New Orleans Saints players, officials easing back into the business of football

Tuesday at New Orleans Saints camp felt an awful lot like the calm before the storm.
The team didn't complete any major roster moves on the first day of business after the NFL lockout, although General Manager Mickey Loomis and his staff were no doubt running up the phone bill with endless calls to players and agents late into the night.

And only a handful of Saints players trickled into the practice facility after being allowed full access to the building for the first time in nearly five months.

The Saints plan to release their training-camp schedule today,
Players are scheduled to report to the official start of camp Thursday for a team meeting and activities such as physicals and conditioning tests. And the first practice is expected to be held Friday, although the team has not confirmed that.

It's not clear when the first practices will be open to the public. Those early practices could be very basic, with the Saints still working with an incomplete roster. They had only 47 players under contract as of Monday, barely more than half of the 90 players they're allowed to have on their training-camp roster.

They've been adding to that total by agreeing to deals with several undrafted free agents since Monday night. But they cannot officially sign any deals with veteran free agents until Friday afternoon, even if they're re-signing their own players.

And those veteran free agents won't be allowed to practice or work out until August 4, which is the official start of the new league year, since their contracts won't go into effect until that date.

NFL teams were allowed to begin negotiations with veteran free agents Tuesday morning, however, and a handful of "verbal agreements" were announced around the league as the day went on.

Many NFL observers have speculated that the slow pace of contract announcements is because players can still change their minds -- or be wooed elsewhere between now and Friday.

Very little news surfaced Tuesday concerning the Saints' 28 unrestricted free agents. And there was nothing new to report on the future of Saints tailback Reggie Bush, whose contract will need to be restructured if he is to remain in New Orleans.

The earliest the Saints could release Bush is Thursday afternoon, although they likely will attempt to work out a new deal with Bush before they make such a decision. Bush is scheduled to receive an $11.8 million salary in the final year of his deal, with a $16 million salary-cap hit.

One of the Saints' veteran free agents, linebacker Scott Shanle, shared the details of his day. He was contacted immediately by the St. Louis Rams. He spoke to their general manager and linebackers coach about their interest in him. He also spoke with Saints linebackers coach Joe Vitt for the first time in months and later spoke with Saints officials about their interest in re-signing him. He said the Cincinnati Bengals also expressed interest in him, among other teams, and he was working toward setting up at least one free-agent visit.

Shanle, like most of the Saints' free agents, said he would love to remain in New Orleans if the offers are similar. But he needs to explore all of his options.

"I think they want me back. But it's a matter of how much they want you back," Shanle said, pointing to what happened with fellow linebacker Scott Fujita last year as an example.

The Saints wanted to re-sign Fujita as a free agent but couldn't compete with the financial offer of the Cleveland Browns.

The most highly coveted of the Saints' free agents are expected to be left tackle Jermon Bushrod, receiver Lance Moore and safety Roman Harper.

Moore addressed his situation on Twitter, saying, "I'm waiting patiently for the right deal tweeps. (I don't know) where its going to be yet, but I will let everyone know as soon as I do. Thanks for all of your support."

About 10 to 15 players showed up at Saints camp Tuesday morning for voluntary workouts and some long-overdue quality time with the coaching staff.

Among the players seen driving in and out of the Saints' facility were safety Malcolm Jenkins, cornerbacks Tracy Porter and Johnny Patrick, kicker Garrett Hartley, quarterback Chase Daniel, tailback Lynell Hamilton, tight end Tyler Lorenzen and long snapper Justin Drescher.

"It was awesome," Daniel said of being back in the building for the first time since the lockout began in March. "For us last night, we were just (champing) at the bit to get in this morning. It was like Christmas Eve last night. Just waiting to be back around people that you know, that you trust, that you love here.

"I came in, did a workout, threw some passes to Tyler, got in the cold tub, hot tub, just used the amenities. Got our free lunch, which was awesome. But it was good to see all the coaches. That's the main thing. And to see everyone, all the support staff here, they all missed us like crazy. You know, we're like their kids. That's what (equipment manager Silky Powell) said. It's good to be back."

Saints quarterback Drew Brees wasn't at camp Tuesday. He wrapped up his final workout in his offseason home base in San Diego. But he expressed his relief and excitement in a radio interview with WWL on Tuesday night.

"It's been a long time coming," said Brees, who was instrumental in the labor negotiations as part of the players association's executive council. "Obviously, this was a wild offseason for all of us. This was uncharted territory, something none of us was used to. ... And there was just a lot of uncertainty as to how long this would last.

"It came down to the wire, but we got a deal done that we're all very happy with. We feel like it was a fair deal for both sides."

Asked what his message to Saints fans would be, Brees said, "I can't tell you how excited we are to see all the fans out at camp."

"I know how excited they've been in years past about the start of the season, and I think this one maybe even moreso than years past because there's been so much uncertainty and so much doubt as to whether there was going to be football this year," Brees said. "So I know it freaked everybody out. It scared everybody. But here we are, football's started, and I know everybody's pumped up and ready for it."

Brees' own contract will become an issue soon. He's heading into the final year of his six-year deal with the Saints and eventually will become one of the highest-paid players in NFL history. But he said that's not the most immediate priority for himself or the team.

"When the time comes to talk about extending the contract, we're ready to do that," Brees said. "But after this (lengthy) process to get back to football, that's really all I'm looking forward to right now. Establishing an identity as a team and trying to win another championship."

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