Drew Brees A Potential Cap Casualty Next Year?

ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen write that while it’s still early, “it is fair to wonder how much longer the marriage between Drew Brees and the Saints will last.”

Brees is scheduled to count a whopping $27.4 million against the Saints’ salary cap in 2016, and New Orleans remains in a tough cap situation, as they’re currently projected to be $7.8 million over the cap next year.

Schefter and Mort point out this still doesn’t account for the fact that they’ll need even more money to address their restricted free agents and their 2016 draft class.

The Saints options are limited overall in terms of creating cap space, which leaves Brees as a candidate to either have his contract restructured or be released outright. Should the Saints part ways with Brees, they would free up $20 million in available cap space, according to the two insiders.

The one aspect that’s worth consideration is that Brees has been incredibly important to the franchise and the city of New Orleans that it would be an extremely difficult move to part ways with someone like him.

It’s worth mentioning that others in the past have suggested that the Saints should at least consider the possibility of moving on from their franchise quarterback.

Andrew Cohen of OverTheCap.com wrote that if the Saints end up faltering this season, they should consider the idea of fielding trade offers for Brees.

Cohen added that New Orleans could still try to sign Brees to an extension at some point and continue to build around him in the coming years. However, this could prove to be very costly for a team that has just begun to address their cap issues in recent years.

Brees is currently dealing with a shoulder injury that has impacted his play. New Orleans also used the No. 75 overall pick this year’s draft on Garrett Grayson, so they do have a quarterback prospect to build around.

Brees, 36, has two years remaining on his five-year, $100 million contract that included $40 million guaranteed. He stands to make base salaries of $18.75 million and $19.75 million over the next two years.

This season, Brees has thrown for 610 yards while completing 62.8 percent of his passes to go along with two touchdowns and two interceptions.