Nick Fairley Had Little To No Interest In Leaving New Orleans

Catching up with @Nick_Fairley251 about his return to the #Saints!
Full Interview: https://t.co/lVaMv0lWUX pic.twitter.com/h0NV7hCy9s

— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) March 14, 2017

Nick Fairley said he got "chill bumps" during his visit with the Saints last year. Knew it was the place for him.

— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) March 13, 2017

Nick Fairley said he never asked how many teams were interested in him leading to free agency. For him, it was the #Saints the whole time.

— Herbie Teope (@HerbieTeope) March 13, 2017

Nick Fairley said he told his agent: "Man, let’s sit down and talk to these Saints & get this deal done because that’s where I want to be."

— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) March 13, 2017

Nick Fairley on talks with agent during free agency: "Every time I called, I asked him if the Saints called."

— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) March 13, 2017

I don't care if this was just conjecture, I don't care if it was ass kissing, and I don't care if it was just one player wanting to remain close to his hometown. All the kind words and exaggerated conversations aside, Nick Fairley following up a career year by signing for less than he likely could have gotten on the open market to stay in New Orleans is proof positive that the attitude in the  room has changed considerably. Obviously it doesn't matter how badly he wanted to be a Saint is he doesn't bring the same effort and intensity that he did last year, but retaining a talented player that felt the environment was so conducive to turning around his career that he hardly paid attention to potentially richer suitors is a step in the right direction.

Simply put, it's just not something that would have happened a few years ago when the in-fighting reached it's peak and the offseason was littered with rumors of character issues. As long as Nick Fairley stays away from irrelevant R&B groups whose turn was the century then the days of Jimmy Graham congratulating Akiem Hicks on sucking his way onto the trading block are long forgotten. The Saints may feel haunted when they see the number 7 followed by the number 9, but a growing sentiment that it's only a matter of time before they contend was present amongst the players this season. The positive may have wained at times, but it never turned into the full blown negativity that led to 2015's complete rebuilding of the locker room. I don't know if the right pieces have been put in place to give Drew Brees a realistic shot of winning another Super Bowl, but I know that the disruptive defensive tackle that apparently ignored the always fruitful free agent market seems to think that they have been. Considering it's only March, that's enough for me.