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03-02-2005, 03:24 PM
Link (http://www.nola.com/saints/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/1109746868293040.xml)
Saints listening to offers for franchise player Darren Howard, planning to be 'aggressive' in free agency
By Jeff Duncan
Staff writer
The spring of 2000 was the halcyon days of free agency for the New Orleans Saints. For two consecutive weeks, it seemed, the club held daily press conferences to introduce new players.
Jeff Blake. Joe Horn. Chris Oldham. Andrew Glover. Charlie Clemons. Jake Reed. Norman Hand. Toby Gowin.
For New Orleans' long-suffering fans, it was heady and exciting stuff.
Those days are gone, and that's a good thing, Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said. The Saints, Loomis said, are no longer in need of an extreme makeover. There's no reason to gamble on high-risk talents like Albert Connell, Grady Jackson or Dale Carter or take chances on injury question marks like Brian Williams, David Sloan or DeShone Myles.
Expect this free-agent period, which begins today, to look more like last season's, when the Saints targeted only a handful of key veterans.
"We've got a different type of team now," Loomis said Monday. "Then (in 2000), we were just trying to get talent -- period, regardless of position. Now we're in a different situation. We're in the mode of trying to help ourselves in selected areas."
That's not to say the Saints plan to rest on their laurels after a second consecutive non-playoff, 8-8 season, Loomis said.
"No one in our organization is satisfied with 8-8," Loomis said. "We've got to improve our team somehow, some way, whether it's through free agency, the draft or getting better performances out of our own guys."
The Saints plan to be aggressive. Their biggest offseason move might not come via free agency or the draft. It might occur via trade.
The club is entertaining offers for Darren Howard, according to NFL sources, and could deal the veteran defensive end.
The Saints designated Howard as their franchise free agent last week for the second consecutive season. A $7.8 million base salary, a 20-percent increase on the $6.5 million base Howard received in 2004, accompanies the franchise tag.
Trading Howard would benefit the club in a number of ways. It would clear almost $8 million in salary-cap room and open a starting spot for talented second-year end Will Smith. It also could improve another position. The Saints almost certainly would receive a high draft pick or a starting-caliber player in exchange for Howard.
Loomis has declined comment on the possibility of trading Howard, but he did say the club would explore all avenues to upgrade the roster.
"We're going to be aggressive," Loomis said. "There's no reason to change that (philosophy). . . . There are lots of ways to improve your team. Whether or not you get all your guys in free agency, that's not the end of it."
Loomis already has checked off a handful of key items on his offseason to-do list.
Deep snapper Kevin Houser and strong safety Jay Bellamy were re-signed to multiyear contracts before the pair could reach the open market. One-year contracts were tendered to two of the team's restricted free agents, safety Mel Mitchell and linebacker and Roger Knight. And James Allen, the starting strongside linebacker, was signed to a one-year contract -- $455,000 in base salary and a $200,000 signing bonus -- that prevents him from making a deal with another team.
By locking up Bellamy and Allen, the Saints have 21 of the 22 regulars who started their regular-season finale against Carolina under contract. The four primary special teams players Houser, punter Mitch Berger, kicker John Carney and return man Michael Lewis -- are also committed to deals.
The one unsigned starter right tackle Victor Riley will be allowed to leave as a free agent. After a strong 2003 season, Riley's play regressed last season. He led the team in false-start penalties and initiated a fight with a teammate for the second consecutive season.
The Saints plan to replace Riley with a veteran free agent. Right tackle is one of the deepest positions in an otherwise weak talent market. Veterans Oliver Ross, Kareem McKenzie and Floyd Womack are possibilities. The Saints also could make a play for guards like Mike Wahle or Keydrick Vincent and try to convert them to right tackle. Wahle, however, is expected to be the top lineman on the market and could be out of the Saints' price range.
The Saints initially expressed interest in former Tennessee Titans right tackle Fred Miller, who was released Feb. 21, but they backed off after hearing that the veteran run-blocker's desire for a signing bonus in the $10 million range. They could re-enter the picture if his asking price drops.
The New York Giants, New York Jets and St. Louis Rams also have expressed interest in Miller.
Also high on the Saints' wish list are a ball-hawking free safety and veteran defensive tackle.
The Saints have expressed interest in Houston defensive tackle Seth Payne, who played five seasons for New Orleans defensive line coach John Pease in Jacksonville from 1997 to 2001. Cleveland, which will host Payne for a visit today, is the favorite to land the eight-year veteran. If Payne doesn't sign with the Browns on his visit, the Saints hope to schedule a visit with him.
As of Monday, the Saints were projected to be $6.3 million under the $86 million salary cap.
They will add another $3.25 million of room when they release Jerome Pathon. The veteran wide receiver is due a $2.5 million signing bonus, $650,000 roster bonus and $100,000 workout bonus this season. He is expected to be cut to give playing time to 2004 second-round pick Devery Henderson.
The Saints also need cap space for potential long-term deals with wide receiver Joe Horn and running back Deuce McAllister, who are entering the final year of their contracts.
Horn's agent, Ralph Vitolo, held preliminary discussions with Loomis about a long-term deal at the Scouting Combine in Indianapolis over the weekend. Horn is entering the final year of a three-year contract that will pay him a $3.8 million base salary and $1 million roster bonus. His salary-cap figure is $6.5 million.
Loomis also met briefly with McAllister's agent, Ben Dogra, to discuss a long-term extension. The two sides discussed a deal last fall but didn't make much headway.
McAllister is believed to be seeking a deal somewhere between the lucrative multiyear contracts signed by LaDainian Tomlinson and Clinton Portis this past year. Tomlinson received an eight-year, $60 million deal that included $20.5 million guaranteed in the first two years. Portis' eight-year deal totaled $50.5 million and included $13 million guaranteed in the first year.
The Saints, meanwhile, have proposed a contract closer to the six-year, $32.8 million contract Priest Holmes received in Kansas City in 2003. That deal included $8.5 million in "up-front" bonus money and $2.5 million in future bonuses.
Loomis was reticent in his comments about contract negotiations with Horn or McAllister.
"We've got other things on the plate right now," Loomis said. "I just don't want to talk about those guys. If something happens there that's positive, then I'll let everyone know."
Saints listening to offers for franchise player Darren Howard, planning to be 'aggressive' in free agency
By Jeff Duncan
Staff writer
The spring of 2000 was the halcyon days of free agency for the New Orleans Saints. For two consecutive weeks, it seemed, the club held daily press conferences to introduce new players.
Jeff Blake. Joe Horn. Chris Oldham. Andrew Glover. Charlie Clemons. Jake Reed. Norman Hand. Toby Gowin.
For New Orleans' long-suffering fans, it was heady and exciting stuff.
Those days are gone, and that's a good thing, Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said. The Saints, Loomis said, are no longer in need of an extreme makeover. There's no reason to gamble on high-risk talents like Albert Connell, Grady Jackson or Dale Carter or take chances on injury question marks like Brian Williams, David Sloan or DeShone Myles.
Expect this free-agent period, which begins today, to look more like last season's, when the Saints targeted only a handful of key veterans.
"We've got a different type of team now," Loomis said Monday. "Then (in 2000), we were just trying to get talent -- period, regardless of position. Now we're in a different situation. We're in the mode of trying to help ourselves in selected areas."
That's not to say the Saints plan to rest on their laurels after a second consecutive non-playoff, 8-8 season, Loomis said.
"No one in our organization is satisfied with 8-8," Loomis said. "We've got to improve our team somehow, some way, whether it's through free agency, the draft or getting better performances out of our own guys."
The Saints plan to be aggressive. Their biggest offseason move might not come via free agency or the draft. It might occur via trade.
The club is entertaining offers for Darren Howard, according to NFL sources, and could deal the veteran defensive end.
The Saints designated Howard as their franchise free agent last week for the second consecutive season. A $7.8 million base salary, a 20-percent increase on the $6.5 million base Howard received in 2004, accompanies the franchise tag.
Trading Howard would benefit the club in a number of ways. It would clear almost $8 million in salary-cap room and open a starting spot for talented second-year end Will Smith. It also could improve another position. The Saints almost certainly would receive a high draft pick or a starting-caliber player in exchange for Howard.
Loomis has declined comment on the possibility of trading Howard, but he did say the club would explore all avenues to upgrade the roster.
"We're going to be aggressive," Loomis said. "There's no reason to change that (philosophy). . . . There are lots of ways to improve your team. Whether or not you get all your guys in free agency, that's not the end of it."
Loomis already has checked off a handful of key items on his offseason to-do list.
Deep snapper Kevin Houser and strong safety Jay Bellamy were re-signed to multiyear contracts before the pair could reach the open market. One-year contracts were tendered to two of the team's restricted free agents, safety Mel Mitchell and linebacker and Roger Knight. And James Allen, the starting strongside linebacker, was signed to a one-year contract -- $455,000 in base salary and a $200,000 signing bonus -- that prevents him from making a deal with another team.
By locking up Bellamy and Allen, the Saints have 21 of the 22 regulars who started their regular-season finale against Carolina under contract. The four primary special teams players Houser, punter Mitch Berger, kicker John Carney and return man Michael Lewis -- are also committed to deals.
The one unsigned starter right tackle Victor Riley will be allowed to leave as a free agent. After a strong 2003 season, Riley's play regressed last season. He led the team in false-start penalties and initiated a fight with a teammate for the second consecutive season.
The Saints plan to replace Riley with a veteran free agent. Right tackle is one of the deepest positions in an otherwise weak talent market. Veterans Oliver Ross, Kareem McKenzie and Floyd Womack are possibilities. The Saints also could make a play for guards like Mike Wahle or Keydrick Vincent and try to convert them to right tackle. Wahle, however, is expected to be the top lineman on the market and could be out of the Saints' price range.
The Saints initially expressed interest in former Tennessee Titans right tackle Fred Miller, who was released Feb. 21, but they backed off after hearing that the veteran run-blocker's desire for a signing bonus in the $10 million range. They could re-enter the picture if his asking price drops.
The New York Giants, New York Jets and St. Louis Rams also have expressed interest in Miller.
Also high on the Saints' wish list are a ball-hawking free safety and veteran defensive tackle.
The Saints have expressed interest in Houston defensive tackle Seth Payne, who played five seasons for New Orleans defensive line coach John Pease in Jacksonville from 1997 to 2001. Cleveland, which will host Payne for a visit today, is the favorite to land the eight-year veteran. If Payne doesn't sign with the Browns on his visit, the Saints hope to schedule a visit with him.
As of Monday, the Saints were projected to be $6.3 million under the $86 million salary cap.
They will add another $3.25 million of room when they release Jerome Pathon. The veteran wide receiver is due a $2.5 million signing bonus, $650,000 roster bonus and $100,000 workout bonus this season. He is expected to be cut to give playing time to 2004 second-round pick Devery Henderson.
The Saints also need cap space for potential long-term deals with wide receiver Joe Horn and running back Deuce McAllister, who are entering the final year of their contracts.
Horn's agent, Ralph Vitolo, held preliminary discussions with Loomis about a long-term deal at the Scouting Combine in Indianapolis over the weekend. Horn is entering the final year of a three-year contract that will pay him a $3.8 million base salary and $1 million roster bonus. His salary-cap figure is $6.5 million.
Loomis also met briefly with McAllister's agent, Ben Dogra, to discuss a long-term extension. The two sides discussed a deal last fall but didn't make much headway.
McAllister is believed to be seeking a deal somewhere between the lucrative multiyear contracts signed by LaDainian Tomlinson and Clinton Portis this past year. Tomlinson received an eight-year, $60 million deal that included $20.5 million guaranteed in the first two years. Portis' eight-year deal totaled $50.5 million and included $13 million guaranteed in the first year.
The Saints, meanwhile, have proposed a contract closer to the six-year, $32.8 million contract Priest Holmes received in Kansas City in 2003. That deal included $8.5 million in "up-front" bonus money and $2.5 million in future bonuses.
Loomis was reticent in his comments about contract negotiations with Horn or McAllister.
"We've got other things on the plate right now," Loomis said. "I just don't want to talk about those guys. If something happens there that's positive, then I'll let everyone know."