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NFL Rumor: Saints making a “major push” to sign Brandon Browner

By Stanford Crissey

Nov 30, 2014; Green Bay, WI, USA; New England Patriots cornerback Brandon Browner (39) during the game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 30, 2014; Green Bay, WI, USA; New England Patriots cornerback Brandon Browner (39) during the game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports /
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New Orleans has reportedly offered free agent cornerback Brandon Browner $5 million a season

The New Orleans Saints are reportedly making a hard push for free agent cornerback Brandon Browner.

NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweeted that the Saints offered the ex-Patriots corner $5 million a year:

Browner will be 31 this season, but has only played four years in the NFL, as he got his start in the Canadian Football League. Seeing his success in Canada’s league, the Seahawks signed him in 2011, and he immediately became a starter, making the Pro Bowl that year. From then on, he formed one of the league’s most imposing cornerback duos alongside Richard Sherman, but missed the playoff run in Seattle in 2013, and signed with the Patriots in the offseason. He won his second straight Super Bowl with New England, but the Patriots declined his option and he is now a free agent again.

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If Browner does leave, the Patriots will be out both of their starting cornerbacks from their Super Bowl-winning club, with star Darrelle Revis having signed with the Jets Tuesday.

His whole career, Browner has played opposite one of the NFL’s very best cornerbacks, whether it was Richard Sherman in Seattle or Darrelle Revis is New England. Browner also comes with some steroid-related baggage; he has missed time in each of the past three seasons because of suspensions for performance-enhancing drugs.

The Saints seem to have zeroed in on cornerback as their position of the most need this offseason. The team had Packers corner Tramon Williams in for a visit Wednesday; now it appears that Browner has beome the team’s number one target.

In New Orleans, Browner would pair up with Keenan Lewis, and together they would form an above-average duo, certainly an upgrade over what New Orleans has had in the secondary the last few years. The team will also have to hope that safety Jairus Byrd can actually start living up to the huge contract he signed last offseason.

The question, as it usually seems to be for the Saints, is all about money. The team is currently $3 million over the salary cap, and would need to make some cuts before they could bring in Browner. Marques Colston and Jahri Evans are two veterans who would seem like potential cap casualties, but still, New Orleans is going to have to due some maneuvering even after making cuts; they’ll still need to pay their draft picks and fill out the roster. They’ll just have to hope Browner is worth it.

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