Earlier this week, Saints tackle Jermon Bushrod said that he hoped to start negotiations soon on a deal that would keep him in New Orleans for the long term.
It wasn’t clear if the Saints felt the same way about keeping Bushrod as their left tackle, but it is starting to look like both sides want their relationship to continue. Albert Breer of the NFL Network reports that the Saints have “made it clear” that they want to keep Bushrod and that they will be getting to serious talks on a contract next week once they iron out their cap issues.
With a glut of tackles heading for free agency, it seemed reasonable for the Saints to wait and see what the market brought in terms of prices for a left tackle. Like the Giants did with Will Beatty, though, they seem to be putting a higher priority on keeping their own guy than playing musical chairs with their quarterback’s blind side.
The Saints started working on that cap space this week by restructuring the deals of several players, including wide receiver Marques Colston and guard Jahiri Evans. They’re expected to do more trimming in the coming days and weeks, apparently with the intention of keeping Bushrod along with whatever other moves they’ve got planned for the offseason.