METAIRIE, La. -- The New Orleans Saints have several major roster decisions to make before the start of the new league year and free-agent signing period on March 10. For starters, they must trim somewhere between $20 and $30 million in salary-cap space (most of which will be accomplished by converting roster bonuses into signing bonuses).
Over the next week or so, I’ll break down 10 of the most burning questions the Saints have to answer:
The question: Should the Saints keep guards Jahri Evans and Ben Grubbs?
Evans, 31, has been invited to six straight Pro Bowls, but his production and consistency have started to tail off a bit the past two seasons, and he’s due $7.5 million in salary and bonuses in 2015. Grubbs, 30, is a two-time Pro Bowler (most recently in 2013), but he has never consistently dominated during his three years in New Orleans, and he’s due $6.6 million.
Both could be candidates for possible pay cuts or outright releases. However, the Saints don’t have any clear alternatives waiting in the wings since their top backups are inexperienced young players Tim Lelito (who played center last season) and Senio Kelemete.
The answer: This is similar to the first question I posed about veteran receiver Marques Colston. But I think Evans and Grubbs are even safer because of the lack of reliable alternatives -- especially Evans.
Yes, they are both overpaid based on recent production -- especially considering the lingering image of the line’s total collapse against Atlanta in Week 16 (five sacks allowed against a team that ranked 32nd in sacks coming into the game). As ESPN scouting insider Matt Williamson noted, "they didn’t live up to their contracts. (The Saints) need those guys to be Pro Bowlers."
However, Evans and Grubbs are both still above average. They were a big part of the Saints’ revamped run game, which ranked eighth in the NFL through Week 13 at 126.3 yards per game. And there is no guarantee the Saints could find someone both cheaper and better on the open market. It’s not a position they want to gamble with much, considering the way quarterback Drew Brees likes to step up in the pocket.
For those reasons, I’m not even sure the Saints could even threaten Evans with a pay-cut demand.
It’s been disappointing to see Evans show signs of mortality after he had been one of the NFL’s elite linemen for half a decade (his season was marred by three uncharacteristically-poor performances in pass protection against Tampa Bay, Baltimore, and Atlanta). But Evans is still a very good player who had some very strong performances when I reviewed game tapes this past season -- especially as a run blocker and in the screen game.
Evans also had minor wrist surgery after the season, but I don’t expect that to be a factor. He never missed a snap or a practice all season.
Grubbs is slightly more expendable or ripe for a pay cut in my eyes, because he’s shown some inconsistency in each of his three seasons in New Orleans. But he didn't necessarily show a noticeable drop-off in 2014. In fact, based on my film studies I noted that he was playing as well as ever during the first half of the season before the consistency tailed off down the stretch.
The ideal scenario might be drafting a guard early and developing him into a quality starter within a year or two, making Grubbs and Evans even more expendable in the future.