New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis spoke with John DeShazier of NewOrleansSaints.com on Friday, reviewing the opening weeks of free agency and surveying the status of the team while discussing the roster moves they have made already.
While the Saints have added a few notable veterans from other teams (including wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, safety Malcolm Jenkins, and fullback Michael Burton), they devoted most of their resources to keeping their own players after the open market wasn’t as welcoming as expected. That was an opportunity Loomis admitted he didn’t see coming.
“I would say going into this, I don’t know that I expected to be able to get David and Andrus re-signed. So I’m really happy that that happened,” Loomis said, referring to defensive tackle David Onyemata and two-time Pro Bowl left guard Andrus Peat. Onyemata inked a three-year contract extension with the Saints, while Peat’s five-year deal is structured so that the Saints can terminate it after three seasons with little financial penalty.
And while discussing Peat’s contract, Loomis took time to focus on what Peat has done for the team in the past while also laying out expectations moving forward: “One of his great attributes is his versatility. He’s been able to kick out to tackle, we’ve had to use him in that area. He’s been in the Pro Bowl a few times at guard. We’re excited to have him back, excited that it was a deal that we could manage under our cap. And he’s still a young player. There’s still room for improvement and growth on his part.”
Loomis wasn’t the only one to be surprised that both starters returned. We predicted that neither of them would re-sign with the Saints before free agency, expecting active interest from other teams to raise their asking price beyond what New Orleans could fit into the budget. That goes to show even the Saints might be surprised by what Loomis and his team, led by salary cap guru Khai Hartley, can accomplish.
