The Saints Saved Themselves From A Sack Scarcity By Bringing Back Alex Okafor On A Two-Year Deal3/16/2018
I don't say the following to kill the buzz of bringing back a player that, when healthy, helped to lighten the egregiously heavy load of the Saints' do-it-All Pro defensive end, but rather to state a fact. Alex Okafor did a hell of a job balancing a previously lop-sided defensive line, but increasing his salary by 150% on a two-year deal when he was only able-bodied enough to "prove it" for a little over half of his one-year deal is a sign of how much of a premium has been placed on quality pass rushers. I think he fits into a system that was far more effective with him than without him, but - generally speaking - athletes whose effectiveness is predicated on short bursts of speed aren't supposed to have leverage while recovering from Achilles injuries. That may sound like a pessimistic take on a move that solidifies the only level of the defense that has gone unaddressed since the start of free agency, but - in actuality - it's just an acknowledgment of how difficult that level of the defense is to address. Even a rehabbing Alex Okafor is the best supplemental sack specialist the Saints have had since Junior Galette went full-Junior Galette, so signing him at a cost that might be considered an overpayment for someone in his position from another position was a necessity. Especially since the only other reliable alternative at this point would have been to tack on an arm and a leg to that $5 million dollar price tag to make a seemingly impossible jump up in the draft, and I highly doubt New Orleans was rushing to make a pass at Bradley Chubb. There is risk involved with committing to Alex Okafor, but it's a hell of a lot less than the risk involved with committing to Ndamukong Suh and - not to doubt Mickey Loomis incomparable cap crunching - but I highly doubt they'd be able to do both.
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