New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees will miss OTAs, still waiting for new deal - NFL News
The stalemate over a new contract continues between the New Orleans Saints and their star quarterback, Drew Brees.
Brees had been assigned the Saints franchise tag to keep him out of free agency this year and according to sources is likely to miss out on the Saints Organised Team Activities (OTAs) which will begin on Monday.
The quarterback will not join up with his teammates to work on the new tactics for the season without a contract and is said to be visibly disappointed by the developments.
"It is very upsetting to him not being there Monday," a source told the Times-Picayune "He wants to be there for his teammates."
One option for the quarterback is to sign the franchise tag waiver and workout with his team but that scenario is unlikely with Brees not prepared to join the team unless he is given a new long term deal.
Owner Tom Benson in a press conference on Friday in which he confirmed his buyout of National Basketball Association (NBA) team New Orleans Hornets said that he had talked with the quarterback and they will meet soon to negotiate on a new deal.
"I talked to Drew Brees this morning. ... He is due in next week. We're close."
The quarterback did not expect it to take so long for a new deal to be worked out. Brees had put all negotiations on hold during the 2011-12 season to concentrate on the season.
At the start of the offseason most believed that by now both sides would have reached an agreement but in reality the franchise and Brees remain far apart in their valuations.
The impasse is unlikely to end soon and Saints fans will hope that the quarterback responsible for the majority of their recent successes is given a deal that will keep him at the Big Easy for the long term.
Brees is the face of the franchise and one of the main reasons that New Orleans won its first ever Super Bowl championship in 2009.
The stalemate is making things upsetting for fans who are already shocked by the massive punishment the franchise received for running an illegal bounty program.
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