The One Contract Holding Back the New Orleans Saints
By Jerry Trotta
The New Orleans Saints wasted no time upgrading their roster as they look to gear up for another playoff run with Drew Brees under center. The fresh contract extension the Saints doled out to the 41-year-old quarterback (two-years, $50 million) has put the team in an unfriendly cap situation.
However, considering that the deal put Brees outside the top-10 highest paid QBs, almost everyone will tell you that it was the right move. The 13-time Pro Bowler is just too valuable to say that his contract is holding back New Orleans.
That burden lies with tight end Jared Cook.
The deal between the #Saints and FA TE Jared Cook will be signed today. It’s a 2-year contract worth $15.5M, including $8M fully guaranteed in Year 1. A big weapon for coach Sean Payton’s offense and a really nice payday for the 32-year-old.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 26, 2019
Last March, the Saints signed Cook, then a free agent, to a two-year, $15.5 million contract. While the 32-year-old vet only accounted for a $4 million cap in 2019, that tally will increase to $9 million this upcoming season.
Cook is a talented player, but he isn't deserving of being the fourth-highest-paid player (in terms of base salary) on a roster as talented as New Orleans'. As far as top tight ends in the NFL are concerned, the two-time Pro Bowler isn't near the top tier that features the likes of Travis Kelce, George Kittle, and Zach Ertz.
Touchdown #Saints! ?
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) December 22, 2019
Drew Brees to Jared Cook for the 2nd time today! ⚜️ pic.twitter.com/YgrBmKZQyN
That's no disrespect to Cook, who logged 43 receptions for 705 yards and nine touchdowns in 2019. It's just impossible to deny that the Saints overpaid for his services last offseason. New Orleans cap situation -- it has just $2.73 million to work with -- would look a lot less messy if the South Carolina product's contract wasn't on the books.
The least the Saints could do is restructure Cook's deal.