Drew Brees was at the Saints’ facility on Monday for tackle Zach Strief’s retirement press conference and that gave him the opportunity to spend a little time talking about a new contract as well.
That conversation appears to have gone well. Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Brees and the Saints have made “significant progress” toward a two-year deal that would keep Brees in New Orleans. Rapoport adds that the “belief” is that the deal will get to the finish line on Tuesday.
Other teams were allowed to contact Brees’ representatives on Monday and the Vikings reportedly did exactly that. As PFT reported Tuesday morning, however, there’s no sign that Brees is looking to leave New Orleans and getting a deal done before Wednesday afternoon’s start of the league year would avoid Brees’ current contract voiding. That would create an $18 million charge on the Saints’ cap just as free agency gets rolling, but the charge would be spread out if the sides can get a new deal done before that point.
It looks like things are trending that way as Tuesday gets going.