Saints Notes: Brees, Mayfield, Fairley

Drew Brees has already claimed that he has no intention of testing the free agent market, and Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said today that doesn’t anticipate any “big issues” in negotiating a new deal for the the veteran quarterback, according to Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com. However, Loomis did admit the Saints and Brees have not yet entered into talks regarding a fresh contract. New Orleans used a void provision when it re-signed Brees prior to the 2016 campaign, so if the club fails to ink another deal with its 39-year-old signal-caller this offseason, it will absorb an $18MM dead money charge in 2018.

Here’s more from New Orelans:

• Speaking of quarterbacks, Saints head coach Sean Payton is “squarely in the camp” of Oklahoma passer Baker Mayfield defenders, reports Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter links). Aside from boasting a similar stature to Brees, Mayfield reportedly has a “wicked competitive streak” that will fit in with the Saints’ culture. Per Robinson, former New Orleans quarterback Garrett Grayson “got steamrolled mentally” while trying to keep up with Brees’ competitiveness, but Mayfield may not have that issue. Given Brees’ age, the Saints shouldn’t be ruled out as a potential contender for a first-round quarterback in the 2018 draft.
• The Saints have filed a grievance in an attempt to recoup some of the money paid to defensive tackle Nick Fairley, who was forced to sit out the 2017 season due to a heart condition, as Joel Erickson of the Advocate writes. This was the expected outcome, as New Orleans began exploring ways to recover portions of Fairley’s salary last summer. Coming off a career year in 2016, Fairley signed a four-year, $28MM contract with the Saints that contained $9MM in full guarantees. He’s already been paid a $8MM signing bonus and a $1MM base salary for 2017, and he’s due a $4.25MM base salary in 2018 that is guaranteed for injury only.
• Loomis & Co. have been busy with offseason work since the Saints’ postseason run ended, and the club made two notable futures signings over the past week, agreeing to terms with wide receiver Josh Huff and linebacker Jayrone Elliott.