The Browns made a big splash in free agency without spending big cash.
Tony Grossi of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that linebacker Scott Fujita’s deal is worth $14 million over three years.
It’s hardly a big-money deal — and it makes us wonder why the Saints didn’t cough up the same package in order to keep Fujita from leaving.
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NICE!!!
You think there was collusion involved? The Browns sign two new players today for chump change, basically.
Could it be that other franchises wanted Holmgren to have a good first year? Or, maybe they were tired of the Browns being league bottom feeders and figured that they’d throw them a bone now….
There’s one obvious and easy answer to that question. They expect to replace him either in the draft or with an existing 2nd-or-3rd year player. Casillas looked decent when he filled in last year, maybe they expect him to step up.
the answer is…..
the SAINTS ARE CHEAP and the NFL gave them the Superbowl. I am really starting to believe that the NFL decides who will win before the season unfolds just to ‘reward’ certain owners or teams. I firmly feel Dallas is next up based on that new stadium and the impact that it will have on other cities to step up and built better facilities.
it is a huge loss to the Saints & to the city of New Orleans……he will be missed on & off the field. I, for one, would have preferred some of the extravagant money spent on Reggie Bush be spent on players like Fujita & Sharper……who were consistently good players & not just sometime showboaters like celebrity hound Bush
Wow I must live under a mushroom; I thought $14 million whether it’s partially guaranteed or not represented a lot of dough.
Look here’s the thing. I didn’t want Fujita to leave but how many teams could use him as a starter in the NFL. Not too many, he’s only average at best so thin is not a huge lost to the Saints. I wish he would have stayed but he’ll be replaced pretty easily. SEAN WETHERSPOON.
I don’t know about you, Florio, but I think 3 years $14 million is a lot of money for a player like Scott Fujita. Fujita is a solid player, but not a special player, who will be 31 years old next month. He is a good guy, but I think Cleveland overpaid for his services.
Ask around your NFL sources and find out how many people think Cleveland “overpaid” or got a good deal. I suspect most will go with overpaid.
saints had a weak linebacking corp to begin with. vilma is a beast. fujita was very good. shanle is shanle.
they must be targeting a couple linebackers in the draft.
That’s $4.6 mill a year for Scott freakin’ Fujita.
How much more do you think this guy should be making?
$4.6mill a year for THIS guy is already far too much.
As a Saints fan and native of Louisiana, I’m a huge Fujita fan, on and off the field. However, i think the Saints made the right choice to not match. Over 4 million a year is a good deal for Scott, but he missed 5 or 6 games last year and is on the wrong side of 30.
Not saying he isn’t a good player or isn’t a good person, cause lord knows he’s done a lot of charity work in New Orleans, has made some plays, and is just a stand up guy, but the Browns deal is a little much for his services. Good luck to him.
I’ll be cheering for him when they’re not playing the Saints.
Florio’s been hittin’ the sauce again
Keith Bulluck shouldn’t command that much if the Saints was to sign him to a one year deal to replace Fujita, considering him being injured last season.
Agreed. I figured something along the lines of 3 years, $9m would be more than enough to keep him, assuming they wanted to. Just under $5m is ridiculous, and now they can use that money to possibly UNDERPAY an UFA who wants to win a SB. Best of luck to Scott, but Saints fans are far from sweating this loss.
Too bad the deal didn’t go through two days ago, the deal isn’t much less than Kampman’s and they could have really upgraded from Grant.
I like Fajitas.
The Browns still have no qb, no wrs and rb’s are below average. Now they will only lose games 20-10, instead of 27-10!
to: The Devil (and any other conspiracy theory idiot)
What’s with this B.S. about the NFL liking certain franchises over others and deciding who wins and when? Last I checked there are two teams on the field for every game; two teams with the same number of PROFESSIONAL athletes. to honestly believe that the NFL as a whole has the power, and ability, to forcefully change the outcome of games, and “decide” who will win the Super Bowl is absolutely ridiculous. Let me guess: no one ever landed on the moon, the martians landed in Roswell, and the U.S. government planned and executed the terrorist attacks on 9/11.
give me a break son, you’re smokin something.
The Saints need that money for Jahri Evans, Pierre Thomas, Darren Sharper, Jammal Brown, and they want to do a new deal for Brees. Reggie and Sedrick Ellis get top 10 money. They gotta cut costs somewhere. We have 4 young backers waiting in the wings and probably a couple more after draft day that will all work cheaper than Fujita.
Florio,
On March 5, you listed your cash based free agency rankings and what you thought they would be worth in guaranteed money. Here they are:
Linebacker
1. Karlos Dansby, Arizona, $20.0.
2. DeMeco Ryans, Houston, $15.0.
3. Elvis Dumervil, Denver, $15.0.
4. Shawne Merriman, San Diego, $12.0.
5. Gary Brackett, Indianapolis, $11.0.
6. Barrett Ruud, Tampa Bay, $10.0.
7. Aaron Kampman, Green Bay, $9.0.
8. Derrick Johnson, Kansas City, $8.0.
9. Keith Bulluck, Tennessee, $7.0.
10 Tully Banta-Cain, New England, $6.0.
Where is Scott Fujita on that list? Not listed correct. So how much was Scott Fujita worth two days ago. Less than $6.0 million guaranteed correct? How much was the contract that Fujita signed with Cleveland. Three years, $14 million, but how much is guaranteed? Is it less than or more than $6 million? I am going to guess it is more than $6 million when you factor in first year base salary.
Are you still upset that your little purple team lost and that is why you are bashing the Saints as being cheap?
I still say Cleveland overpaid for Fujita. Good for him, but $14 million for 3 years for an above average LB who will be 31 next month and missed 5-6 games last year because of injury sure looks like a lot of money.
Fujita was a good team player…..nothing spectacular….hate to see him go but the Saints were not going to pay him what he got offered. It happens!!
Who Dat! Two Dat!
Um, how in the world is a 3-year $14 million deal “hardly a big money deal?” Fujita is average and is making close to 5 mil a year.
The Saints could get a similar player on a 1-year $1 million deal.
Not nearly as much as I would have thought. Quality signing.
Nice move by H&H. If that was Phil Savage, Scott would of been paid probably 5 yrs at 30 million. I still think they are going to end up with either McNabb, Kolb, or Troy Smith to be the QB. Now lets bring in Thomas Jones!
The national media, especially when it comes to “former players” turned personnel experts, like M. Schlerath of ESPN and yes, even “wunderkind” Trent Dilfer (in same role), as well as “NFL Punditz” like Florio and Tweety Bird, are reeeeeeeeee-markably INaccurate in most everything that comes out of their mouths.
I amazes me the NFL-fan masses haven’t realized this yet, and just “shut them down” when it comes to having virtually any shreds of credibility. Why is this so?? It is because when it comes to the weaker and even marginal teams in the present day NFL, they have NO CLUE what the management is “really thinking” because they are lazy, and chose to be uninformed (Yes, John Clayton is the Tweey Bird I spoke of above!) They simply follow the “main-line NFL Today” stories (YAWN, …whoa. I can Fn yawn any harder than when I ‘attempt’ to watch the GENERIC-weak-asz ESPN production, Gawd, and I thought the NFL Net was bad!?! Oh, and it is.) Back to my point – no one knows your LOCAL team like YOU! Because if you are a die-hard, then you suscribe to a very hardworking subscription site (I leave them nameless) that “constantly scoops sthe natl punditz and ex-jocks on a REGULAR basis.” (duh,…why in the hell do they think blogs are so popular with NFL fans who understand it is the GRASS ROOTS efforts, not the natl ones, who rule the day when it comes to NFL information?)
Schit. No. I do NOT work for Scout.com, either! Just read it and weep, Mike NBC’lorio!
the saints didnt match the offer because they know Fujita sucks and can be very easily replaced….PERIOD
@ skip toomilu
Your retard rambling gave away the fact you dont work for Scout.com
Fufita is an average to good player, but he still will help the Browns
i remember folks when the bills chipped away at the players they thought they could afford to lose….the saints are not use to being in the top spotlight….i like them so good luck saints but be carefull who you guys lose! ps-pam oliver is so sexy.
The saints are cheap?
They had the 4th highest payroll in the league in 2009.
They may not always spend smart but they do spend.
But they won the Super Bowl so it worked this year.
Browns moved a ton of money off their cap over the last year and half, see the Cory Williams move earlier this week. $14M is not an issue.
It is clearly an upgrade and doesn’t prevent them from going after others if they want to. Fujita has at least 2 solid years left, probably three.
I don’t see the downside. What I see is the Browns layering in capable players at each position, freeing them up to keep to the “best player available” strategy without having to reach for a need.
The huge exception at this point is QB, all eyes are on H&H to see what they have planned.
They never give you enough Tortillas for your Fajitas. That makes me sad.
I’m just really happy to see some positive movement within the browns org … Getting Fugita is just one of the many steps we need to turn this ship around. It tells a lot about our management …. atleast we have one now!!!! I know this isn’t a browns site but Go Brownies!! don’t hate
According to the Tony Grossi, ot eh Cleveland Plain Dealer Fujita has a contract with an guarantee of 8 million.
Maybe they overpaid, maybe they didn’t. But without a salary cap it really does not make a whole lot of difference one way or the other. Now does it?
If he performs and the Browns improve on “D” the it is a good investment. If not, then not.
nice move browns! keep it up, next: QB
Good move for the Browns. Fujita is a great person and a good player.
Good move for the Saints. Casillas and Arnoux on the roster and Fujita/Shanle have been a week spot on the Def for a couple of years. Can’t pay $14mil for a player that you are trying to upgrade.
I like the move yes he isn’t the biggest name but he is something we need I say now we trade Rogers for one of phillys qb not smith cause he unproven. BQ is not our guy we need more players like Thomas jones Marshall or even the bills cb then in the draft grab berry Tate mccluster or Haden. As a browns fan we know anyone we sign is a improvement. Look at the pats now lol looks like the fins and jets are the team to beat
good pickup by the Browns. the Saints will be fine. i’m glad the Asian Assassin got one last paycheck. he deserves it…
One thing is abundantly clear, Holmgren is a much better politician than Mangini.
Last year Florio couldn’t write anything about the Browns without it dripping in negativity. Everything he’s written since has been objective or even, like this one, containing actual praise.
Last year the press absolutley turned on the Mangenius and tried to stir up numerous tempests in the tea pot. That wasn’t the main reason they sucked last season but it certainly contributed.
“it makes us wonder why the Saints didn’t cough up the same package in order to keep Fujita from leaving.”
Because the Browns overpaid for Fujita. Awesome guy, but only decent player – not worth almost $5M a year and certainly upgradeable, especially when he’ll be 31 come the start of the season.
“the SAINTS ARE CHEAP”
As someone else said, the Saints had the 4th highest payroll this year. They’re just going to be wise with their money and not overpay an average, aging linebacker when they can get better.
“and the NFL gave them the Superbowl”
People who believe these conspiracy theories make me laugh.
Fujita was a solid linebacker for the Saints for years. He has great leadership and is a tackling machine. He lost a step or two the last few years because he aged like we all do. I’m not hatin on the guy at all I’m glad he could cash in on his superbowl win like many players before him did. The Saints will lose experience and leadership with his loss but eventually they were gonna have to address filling in that position as he’s not going to be able to compete as a starter forever. I still think they could’ve gotten another 2-3 years out of him as a decent starting linebacker but life goes on.