Devery Henderson: What Is The Impact of The Saints Re-Signing Him?

The New Orleans Saints re-signed another of their own free agents Wednesday afternoon, as they inked WR Devery Henderson to a four-year deal. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Henderson was contacted by several other clubs and offered deals, meaning the team likely had to pay something very competitive to retain the veteran's services.

Of course, the main thing to note is that this keeps the Saints biggest of big-play threats in the offense, almost guaranteeing they will remain as explosive as they've been the past three seasons.

Perhaps larger than this, though, is the impact it makes on the Saints ability to re-sign Lance Moore. As another writer on this site made me aware, the Saints would receive a second-round pick if another team were to sign Moore, so perhaps that is actually what the Saints are planning on.

My hope is obviously to keep Moore, but I also was pumped up to hear about Devery returning, because he is probably the most exciting and explosive receiver the Saints have. He is definitely the fastest.

His presence will allow coaches Johnson and Payton to continue to nurture some of the younger receivers (Adrian Arrington and Robert Meachem) along slowly and not force them in to situations where they might not excel. Meachem proved last season he is a capable and explosive young athlete, who, much like Henderson from a few years back, just needs to become more consistent.

And Arrington looks to provide consistency as a possession-type receiver who can occasionally provide the big play, sort of similar to Marques Colston.

But this signing could potentially also have an impact on the defensive side of the ball. As I mentioned before, if the Saints are unable to re-sign Lance Moore and another team snags him, this would actually be beneficial for the Saints, as they would acquire a second-round pick that could be used on a young defensive player.

Also, this signing may make it less possible financially to acquire a corner or safety in free agency (I kind of hope so, because I am now sold on either Malcolm Jenkins or D.J. Moore coming to New Orleans as rookies). Also, I think a natural safety would be more realistic in the second round.

Whatever happens from here on in free agency, it appears the Saints will remain the same explosive offense they've been previously under Sean Payton. Let's just hope they can get that defense figured out.