Saints Gab

Will Smith has been pushing the New Orleans Saints for a new deal, and today defensive end got his wish.  Reports are coming out that Smith has signed a new six-year deal with the Saints that will include $26 million in guarantees. The deal is worth $70 million according to the AP.  It makes him the third highest paid defensive end in the league, behind the Vikings Jared Allen and the Colts Dwight Freeney.

Smith was the Saints first-round pick out of Ohio State back in 2004, and made the Pro Bowl in 2006 and his seven sacks in 2007 led the Saints. He also was among team leaders in tackles with 66.  “The Saints really stepped up,” said Smith’s agent, Joel Segal. “It was a long negotiation and a great deal for both Will and the Saints.”

The DE was in the process of skipping most of the teams OTA’s, but now that he is a VERY rich player, most of the hard feelings will be put aside as the Saints get ready for training camp in July.  “He’ll be able to show up for training camp now with nothing on his mind but getting ready for the season and the Super Bowl,” Segal said.

Now it will be up to Smith to step it up, last season his sack numbers dropped from 10.5 in 2006 to 7.  While his tackle numbers were up, the team will count on him even more to be the team leader on the D-line, as well as to make plays and cause havoc in the opponents backfield.

DE Will Smith wants a new deal, but that didn’t stop him from being at the teams OTA on Tuesday.  Smith didn’t do much at the practice, that due to a sore toe, but being there is a good sign for a player that has been vocal about wanting a lot more money in a new deal.  Saints general manager Mickey Loomis and Smith’s agent Joel Segal “are working through the contract and trying to sort things out,” coach Sean Payton said.  Smith was a Pro Bowl selection in 2006, but fell off the mark last season and had seven sacks.  He has one-year left on his deal that will get him about $1.8 million with incentives.

While the Saints did not reach the heights they did this past season as they did in 2006, they still have a solid base for the future, and one player who is expressing his desire to be a part of that future is wide out Marques Colston.  The Sun Herald is reporting that Colston is one of a few players who will be a free agent following the 08 season, but that the wide out wants to stay with the team that took a chance on him late in the draft last season.

He is set to make $445,000 this season, and he hopes that his agent, Joel Segal, can ink him a new deal before the 08 season kicks off.  “I would love to because there is no other team that I would rather play for,” he said. “I think we’ve got a great thing going here in New Orleans. We’ve got a great core group of guys and probably the greatest fans in the game. I would love to get a long-term deal and be locked in and let everyone else know that I don’t want to be anywhere else.”

Colston is a large reason why the Saints were able to march to the NFC Title game last year, and keeping him around would be a wise thing for the Siants to do.  The Saints already may lose wide receivers David Patten and Devery Henderson, who will both be free agents, so making sure Colston is locked up would be a smart thing to do for now, as well as for the future.