The New Orleans Saints have not had a season liked they hoped, and the best they can do is 7-9 if they get a victory in the season finale next week. On Sunday, the Saints took down the Jacksonville Jaguars 38-27 and Drew Brees had one of his best games of the season. Fans now wonder though, was that the last home game with Brees and head coach Sean Payton as members of the Saints?
Rumors have been flying that big changes are coming in New Orleans with a second straight losing season and another miss on the playoffs. Drew Brees is guaranteed some absolutely insane money next season, and there is talk that the Saints could end up letting him go to try and free up some cash to start rebuilding.
Brees is 36-years-old and will have a $30 million salary cap hit for next season if the Saints keep him and don’t restructure his contract at all. Some believe that he will have to take a “hometown discount” in order for the Saints to keep him for the last year on his current deal.
2016 would be the final year of Brees’ gigantic five-year, $100 million deal he signed with the Saints.
Drew Brees recorded 7th career game with 400 Pass yds, 3 Pass TD & 0 Int – most in NFL history. (via @EliasSports ) pic.twitter.com/UEaf7kj02M
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 28, 2015
It’s obvious that Brees still has a few more years left in him, and it’s believed that he could easily compete at a high level until he’s maybe 40-years-old. Still, that’s a huge salary cap hit for any team to take and if he doesn’t restructure, the Saints may be willing to let him go.
Currently, the Saints have Matt Flynn and Garrett Grayson as the other quarterbacks on their roster. Flynn is a decent back-up, but that’s essentially all he has ever been in the NFL even though he is quite talented. Grayson is a rookie who was taken by the Saints in the third round and is far from ready to be a franchise quarterback in the NFL.
Now, not only could the Saints end up looking for a new quarterback, but also a new head coach.
According to NFL, next week’s season finaleagainst the Atlanta Falcons may be the last game for both Brees and Payton in New Orleans.
There have been plenty of rumors that Payton could end up wanting to leave New Orleans after this season. He has denied that and said that he wants to stay with the Saints and looks forward to bringing another Super Bowl championship to the city of New Orleans.
If Payton were to be fired by the Saints, he wouldn’t be without a job for long. Two landing spots for him could be with the San Diego Chargers or the Indianapolis Colts or even the Dallas Cowboys if Jerry Jones decides to make a change.
A lot of success has come the way of the New Orleans Saints with the combination of Drew Brees and Sean Payton who both landed with the team in 2006. Fans have a lot to be thankful for and should appreciate the years of great seasons that have come their way because of them.
Should the Saints fire Payton, they will get nothing for him and will still owe him some money. There have been talks of a possible trade for the Saints head coach, but only time will tell on that situation as well, according to Pro Football Talk .
The New Orleans Saints have one more game to go before the 2015 season is finally over. Sean Payton and Drew Brees could have their final game with the team when they face the rival Atlanta Falcons next week, but there is a good chance those decisions won’t be made for quite some time and a lot more thought will be put into both of them.
[Image by Sean Gardner/Getty Images]