By Jordan Long
The New Orleans Saints are 7-1, one game ahead of the Carolina Panthers for 1st place in the NFC South Division. They are preparing to take on the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. The Saints added another offensive weapon for quarterback Drew Brees, wide receiver Dez Bryant. He agreed to a 1-year $600,000 deal but he could earn $500,000 with incentives.
Bryant has been waiting for a call to play for an NFL team since the Cowboys released him on April 14th. He hoped to stay in the NFC East Division. Teams decided not to sign him because they were happy with their receiving core. The Saints had a need this week and feel like Bryant can fill that void.
Bryant should be able to help this offense. In 8 years in the NFL all he has done is catch the football and gain yards. Bryant has 531 receptions for 7,459 yards. His average yards per catch is an impressive 14 yards. Bryant added 73 touchdowns. These numbers might be able to help the Saints in winning the division and advancing far into the playoffs.
Bryant may not play this week for New Orleans. According to ESPN, Head Coach Sean Payton said, “It’d be hard for me to comment not having had a practice yet. But we’ll take a peek and see how he does today and tomorrow and we’ll fill you in on Sunday. We’ll take it one day at a time and see how much he can digest and give him parts to the plan and there’s a third-down element, a red-zone element, a lot of different things that he provides versatility for.”
Whenever he suits up in a Saints’ uniform, Brees must look his way. Bryant has the speed to make defenders miss. When they do, those are long gains for first downs or longer. In the red zone, he uses his height at 6 foot 2 inches to out-jump defensive backs for touchdowns. He should create mismatches for the Saints’ offense to succeed.
The Saints aren’t overpaying for Bryant. If they advance far in the playoffs and Bryant plays well, he might earn himself a large contract which could mean he stays in New Orleans. Time will tell.
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