Drew Brees says that he will not test the free agent market this offseason, but Mike Florio of PFT is not convinced. It’s possible, he argues, that Brees is testing the Saints to see if they will make a lowball offer. If the Saints don’t come to the table with an adequate proposal, he could change course and see what else is out there.
If Brees does explore free agency, the Jaguars are one of several teams that could show serious interest in him, Florio speculates. Jacksonville is one win away from the Super Bowl, but if they do not win it all, the Jags could decide that the missing ingredient is a top-tier quarterback.
The Jaguars would almost certainly kick the tires on Brees if he’s out there, but they would have to get creative in terms of finances in order to land him. The Broncos and Jets would also figure to have interest in Brees and they both have significantly more cap room to work with than Jacksonville.
Here’s more from the AFC South:
- Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com looked back at the Titans‘ 2017 draft class. The group starts with No. 5 overall pick Corey Davis, who had a two-touchdown game in the playoff loss to the Patriots. Davis missed a good chunk of time in ’17, but Wyatt believes his confidence boost will help him going into the offseason. Meanwhile, Wyatt wonders what the rest of the WR group will look like around him since both Eric Decker and Harry Douglas are scheduled for free agency in March.
- With the No. 3 pick in the draft, should the Colts go with pass rusher Bradley Chubb or running back Saquon Barkley? Mike Wells of ESPN.com stacked the two standouts against each other but argued that they can’t go wrong with either one since they both fill a position of need. There is a bit of a stigma around taking a running back high in the draft, but the Rams, Cowboys, and Jaguars have gotten 1,000-yard seasons out of Todd Gurley, Ezekiel Elliott, and Leonard Fournette.
- The Texans are expected to try and bolster the cornerback and safety positions in free agency and the draft, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle writes. They’ll first have to take stock of what they have in-house, however. Veteran cornerback Johnathan Joseph is a pending free agent and they must decide whether to exercise a fifth-year option for injury-prone corner Kevin Johnson.
Bortles is still playing and Brees is not this weekend.
If you’re trying to argue Bortles is better than Brees you are out of your mind. Brees isn’t the reason the Saints aren’t playing this week and yes Brees isn’t as good as he was but he still one of the best in the league so if the jags have the chance to get him they’d be crazy not to. Bortles is inconsistent and you never know what you’re going to get from him and the main reason they are where they are is because of their Defense and run game. They are the underdogs for this game Sunday but if they had Brees I’d take them over the Pats with that defense they have.
As a Jags fan I’d take Brees for the next four seasons over Bortles over the same timespan.
I don’t see much in Brees leaving NO. His family is there, his kids are there in school, he and his wife are revered for their charity work and other civic contributions, etc. I’m sure Mickey Loomis will offer fair market compensation to Brees, and I’d be shocked if he didn’t take it.
Colts should take Chubb. They need some more talent (specifically a pass-rusher) on defense. Don’t fall into the same mistake of only adding to the offense (specifically the skill positions) and expecting a patchwork defense to do enough to give them a chance to win. Andrew Luck is good but give the man some help on the O-line and defensive side of the ball instead of expecting him to carry the team every game.
Good horse and running back can change a team completely like the article said. Barkley would presumably be able to take some pressure off of luck or whoever the qb is with his ability to create a play.