Colston’s not thinking contract right now
March 21, 2008
Saints WR becomes restricted free agent after 2008 season
Friday, March 21, 2008By Mike Triplett
The Saints’ entire 2007 season seemed like a sophomore slump.
In Year 2 of their current regime, the Saints were a huge disappointment, falling to a 7-9 record amid Super Bowl-level expectations.
But receiver Marques Colston was hardly to blame. After his out-of-nowhere breakout performance as a rookie in 2006, he was even better last season, growing into one of the NFL’s most reliable offensive weapons.
He caught 98 passes for 1,202 yards and 11 touchdowns, playing especially well in December. He also played hurt through most of the year, participating in all 16 games despite nagging back and knee injuries.
“I really didn’t have too many questions about myself,” Colston said Thursday. “I think right around this time last year, I spoke about not being really concerned with the outside views of things. And I kind of came into the season just wanting to get better every day, and I think I did a pretty good job with that.
“I knew that if I came out and tried to get better and worked hard every day, that there would be a similar result.”
Now, of course, nobody has any doubts about Colston, the 6-foot-4, 231-pounder from Hofstra who was drafted late in the seventh round.
The only question is whether or not the Saints can hold on to him long term.
Colston, 24, is set to become a restricted free agent next year. And this year, he’s still being paid like a late seventh-round draft pick. His scheduled salary is $445,000.
It would make sense for the player and the team to work out a contract extension this offseason — especially if that means avoiding a contract holdout closer to minicamp or training camp. But neither side has shown much interest in talking about it.
“It’s not even really something I’ve thought about to this point,” said Colston, who admitted it would be nice to get something done and not have to worry about it, “but that’s the business we’re in. So I’m really not concerned about that right now.
“My major concern is getting my knee healthy and my hand healthy, and hopefully everything plays itself out right.”
Colston injured his hand during the final game of the season at Chicago, but it’s not expected to be a lingering problem.
He had arthroscopic surgery on the left knee that bothered him throughout last season, but he also said that shouldn’t affect him too much. He expects to be full speed in his training by next month.
“Unfortunately I’m a vet to the surgeries, so I know exactly what it takes. I’ve just got to be patient with it,” said Colston, who has kept up his conditioning on the stationary bike, among other methods. “I had a lot of irritation going on in there throughout the season. Now’s the time to clean it up and get healthy.”
It’s hard to imagine, but a healthier, more mature Colston should only continue to improve. And the Saints’ offense should once again establish itself as one of the NFL’s elite.
The Saints have every player back from last year’s offense, with the exception of center Jeff Faine, who likely will be replaced in the starting lineup by veteran backup Jonathan Goodwin.
Colston said he was happy to see the Saints re-sign fellow receivers David Patten, Devery Henderson and Terrance Copper in free agency.
“It was great to see all the guys back. We’ve got a great group of guys on the offensive side,” Colston said. “We showed flashes of what we’re capable of last year. For whatever reason, we weren’t able to be consistent with it. But I don’t see any reason why we can’t get back to that 2006 form.
“I’ve got the feeling that everybody’s back here trying to prove a point and trying to get back into championship form.”
New and improved(by CNNSI DON BANKS)
March 17, 2008
3. New Orleans Saints
Teams that consistently win in this league are brutal in their self-assessment of their own weaknesses. The Saints obviously didn’t get it done on defense in 2007, and that’s why they went out and made an early move at each line of defense, adding middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma, cornerback Randall Gay and defensive end Bobby McCray.
McCray’s signing could be pivotal. The former 2004 final-round selection had 10 sacks as recently as 2006, and his addition allows the Saints to shift Charles Grant inside to tackle, from where he can apply some much-needed up-the-gut pressure. With Will Smith at the other end, the Saints will put a pretty athletic front four on the field, reminiscent of the three-defensive-end approach that produced such great results for the Super Bowl-winning Giants last season.
I’m also impressed by New Orleans’ foresight in re-signing so many of its own key role players, such as Devery Henderson, David Patten, Aaron Stecker, Jamar Nesbit, Billy Miller, Brian Young and Mark Simoneau. Linebacker Dan Morgan adds depth at weakside linebacker, and the team on Thursday upgraded its backup quarterback slot by signing veteran Mark Brunell as Drew Brees‘ understudy. Only the loss of center Jeff Faine in free agency registers as a potential setback this offseason, even though New Orleans feels Jonathan Goodwin represents little drop-off at the position.
What they still need: Another cornerback to further strengthen the pass defense, or a run-stuffing defensive tackle who wins more than he loses at the point of attack. The Saints, at No. 10 in the draft, are probably going to finish just out of the money in terms of top defensive tackles Glenn Dorsey and Sedrick Ellis, so a top-ranked cornerback (Leodis McKelvin, Aqib Talib or Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie) in the first round makes more sense.
How much better?: From 7-9 to 11-5.
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