On Feb. 6, the New Orleans Saints restructured Drew Brees’ contract, freeing up $24 million of cap space for the Saints.
The obvious reason for this restructure is to give the organization some breathing room financially, while also paying the savior of New Orleans for all his time dedicated to the team and city going into retirement.
The beautiful thing about sports is that nothing is guaranteed, and every news report can always be misconstrued. So let’s talk hypothetically. Let’s say that the Saints revamped Brees’ contract to open up the market for the organization to make one last run at glory.
You may be asking yourself: “What else could the Saints possibly need to be any better?” Let’s answer that for you. The Saints have not had a reliable number two wide receiver in years. Emmanuel Sanders did his job this season when called upon, but was never an X-factor at any given point.
Chris Godwin, Kenny Golloday and Juju Smith-Schuster are just a few big names that are all currently up for grabs in free agency. Now the next question is even with the cap space New Orleans has, are any of these players attainable?
The Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis has made some remarkable signings in the past, despite New Orleans’ cap space limits. With a few work arounds, and some I’s dotted and X’s crossed, who knows what the 2021-2022 season has in store for this electric Saints squad?
Despite the far out assumptions that were just thrown out, unfortunately Brees will most likely retire within the coming weeks. Keep in mind that he is also a human being and could wake up any day with a “let’s-run-it-back” mentality.
Brees has shown in the past that he is willing to take a pay cut for the sake of the team. This could possibly be his last gift to the city of New Orleans, saving the organization financially, and going out on top in 2022.