Short Drew Brees Extension Is Perfect Resolution for the New Orleans Saints

For years, teams have awarded long-tenured head coaches one-year extensions to avoid the risks associated with lame-duck seasons. It's a good way to give a vote of confidence to a coach without breaking the bank with a long-term commitment. 

That strategy hasn't typically been used with star players, even quarterbacks who sometimes feel like coaches, mainly because the franchise tag has given teams the ability to control certain contracts as they've expired. 

But the one-year extension that New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees agreed to on Wednesday is, for all intents and purposes, lame-duck prevention. 

Per ESPN's Ed Werder, the deal will pay Brees $44.25 million over the next two years, which essentially means he'll make $24.25 million in 2017 in addition to the $20 million he was already slated to make in 2016. 

But the franchise tag was realistically off the table for Brees and the Saints, because it would have cost the team $43.2 million in 2017. If the two parties weren't able to make this deal now or early in the 2017 offseason, Brees was going to become a free agent. 

A one-year, fully guaranteed $24.25 million extension is good money for the 37-year-old Brees. It's fair, and it'll keep him happy and focused throughout the 2016 season. Next year could be a different story, but that's a bridge New Orleans shouldn't mind crossing often when dealing with a player in his late 30s. 

So this is the best-case scenario for the Saints, who can now allow their future Hall of Fame quarterback to work without distractions for the entirety of his age-37 season. The deal also gives them relief by decreasing Brees' 2016 cap hit from $30 million to $17.25 million, according to Werder, without handcuffing them to a 15-year veteran beyond next season. 

Brees has yet to decline. Despite a lack of support, he was the NFL's sixth-highest-rated passer in 2015. He completed 68.3 percent of his passes, somehow winning seven games with a team that surrendered a league-high 29.8 points per game. 

Quarterback	Completion %
1. Kirk Cousins	69.8
2. Drew Brees	68.3
3. Russell Wilson	68.1
4. Ben Roethlisberger	68.0

And as long as he's in the lineup, the Saints know they have a chance to contend. This is a wide-open, quarterback-driven league. If Brees is being Brees, New Orleans can't be counted out.

The window remains open, but it is closing quickly. The Saints have added a wedge to the sill while also giving themselves more time to find Brees' successor.

The team waived 2015 third-round pick Garrett Grayson this week, leaving Brees and 35-year-old backup Luke McCown as the only quarterbacks on the roster. The extension likely gives the Saints an extra year to obtain a quarterback (or quarterbacks) who might be able to keep them in the hunt after the Brees era has concluded.

Player	Age
1. Tom Brady	39
2. Terence Newman	38
3. James Harrison	38
4. Drew Brees	37
5. Steve Smith	37

After all, Brees is the NFL's second-oldest starting quarterback. And at this stage, declines are often sudden and steep. When Peyton Manning was Brees' age, he was the league's MVP while leading the Denver Broncos to the Super Bowl. Two years later, at 39, he was the league's second-lowest-rated qualified passer. 

That's why the Saints are better off taking a short-term approach. They know they'll need Brees in 2016, and they think they'll need him in 2017. But there's a decent chance they'll want nothing to do with him in 2018, at least at current franchise quarterback rates. 

That's what makes this the right football decision as well as the right business decision.

With the 2016 season about to begin, everyone in New Orleans should be thrilled. Especially the fans, who are now basically assured an extra year of Drew Brees at a price that won't cripple their favorite franchise for years to come. 

Brad Gagnon has covered the NFL for Bleacher Report since 2012.

Follow @Brad_Gagnon