The New Orleans Saints could be preparing for life without their all-time leading receiver.
The Saints likely will release wide receiver Marques Colston in the coming days, a league source told ESPN.com’s Mike Triplett, who added Tuesday that the move isn’t strictly motivated by the salary cap.
Colston, who turns 33 in June, is slated to earn $3.2 million in salary and bonuses next season, according to Triplett. The Saints already are a few million dollars under the projected 2016 salary cap, but Colston is coming off a season in which he totaled a career-low 45 catches, 520 receiving yards and four touchdown grabs.
The 10-year veteran also missed three games last season with injuries, forcing quarterback Drew Brees to look elsewhere. Wide receivers Brandin Cooks and Willie Snead, as well as veteran tight end Benjamin Watson, became more productive targets for New Orleans.
If Colston is released, it’ll take nothing away from his illustrious career. The 2006 seventh-round pick out of Hofstra has totaled 711 receptions, 9,759 receiving yards and 72 TD catches in 146 regular-season games. He won a Super Bowl with the Saints in the 2009 season.
Colston will count for $2.7 million in dead money on the Saints’ salary cap from past signing bonuses if New Orleans cuts the receiver this offseason, according to Triplett.
Thumbnail photo via Matt Kartozian/USA TODAY Sports Images
