While longtime Saints like Jimmy Graham, Ben Grubbs, Curtis Lofton, and Pierre Thomas were traded or released by New Orleans this offseason, wide receiver Marques Colston was able to work out an agreement to stay with the team on a reworked contract. As Colston tells Mike Triplett of ESPN.com, staying with the Saints was more important than trying to max out his value.
“At this point in my career, it’s not necessarily about maximizing every penny of every contract,” Colston said. “For me it came down to, ‘What’s my priority?’ I probably could have went somewhere else and maybe got a little bit more money. But the priority for me was to come back to an organization that I really enjoy playing for. I enjoy coming to work every day and being in this locker room.”
Colston, who added that he didn’t want to leave a “Hall of Fame quarterback” in Drew Brees, is on track to earn $3.8MM in 2015 than the $7MM he was originally set to make. Here’s more from around the NFC South, as we check in with all four teams:
- “I didn’t want to lose any money,” Demar Dotson answered simply, when asked why he chose to end his holdout and attend the Buccaneers‘ minicamp this week (link via the Tampa Tribune). The veteran right tackle had been seeking a new contract, but staying away from team activities didn’t appear to improve his leverage, since the Bucs broke off negotiations while he was absent.
- Reserve offensive lineman Tyronne Green tore his Achilles tendon during a practice and will undergo surgery, sidelining him for the 2015 season, Panthers head coach Ron Rivera told the media today (Twitter link). Green wasn’t necessarily guaranteed a regular season roster spot, but his injury should open the door for another lineman to earn a place among Carolina’s final 53.
- Wide receiver Carlton Mitchell, who played his college ball at South Carolina and spent time with the Browns after being selected in the sixth round of the 2010 draft, has a tryout today with the Falcons, tweets Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com.