New Orleans Saints Can't Afford a Reggie Bush Holdout

According to one account, before Reggie Bush made his first visit to New Orleans, he said: "I've been to Little Rock. Is it anything like Little Rock?"

Well, uh, no. Little Rock wasn't ripped apart by a monster hurricane last year, causing nearly half the population to leave town and not come back. Little Rock isn't currently in the throes of an agonizingly slow rebuilding process.

But Reggie Bush is a smart and well-read guy, and he must have known what he'd be walking into. If not, the giddy reception accorded him when he arrived -- Crescent City residents cheering his every appearance like little kids greeting the ice cream truck in July -- made it clear. A week after making his first trip to his new home, the New Orleans Saints ' top draft pick donated $50,000 to a high school there.

If you drive past the Lousiana Superdome on I-10 these days, you'll see a sign atop the still-battered roof promising that the facility will be open for business -- and its NFL team -- at the start of the 2006 season. "Go Saints!" it adds as a postscript.

Without question, the New Orleans Saints have become more than a football team. Already, they've sold a team-record 55,000-plus season tickets, even though the ticket-buying base shrank considerably after Hurricane Katrina. Part of the reason is an almost-obsessive desire to return to normality; that, plus the fact that owner Tom Benson offered some season tickets at $14 per game.

Given all that, Reggie Bush had to be the logical choice in the draft. It's hard to imagine the same reception given to the Heisman Trophy-winner being bestowed upon D'Brickashaw Ferguson or Mario Williams, regardless of their talent. Reggie Bush runs fast and scores touchdowns.

"It would have had to have been something ridiculous," said Benson when asked if he'd considered an offer to trade down on April 29.

So Reggie Bush is in the Big Easy, but signing him has become the Big Problem. Not that the Southern Cal product has been sounding like a potential holdout.

"I'm a competitor and a football player," he said, "and so, yeah, I want to be in camp on time. But I have an agent, and I have faith in Joel (Segal) to handle that end of things."

Since the Houston Texans gave No. 1 pick Mario Williams a multi-year deal at $54 million, Reggie Bush will want at least that much, and probably more. After all, Williams didn't win the Heisman.

Teams always need to get the deal done with their No. 1 pick, but that chore has taken on added urgency for the Saints for two reasons:

1. Symbolism. All those loyal fans who shelled out for season tickets want to be rewarded by team management, and a protracted contract fight with Reggie Bush and Segal would send a terrible message.

2. Strategy. The Saints need Reggie Bush in camp early to give them more time to figure out exactly what to do with him. Do they want to use him as a kick returning weapon, or is he too valuable to risk in that capacity? Could he and Deuce McAllister function in the backfield simultaneously? Could Reggie Bush be a third down receiver?

McAllister has said all the right things, noting: "I don't blame the team a bit for drafting him (Reggie Bush). You can't pass up that kind of opportunity."

Yet Reggie Bush has pointed out that he has the durability to be an every-down back, noting that he had over 25 carries last season against both Fresno State (294 yards) and UCLA (260). This would indicate that he doesn't plan to be McAllister Lite, letting Deuce do all the heavy lifting while he scampers around on the perimeter.

The New Orleans Saints need to exploit this natural resource, and soon. But he has to be there. At least he has a few months to become even better friends with Jared Gaither.

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March
•Reggie Bush Vows to Focus on Football

February
•Bush teams with Shaq to host All-Star charity event
•Dog thinks 2 $900 Super Bowl tickets tasty treat
•Boonton man scores big with Super Bowl tickets
•Dog thinks 2 $900 Super Bowl tickets tasty treat

Super Bowl Weekend
•OK!'s Guide to the Super Bowl Parties
•"Hannah" primed to claim Super Bowl weekend
•Paris Hilton, Ludacris party alongside 50 Cent at pre-game Super Bowl concert

January
•Reggie Bush Engaged to Kim Kardashian?

December
•Eagles vs. Saints Preview 12/23/07
•Bush Hoping to Play Against Eagles 12/18/07
•Cardinals 24, Saints 31
•Bush Out For the Year 12/12/07
•Falcons 14, Saints 34 12/10/07
•Falcons vs. Saints Preview 12/10/07
•Buccaneers 27, Saints 23 12/02/07
•Buccaneers vs. Saints Preview 12/02/07


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