New Orleans Saints release Marques Colston
By John Buhler
The New Orleans Saints have officially cut ties with the franchise’s leading receiver in Marques Colston after 10 years with the club on Monday afternoon.
According to the NFL Network, the New Orleans Saints have released veteran wide receiver Marques Colston on Monday afternoon. Colston spent all 10 of his NFL seasons in the Saints organization.
The Saints have released WR Marques Colston. pic.twitter.com/4EV5zmzNNz
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) February 29, 2016
Colston was originally a seventh round draft pick by the Saints in the 2006 NFL Draft out of Hofstra University. While he never made it to a Pro Bowl in his 10 seasons in New Orleans, Colston holds many of the Saints’ all-time offensive records.
Colston has had more catches (711), receiving yards (9,759), and receiving/total touchdowns (72) than any player to ever play for the Saints franchise. While Colston still probably has a few years left in the tank, he is coming off his worst season in the NFL with only 45 catches for 520 yards and four touchdowns. All three are the lowest season totals of his 10-year NFL career.
The Saints have had to make some tough decisions in recent offseasons as New Orleans has been in one of the worst situations with regards to the NFL’s Salary Cap frankly since the Bountygate Scandal. Colston is beloved by everyone in Who Dat Nation, as he was the always reliable receiving target for quarterback Drew Brees during their time together with the Saints.
While Colston could conceivably look to sign with any of the other 31 teams in the NFL, he could walk away from the game entirely after a stellar 10-year career with the team that drafted him. Colston won a Super Bowl with the Saints in 2009 and leaves New Orleans as one of the franchise’s all-time greats.
He’s not likely bound for Canton, but anybody who played the Saints in the last decade knew that Colston was a great wide receiver that routinely found his way into the end zone on dozens of Brees’ touchdown passes.
It’s tough to see a pro’s pro like Colston not be able to close out his career one his own terms, but he will go down as one of the game’s greatest seventh round draft picks, proving that general managers can extract value in all rounds of an NFL Draft.