Saints Gab

From: The Times Picayune

Saints general manager Micky Loomis acknowledged that the Saints have an important decision to make with running back Deuce McAllister, one of the most popular players in franchise history who is due to earn $5.3 million in salary and bonuses this year. “It’s something we have to review, no question. It’s not a given that he’s going to be here, and it’s not a given that he’s not. But we need to evaluate it,” said Loomis, who said the Saints intend to make a decision before the start of free agency in late February so McAllister isn’t left in limbo.

“We’re going to be very respectful to his wishes. He’s going to be part of the process,” Loomis said of McAllister, who played a limited role in 2008 after two major knee surgeries. “The first step is to get a real good medical evaluation. Then after we get that, let’s review where we’re at, where he’s at and his contract and what his entire circumstance means to our team.”

From: New Orleans Times-Picayune

Sean Payton said he and Mickey Loomis have always shared a philosophy of being “judicious” when it comes to “so-called high-priced free agents, ” which suggests that the Saints aren’t looking to break the bank for one defensive star. Undoubtedly, they would show interest in Oakland Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha if he becomes available, because he is regarded as one of the best players in the league at one of the Saints’ greatest need positions

Recently, some statements have been made by Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis when discussing whether the Saints would return to New Orleans for the season opener against Tampa Bay and by Howie Long on the Fox pre-game show on this past Sunday. Both of these individuals statements questioned whether New Orleans was a realistic long-term home for the team.

I just wanted to say something about this before it gets too far.

This kind of talk isn’t fair. No one questions whether northern California should have professional sports teams despite their tendency to have earthquakes and forest fires. No one questions whether the Florida NFL franchises should be located in hurricane-free areas either.

Read more

Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis announced on Monday that the team has made the following cuts in order to meet the league maximum of 75 players on their active roster: WR Todd Blythe, S Curome Cox, FB Kevin Dudley, C Rob Hunt, and P Waylon Prather.

Blythe was an undrafted free agent from Iowa State. He played in two games this preseason, catching one pass for 11 yards.

Cox was signed as a free agent during training camp. With four years in the league, Cox played in the first preseason game, making one tackle and suffering a groin injury that kept him out of the last two games.

Dudley has been a part of the last two training camps and was on the practice squad last year. He played for the University of Michigan and caught one pass for a touchdown in the preseason. Dudley sprained his left ankle during the Cincinnati game.

Former New Orleans VooDoo player Hunt was in one preseason game this year.

Prather was an undrafted free agent from San Jose State University and played in all three preseason games. He averaged 53 yards on three punts, the longest was 60 yards.

The deadline for the next 22 cuts is 3 p.m. central time on Saturday.

Word is the Saints have fired VP of Player Personnel Rick Mueller. ProFootballTalk.com is reporting that the firing comes after Mueller lost a power struggle with GM Mickey Loomis. The site reports that the struggle may have come from the fact that Loomis is more of a salary cap manager, while Mueller is more into scouting and evaluating. The biggest thing to come from this situation is that Loomis has more power in the organization than Mueller did, which is why today Mueller is out, and Loomis is not.