Nick Fairley a Free-Agent Bargain Again, This Time with the New Orleans Saints

For the second consecutive offseason, Nick Fairley became a free-agent bargain.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, Fairley has signed with the New Orleans Saints:

Despite his pass-rushing prowess in the middle of the defensive line, the big tackle twisted in the winds of free agency a year ago. He watched as former teammate Ndamukong Suh reeled in a $114 million contract with the Miami Dolphins; the dollar signs surely outlining his vision—the rising tide lifts all boats, after all.

For Fairley, though, Suh's contract was no auspice. The promise of a big deal faded with each passing day until he was one of a handful of starting-caliber free agents left standing. But why?

Sure, Fairley is nowhere near Suh's level, but he was a productive player in Detroit coming off a solid year. We probably won't find the answer on the field, though.

For starters, Fairley had missed 18 games in four seasons to that point, seemingly unable to stay healthy throughout his NFL tenure. Despite playing well for the Lions, he had missed eight games the previous season after coming into training camp overweight.

More importantly, though, Fairley's off-field issues might have crept into the minds of executives across the NFL.

Two arrests within a year combined with weight control issues may have spooked teams away from committing a long-term deal to Fairley. But those arrests came four years ago, and he hasn't had any significant issues off the field since then.

The former first-round pick ultimately signed a one-year, "prove it" deal to beef up an already-great front in St. Louis. And prove it he did.

Year	Age	G	FF	Fmb	Sk	Tkl	Ast
2011	23	10			1	9	6
2012	24	13	2	0	5.5	27	7
2013	25	15	2	0	6	22	13
2014	26	8	1	0	1	8	6
2015	27	15	0	0	0.5	18	11

Fairley did a fine job with the Rams, but he was relegated to a part-time player off the bench because Michael Brockers and phenom Aaron Donald were ahead of him on the depth chart. 

It was deja vu all over again this offseason for Fairley, who didn't drum up much interest in the first few weeks of the league year despite playing well and keeping his head on straight last season. He didn't have to wait nearly as long, though, as the Saints swooped in with a deal after running back Mark Ingram reportedly recruited the big man to the bayou, per Mike Triplett of ESPN.com.

Still, Fairley didn't win that big, multiyear deal. Maybe he didn't show enough as a rotational player last season. Or perhaps the ghost of Fairley's past still haunts him.

His loss will be New Orleans' gain, though, as the Saints desperately needed to bolster the interior of their defensive line this offseason.

And bolster it they did.

Say what you want about Fairley's injury or off-field history, but none of that was there last season. He was in a rotation off the bench, yet he ranked 23rd among all interior defenders, according to Pro Football Focus' grading system. Kevin Patra mentioned on NFL.com that Fairley rated sixth among defensive tackles as a pass-rusher, according to PFF.

The Saints got a quality interior lineman at a nice price. Fairley got another chance to prove himself on a one-year deal. At least this time, he should have a real chance to prove it as a starter.

Perhaps we will be writing about his hard-earned multiyear deal a year from now.