The Saints plan to release quarterback Luke McCown today, according to a source who spoke with Josh Katzenstein of The Times-Picayune (on Twitter). McCown has been Drew Brees‘ backup since 2013, but he was effectively squeezed out of that role when the team signed Chase Daniel earlier this offseason. 
Comments from Brees late last week seemed to hint that McCown’s time in New Orleans was coming to a close.
“I love Luke. I had four great years with Luke. Luke was such a pro,” Brees said. “He was so great in the room because he’s seen and played so much football. He was really a wealth of knowledge and just a calm presence and just fun to be around.”
In theory, the Saints probably could have kept McCown as a QB3 since he was only slated to carry a $1.75MM cap number. Instead, the Saints are cutting him loose to save $1.5MM with just $250K in dead money. In his four years with the Saints, McCown completed 32 of 40 passes for 335 yards with one interception and no touchdowns. He did not see the field in 2016.
With Daniel in place as a solid QB2, the Saints could now draft a developmental quarterback or perhaps take on a young project player. It will be interesting to see if Johnny Manziel, who met with coach Sean Payton last month, gets any further consideration from the club.
Wooooooooooooooo