Natedawg44 said:
The Saints had no problem putting the franchise on Howard when they had Will Smith and Charles Grant. They sure seemed to have enough money to do that. They have nothing behind Bentley who plays probably the 2nd most important position on the O-Line. He is dominant and 26. Plus they are talking about drafting a QB and no free agents will want to go to New Orleans now so you can't just go out and replace him. That all adds up to him being franchised ASAP. Any scenario with us adding him this offseason is an absolute pipedream.
You could be right.
Or 100% wrong.
Bentley expects to test free agency
By SHELDON MICKLES
Advocate Sports Writer
Published: Feb 2, 2006
DETROIT — New Orleans Saints center LeCharles Bentley, who is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent next month, said Wednesday the team has indicated it will allow him to test the open market.
Bentley, in town to participate in a clinic held in association with a Kids’ Day event at the NFL Experience, said Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis told him he would get a chance to see what free agency holds.
“Mickey told me he was going to let me test the market,” Bentley said.
Loomis, however, said the organization hasn’t made any personnel decisions because new coach Sean Payton has been on the job less than two weeks and is still working on putting together a coaching staff.
Bentley, a four-year veteran, is headed to the Pro Bowl on Monday for the second time in three seasons although he didn’t participate in the 2004 game after having knee surgery. The Saints could place the franchise or transition tag on him since he will likely be a hot commodity on the open market.
“We have not made a decision yet on the franchise or transition tag,” Loomis said Wednesday. “We have not made that decision because we want to get our new staff in place and get all of our (player) evaluations done.”
As the anchor of the offensive line, Bentley could be the No. 1 re-signing priority for the football operations staff among the 15 players who could become unrestricted free agents in early March.
Loomis said he told Bentley after the season the team would have an opportunity to possibly name him as its franchise or transition player.
“At the time, I told him we didn’t know if we would do that,” Loomis said. “I said there was a good chance he could test the market.”
A second-round draft pick in 2002, Bentley was also named to the NFC Pro Bowl squad in 2003 as a guard before being switched to center in 2004.
He was a first alternate to the all-star game last season after not playing two years ago because of a knee injury.
If the Saints were to franchise Bentley, he would receive the average salary of the top 10 offensive linemen in the league. That number is expected to be $6.983 million for a one-year deal in 2006, which is a number the Saints may find hard to swallow.
Loomis said the issue is complicated by the fact that all linemen (tackles, guards and centers) are lumped together under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which means that higher-paid tackles drive up the cost for a center if he’s franchised.
“It’s a bigger number than you would like,” Loomis said.
Loomis said the first thing Payton’s staff will do is complete player evaluations. Payton has hired four of his assistants, including offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Doug Marrone, and Loomis said the team hopes to announce more hires soon.
Bentley said he sold his home in the Chateau Estates subdivision in Kenner about two months ago, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s ready to leave the Saints.
“The time was right,” he said, “the market was good.”
Bentley also severed ties with agent Peter Schaffer and hired New York-based agent Neil Schwartz, who represents Saints left tackle Wayne Gandy. Schwartz said he has not had any conversations with Loomis or the Saints since becoming Bentley’s agent in early January.
