The New Orleans Saints apparently do not have as much faith in Nick Fairley as what was once assumed. As it turns out, Fairley's deal with the Saints is really only a one year deal considering it voids after the first season he spends with the team. Fairley's deal is a three-year deal, however the two extra years were added to help spread out Fairley's $2.235 million signing bonus.
The Saints will likely have to deal with $1.5 million in dead money when the deal ends in 2017. New Orleans hopes that its defense can get a significant boost from Fairley's presence, however it is more likely he will disappoint if you look at his track record. Fairley has not played up to expectations in his six seasons in the NFL.
He spent four of those years as a Detroit Lion and was not particularly effective. He spent the 2015 season with the St. Louis Rams (now Los Angeles Rams) and was only utilized for situational pass rushing, much like most of the Rams' older pass rushers. In 2015 Fairley didn't start any games, and in 15 games he recorded 29 combined tackles, half a sack and one pass defense.
In Fairley's time in the NFL he has never recorded more than six sacks and only played in more than 10 games once. His one semi-normal season came in 2013 when he played and started in 15 games. In his career Fairley has recorded 127 combined tackles, 14 sacks, one safety, three pass defenses and four forced fumbles which is pretty abysmal for such a high draft pick.
Fairley was selected by the Lions in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft with the 13th overall pick. Fairley didn't start in an NFL game until his second season when he started in seven games. Fairley could provide a decent boost to a defense that ranked as one of the worst in the NFL in 2015.
Fairley should help strengthen the center of the line and make it a little bit more difficult to run on the Saints. It is clear that the Saints may consider him a stopgap player and will look for his long-term replacement in the 2016 NFL Draft.
