New Orleans Saints Make Another Offseason Error With C.J. Spiller Signing

By Jerry Landry
C.J. Spiller signs with New Orleans Saints NFL Free Agency
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

According to the expeditious Adam Schefter, the New Orleans Saints have reached an agreement with former Buffalo Bills running back C.J. Spiller. Now the Saints have two mediocre running backs for the price of three.

Just six days ago, New Orleans came to terms with running back Mark Ingram for $4 million annually. It’s easy to see why the Saints have the worst salary cap situation in the NFL. I mean, assuming the Saints realize that this is a salary cap league after all.

Although most teams feature a two-back attack, the Saints acquired both of these misleading marquee names at market value, and you don’t need read the work of Benjamin Graham to see that this isn’t a sound investment strategy. It’s unwise to sign a running back with considerable mileage, and New Orleans has repeated this mistake within the same week.

Trading away Jimmy Graham only to reabsorb the relinquished cap space with dueling second-tier players is inherently odd. The quickest, and perhaps only, silver lining is that now the Saints have doubled-down on potential backfield upside. Luckily as of now the Saints still have Drew Brees and Sean Payton.

Just because LeSean McCoy ousts Spiller doesn’t mean the demand for the 27-year-old running back should suddenly skyrocket, and it certainly doesn’t call for pressing the panic button either. The Saints’ backfield is tremendously crowded, while New Orleans’ secondary remains sordid, even with the acquisition of Brandon Browner.

I’d love to be shortsighted on this, but I have to call it as I see it. And as I see it right now, the Saints are misfiring on all offseason cylinders.

Jerry Landry is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow Jerry on Twitter at @Jerry2Landry, “Like” him on Facebook or add him on Google.

Share On FacebookShare StumbleUpon

You May Also Like