Saints to tag Darren Howard?

[coloradoraider]

An excerpt from Pasquerelli's latest column:

I hope this doesn't happen. I have been posting for weeks now that Darren Howard is the perfect fit for our defense.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/column...len&id=1989339

• About a month ago, we opined in the "Tip Sheet' that teams seeking a proven pass rusher in free agency might do well to look at New Orleans veteran end Darren Howard. The assessment was based on the supposition that the Saints, who used the "franchise" marker to keep Howard around in 2004, wouldn't exercise the tag again on him. And that with former first-round ends Charles Grant and Will Smith as the starters, and Howard relegated to playing tackle over the second half of the season, New Orleans would not attempt to retain the five-year veteran. And now we say: Oops. It now seems, we have learned, that the Saints might slap the franchise tag on Howard for a second consecutive year, with no intentions of signing him to a long-term deal. It will cost the Saints a whopping $7.8 million (20 percent more than his "franchise" qualifying offer from a year ago) to "tag" Howard, but that seems to be the direction the club is headed. Despite just 12 starts in '04, and having lost time to injury, Howard still posted a team-best 11 sacks, tying his career high. Its glut of defensive ends aside, New Orleans realizes how tough it is to find proven pass rushers, and how you can never have enough of them.

[BrooklynRaider]

Bastards.

That rules out him, It looks like Abraham is getting tagged as well.

[ncraider84]

Well scratch him off the offseason with list fellas, back to the FA list we go!

[Mr.Murder]

We'll see, Howard can play about any line position as a speed rush.
Think Reggie Kinlaw on the interior.
His edge rush skill is really good as well, he can play a true 3-4 end.

Being tagged may lead to guys not playing late in the year. See also CWood.


Charles turned down lifetime deal last year (Postons). The market for corners is lower this year, 3 of the top 4 teams to the Championship round didn't feature a starter from the previous year.

Take Al's offer and be part of a team that stands for something. Commitment to Excellence.

[Gallery74]

We wouldnt sign him, we never sign this type of player, young, good, best years ahead of him, we'd rather let them play elsewhere and pay the likes of Sapp instead.

There are 20+ quality FA's ou there, how many will hit the market? 10-15, how many will we sign none probabaly, one at best.

The draft's where it's at.

[coloradoraider]

It looks like we won't get to see if Lombardi and Al are smart enough to go after him or not.