things kevin hates

Free agency season just started in the NFL, and as should be expected, the Saints have already lost one prominent player, linebacker Scott Fujita. The thought of even one piece from our title-winning team going missing has sent some Saints fans into tears. There are two groups of people: those upset at the Saints for letting Fujita go, and those upset at Fujita for leaving the Saints. Regardless of which camp you’re in (or whether you’re upset with both), you need to calm down and realize that football is about two things a) winning games and b) making money. Sometimes in that order, sometimes not. While Scott Fujita is a class act, stand-up guy who has been a great friend to the city of New Orleans, it’s clear that the ownership and/or personnel staffs and/or coaches felt that he wasn’t worth what the salary he commanded on the free agent market. And for Fujita, it’s clear that the positive aspects of playing in our wonderful city for the defending Super Bowl champions didn’t outweigh the millions of dollars more he’ll be making in Cleveland. I’m going to explain why you shouldn’t be mad at the Saints or at Scott Fujita.

Here’s why you shouldn’t be mad at the Saints. Fujita, though he’s been a solid player for many years, isn’t getting any younger. He’ll be 31 in April and his body is starting to show the wear and tear of eight seasons in the NFL. The first five years of his career he played in every game. Then, in 2007, he missed one game. In 2008, two games. In 2009, five games. Though he’s been a productive player, one has to assume that he’s already reached his peak. One also has to assume that injuries may be a problem from here on out. The tendency when a team wins a title is to try to keep everything the same, to avoid making changes, to keep doing what you’ve been doing. But keeping all the same players means getting older, which means more wear and tear on bodies, the possibility of more injuries, of having players who are past their prime. I’m not saying Fujita is definitely past his prime; he may very well have a few good years left. (Just look at what Darren Sharper during a season in which he turned 34). But for the Saints to spend the kind of money on Fujita that the Browns were willing to throw at him ($8 million guaranteed, $14 million up to $16 million with incentives) would have been silly. Teams will see the success that the Saints have had and be willing to overplay for our players. What the Saints have to do is keep doing what they’ve been doing: scout out good talent and make good trades, draft picks, and free agent signings. So many of our stars were unheralded: undrafted free agent Pierre Thomas. Seventh-round pick Marques Colston. Drew Brees, whom the Chargers let go and whom the Dolphins passed on, taking Daunte Culpepper instead. (How’d that work out, Miami?) The aforementioned Darren Sharper. The list goes on. You always have to acquire new, young, talented players, whether you want to get to the top or stay there.

And here’s why you shouldn’t be mad at Fujita. According to sportscity.com, he was making about $3 million this year, with his cap value at $4 million (a player’s signing bonus is paid up front, but in calculating salary cap values is split equally across the years of his contract). Presumably the Saints may have been willing to offer him $3 million or so a year, but I doubt they were anywhere close to Cleveland’s offer. And yeah, I wouldn’t want to live in Cleveland, but if someone wanted to pay me a few million dollars more a year to do the same job, I’d be on the next flight there. It’s easy for a fan to criticize a player who moves to make more money; after all, if you’re making $3 million a year, why do you need $4 million? But if you had a job where you could be cut at anytime, where you’re only one injury away from never playing again, when you’ve got a wife and two daughters to support, you’re going to go to the highest bidder. If it were a matter of only a little bit of money would he have stayed? I don’t doubt it. But I’m sure the Saints were nowhere close to the Browns’ offer, and I believe I’ve explained why they shouldn’t spend that sort of money on an aging linebacker. And hopefully those of you who are upset at Scott Fujita understand what was going through his mind. And we should be grateful for what he’s done on and off the field. He just donated half his playoff bonus check to charity; part to Haiti, and part to coastal restoration. Coastal restoration? Now that’s a smart guy. Most jocks just go for schools or playgrounds or cancer research. But as far as New Orleans is concerned, coastal restoration is arguably a far bigger deal than any of those other (admittedly very worthy) causes. Because without a ton of funding and work for coastal restoration, there probably won’t be a New Orleans where anyone can go to school or get cancer. (Hat-tip to Drew Lambert for posting the link on facebook.)

Now, there’s one other thing I should address here. Since we’re in an uncapped year, the Saints can pretty much keep whomever they want on the roster, whereas in most seasons teams are more or less forced by the salary cap to cut veterans. So you might think the Saints would just keep everyone. But a couple of factors work against that. First of all, the uncapped season actually gives teams a big incentive to cut veteran players with big signing bonuses; normally those bonuses count as cap penalties against teams, but with no cap, there’s no penalty. That explains why Charles Grant is gone: his production wasn’t living up to his huge price tag. He was three years into a seven year deal that had more than $3 million a year in prorated bonus money against the cap, and something like $30 or $40 million remaining. Second of all, the lack of a salary cap also means the lack of a salary floor, so some teams may try to cut as much salary as possible. Now, Tom Benson can’t just cut everyone left and right; he’d have a riot on his hands. And I’m sure he wants to win football games. But he’s not a Jerry Jones or George Steinbrenner or Mark Cuban type who wants to spend as much money as he possibly can to win. If it’s a close call, he won’t want to see the money spent. I don’t like Tom Benson and I never will—I still think he’d have loved to have moved the Saints to San Antonio if Paul Tagliabue would have let him—but I can’t very well give Fujita a pass for letting the money do the talking and then turn around and bash Benson for the same thing. And with the salary cap, you have to be fiscally responsible—the new CBA may very well have a salary cap again, possibly with harsh consequences for any team that is overly profligate in free agency this year. Likewise, I can’t blame the Saints for not wanting to give Darren Sharper a 300% raise. But even if money weren’t an issue here, Fujita might not have been ideal: John Deshazier’s Times-Picayune column today suggests that the Saints should’ve been looking to upgrade at his spot even if they had resigned him. And I can’t say I disagree.

So Saints fans, calm the fuck down and remember that we won the Super Bowl as a team, and we’re a lot more than one or two players. I hope you’ve enjoyed what I believe is a rational, level-headed analysis of the situation.

That said, if Sharper leaves I want a refund on my motherfucking jersey.