Safety Kenny Vaccaro has made it clear this offseason that he’d rather sign an extension with the Saints than test free agency next winter. Vaccaro’s willing to risk departing New Orleans, though, as he said Tuesday that he’s not going to allow extension talks to drag into the season.
“I’m not going to do any contract talks during the season, so, if not, then I’ll be a free agent,” Vaccaro said (via Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com). “If it doesn’t get done, then it doesn’t. I want to concentrate. I don’t want it to be a distraction.”
Of course, if the Saints are motivated to retain Vaccaro beyond this season, the 27-year-old’s deadline could hasten talks. Vaccaro expects his agent to begin discussions with the Saints sometime in the next two weeks. But even if he doesn’t receive either a long-term deal or the franchise tag by next March, Vaccaro would be open to re-signing with New Orleans after free agency opens.
“Even if I do make it to free agency, I still want to play (here). This is my home,” he declared. “My family loves it, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to make the right decisions for your family. I’m not really worried about my contract at all right now. I want us to win now. If we win, everything will take care of itself. If we’d have won last year, maybe something already would’ve happened.”
Vaccaro added that he’d like to stay with the Saints for the rest of his career, but he noted, “If I play good and I hit the open market, then it’s a bidding war and you get overpaid.”
Since entering the league as a first-round pick in 2013, Vaccaro has been one of the few quality pieces of a New Orleans defense that has typically struggled. The ex-Texas Longhorn has started in 55 of 56 appearances, including all 11 last season, when he finished an above-average 38th among Pro Football Focus’ 90 qualified safeties. Vaccaro did miss a quarter of the season on account of a suspension for Adderall use, though, and New Orleans perhaps prepared itself for his exit next year when it used a second-round pick this spring on former Utah safety Marcus Williams.
Lol this dude is a slightly above average safety on what has been a miserable unit. I think he’s got talent, no doubt, but I don’t think he’s got any leverage here. I think the Saints would rather let him play out the season and see if he’s worth the payday. Their salary cap is still so screwed not sure they can afford to pay mediocre guys