The New Orleans Saints were a bit of a mess in 2015. A lot of it had to do with injuries to quarterback Drew Brees and the absolutely atrocious nature of Rob Ryan's defense, but the blame could really be spread around to just about every area of the organization, including the questionable ownership.
The Saints though, remain a talented team. And with Payton reportedly re-upping for five more seasons, it's clear that New Orleans believes they still have the pieces in place to contend.
One of those big pieces, Brees, remains without a contract beyond the 2016 season. And he's also currently set to make an untenable $30 million, which eats up nearly one-fifth of the Saints cap space. Brees, despite his advancing age (37) and injuries, remains far and away the Saints' best option at signal-caller for the foreseeable future.
Sure, Garrett Grayson was a nice pick up late in the 2015 NFL Draft, but he's a developmental prospect that's all tools, no polish.
In short, Grayson turning into a starting NFL signal-caller is a stretch.
So, getting Brees healthy and shoring up the positions around him - as well as the moribund New Orleans defense - need to be the top priorities for the Saints brass this offseason.
As does finding a way to sign Brees to a contract extension that lowers his cap hit for 2016. And that is apparently exactly what the Saints are attempting to do.
According to a report, the Saints continue to hammer away at a four-year extension for Brees. Considering he has one year left on his deal, a four-year extension would mean Brees and Payton, who, remember, just signed a five-year deal, remain in New Orleans, tied at the contract hip.
It's probably the best-case scenario for Saints fans that one be tied to the other, in that Payton hasn't had to prove he can succeed without Brees, and Brees failed to distinguish himself to the level that he has outside of his time with Payton.
That's not to say that both men can't or wouldn't succeed without the other, but for New Orleans, holding onto Brees until his days are done is a smart play, as is keeping Payton long enough to determine whether he can continue winning with an aging signal-caller and/or develop a young player to eventually succeed Brees.
