Brees left hanging in the breeze!

QB Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints

The situation in New Orleans just keeps getting better.  The Saints have now began their OTAs without their leader.  During the 2012 offseason, the New Orleans Saints placed the franchise tag on Drew Brees and needless to say, he hasn't signed it. Brees once suffered a career-threatening injury with the San Diego Chargers and rightfully wants more security than the one-year franchise tag deal would offer. Who could blame him?  Without signing the franchise tender Brees is not allowed to participate in team activities.

GM Mickey Loomis
New Orleans Saints

Every Saints fan and mostly every football analyst had predicted that the Saints and Brees would come to terms on a long term contract some time during the 2012 offseason and well before any team OTAs.  That time has came and gone. Both the Saints and Brees seem to be in a stare down match waiting for the other to blink.  The final hour for the sides to come to an agreement is July 16. This is the NFL deadline for franchise-tagged players to sign long-term deals. Past that date, teams can sign their franchise players only to one-year deals. They cannot reach extensions until after their final regular-season games. Brees has been adamant that he will not play under a one-year contract.

Both sides can make very valid arguments for their standing five-year contract offers. The Saints' last offer was somewhere in the range of $18 million to $19 million per year, and Brees' last offer was somewhere in the range of $21 million per year, with varying views on finer points like guaranteed money and how much will be included in the first three years. If Brees were to hit free agency there is no doubt that he would receive a $20+ million per year contract.

All this being said, we all are pretty sure that eventually, Brees and the Saints are going to meet in the middle. They will probably end up somewhere between $19 million and $20 million per year, with around $50 million in some form of guaranteed money, give or take a million. But, as a die-hard Buccaneers fan, I truly enjoy watching this gunslinger stare-down and would love to see July 16th come and go just to see who blinks first. All the while, precious time is slipping away at OTAs. Every day that passes is one more day that an interim head coach, an interim-to-the-interim head coach, and QB Chase Daniel lead the Saints through practice.  Meanwhile, the main offensive play caller, Sean Payton, is sitting at home on suspension, and Brees becomes more and more discontent waiting for his agent's telephone call.  All I need is a bag of popcorn becuase this show is outstanding!