Chase Daniel is a legend. Not necessarily for his feats with the New Orleans Saints, as a backup quarterback and clipboard-holder — though fans surely have great memories of his high-intensity high-fives with Drew Brees — or for his other stops in the NFL, having patrolled the sidelines for the Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, and Chicago Bears.
Nope, Daniel enjoys far more lucrative status than any on-field heroics could bring him. He’s a legend at the bank, having cashed in on an agreement with the Detroit Lions for a three-year, $13.05 million free agent contract. He’ll back up Matthew Stafford and pile those funds on top of his $34.3 million in career earnings, per Spotrac. Not bad for someone who’s thrown 218 passes in 10 years with NFL teams. That’s more than $157,000 earned per pass attempt.
However, this takes a great option off the market for the Saints if Teddy Bridgewater leaves for a new team (like the Carolina Panthers or New England Patriots). With Drew Brees and Taysom Hill in the building, the Saints would still want another veteran pocket-passer to back up Brees, so that Hill can continue doing all the fun things he’s accomplished as a runner, receiver, and blocker (not to mention his bumper-cars style of play on special teams). Daniel would have fit that role perfectly, though maybe not at this price. The Saints will have to look elsewhere if they’re unable to keep Bridgewater around.
