener makes me nervous.

Teams that play the NFL free agent market rarely find the payoff they’re looking for. If you need an example of that, you don’t have to look far. Just ask Loomis about the production of Jarius Byrd, CJ Spiller or Brandon Browner since New Orleans inked each to big deals.


None of those contracts have worked out, nor made New Orleans better. That’s just the risk you take in free agency.

But the second reason why the Saints have been in a bit of a frenzy lies with Loomis, and the things that are asked of him from team owner Tom Benson.

Loomis is a wonderful NFL executive and a Louisiana sports legend. His wizardry helped turn the Saints from a doormat to an annual contender. Because of that, he earned Benson’s trust, which led to an expanded role.


Loomis is now the Saints’ general manager AND an active voice in the day-to-day operations of the New Orleans Pelicans.

Combine that ridiculous workload with the fact that Benson is getting older (and likely more impatient) toward getting the team back to the top in his lifetime, and it’s easy to see why the Saints are where they are.

Loomis has been shaky since juggling both the Saints and the Pelicans, and that’s unfortunate. I think bringing Fleener in was a “rushed” move. That price tag is steep. Who were the Saints bidding against? Who else was going to give him that much money? I’m pretty sure the list would have been pretty small.


What New Orleans should have done was sought out veteran leadership for its defense.

The Saints can score. Fleener doesn’t move that meter.

But New Orleans’ problem right now is that they can’t stop anyone else from scoring.


That’s why they’ve been 7-9 for two-straight seasons.

That’s why they’ll struggle again next fall. •