NFC South Rival Saints May Say Goodbye to Marques Colston

The NFC South rival New Orleans Saints are in midst of a youth movement, and it looks as if their long-time wide receiver Marques Colston is going to be a casualty.

February is the month of the year where all of the NFL rumors start. We are days away from the Combine, and just a few weeks away from free agency. Teams are tweaking contracts and adjusting rosters to procure as much salary cap room as possible. We are watching our NFC South rivals, and as we know, Marques Colston has played a starring role for the Saints for many years now.

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But that may be coming to an end.

According to Sports World Report, the Saints are going to part ways with their 32-year-old wide receiver.

It’s a move that makes sense financially. Colston comes with a $5.9 million cap hit in 2016, if released, he would free up $3.2 million of salary cap space, per Over the Cap, leaving the Saints with $2.7 million of dead money.

It really comes as no surprise, take a look at Colston’s stats:

	Games	Receiving	Rushing
Year	Age	Tm	Pos	No.	G	GS	Tgt	Rec	Yds	Y/R	TD	Lng	R/G	Y/G	Att	Yds	TD	Lng	Y/A	Y/G	A/G	YScm	RRTD	Fmb	AV
2006	23	NOR	WR	12	14	12	115	70	1038	14.8	8	86	5.0	74.1								1038	8	0	10
2007	24	NOR	WR	12	16	14	143	98	1202	12.3	11	45	6.1	75.1								1202	11	1	11
2008	25	NOR	wr	12	11	6	88	47	760	16.2	5	70	4.3	69.1								760	5	1	7
2009	26	NOR	WR	12	16	14	107	70	1074	15.3	9	68	4.4	67.1	1	6	0	6	6.0	0.4	0.1	1080	9	2	11
2010	27	NOR	WR	12	15	11	131	84	1023	12.2	7	43	5.6	68.2	1	1	0	1	1.0	0.1	0.1	1024	7	0	9
2011	28	NOR	wr	12	14	7	107	80	1143	14.3	8	50	5.7	81.6								1143	8	1	11
2012	29	NOR	WR	12	16	13	130	83	1154	13.9	10	60	5.2	72.1								1154	10	4	10
2013	30	NOR	WR	12	15	11	111	75	943	12.6	5	35	5.0	62.9								943	5	0	9
2014	31	NOR	WR	12	16	13	100	59	902	15.3	5	57	3.7	56.4								902	5	1	8
2015	32	NOR	wr	12	13	5	67	45	520	11.6	4	53	3.5	40.0								520	4	0	4
Career					146	106	1098	711	9759	13.7	72	86	4.9	66.8	2	7	0	6	3.5	0.0	0.0	9766	72	10	90

Facts are facts, and the numbers don’t lie. Colston was Brees’ main target for many years, but the numbers have been on a steady decline for years now. Since 2013, he has dropped his receptions by 30, from 75 in 2013 to 45 last year. Brandin Cooks, and others, have steadily cut into Colston’s targets, to the point where $5.9 million against the cap just isn’t worth it.

Next: Reviewing the Buccaneers' 2014 Draft Class

Should it happen, the Bucs will not be too upset if Colston leaves the division all together. His highest career yardage has come in games against the boys in Pewter, 1,258 yards and seven touchdowns.

Colston could catch on with a team looking for that secondary weapon to put them over the top. With Vincent Jackson still in the fold, I don’t see Tampa Bay making a play here if Colston is available.

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NFC South Rumors: Marques Colston to be Released by the Saints

By Alan Schechter | Feb 23, 2016

The NFC South rival New Orleans Saints are in midst of a youth movement, and it looks as if their long-time wide receiver Marques Colston is going to be a casualty.