Drew Brees Should Become Priority for the New Orleans Saints

The lockout headlined an interesting offseason for the NFL last year, followed by a regular season that featured a run towards perfection by the Green Bay Packers, "Tebowmania" and a rematch of Super Bowl XLII with the New England Patriots coming up short in their attempt to exact revenge on the New York Giants.

Predicting a more eventful offseason spectacle in 2012 would have more than likely drawn a few chuckles from the gallery. But, the NFL has outdone itself again with the Peyton Manning saga and another chapter of the Tim Tebow story being strung along by none other than the New Orleans Saints and their defensive-bounty system.

However, what got lost among all the chaos in the wake of "Bountygate" is the face of the Saints franchise still not being signed to a long-term contract.

Drew Brees and the Saints were unable to come to an agreement before the deadline, forcing the organization to place the franchise tag on the quarterback. Brees, however, seems unwilling to sign the tender, which means he will miss part of the offseason-training program unless an agreement is reached.

The result of the suspensions handed down to general manager Mickey Loomis, head coach Sean Payton and assistant Joe Vitt caused the Saints to scramble to find a temporary replacement for Payton for the upcoming season. And after a failed attempt to lure Bill Parcells out of retirement, the organization finally decided to stay in-house to fill the void.

With that now out of the way, it is time for the Saints to shift their focus to what is truly the most important element of its franchise—none other than Brees.

Without a happy Brees under center, it wouldn’t matter who is making the on-field decisions for the Saints. His resume, leadership and the fact that he has embraced the City of New Orleans demands that he be treated with the utmost respect.

What Brees must also realize is that by placing the franchise tag on him, the Saints were just buying a little more time to construct a deal conducive to both parties—not disrespecting their franchise leader.

However, failure to get a deal done is not an option. Brees is firm in his conviction, but also has a soft spot for the Saints franchise and its city. Therefore, it is imperative that the relationship embody a level of reverence, on behalf of the organization, in order to solve this issue quickly.

It is in the best interest of the Saints to reciprocate the loyalty that Brees has shown them over the years because without him, “Who Dat” might actually become a legitimate question. 

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