Saints Should Free Up Sharper

As he heads into his 13th season, Darren Sharper knows that he doesn't have many years left in his NFL career. He's not as much of a playmaker as he used to be, and the Vikings were OK with letting him go. But he probably has enough left to give the Saints secondary a big boost in 2009.

The Saints offense was one of the best in the league in 2008, thanks to Drew Brees. The defense was one of the worst in the league thanks in part to safeties Kevin Kaesviharn and Josh Bullocks. Even in the twilight of his career, Sharper should give the Saints a much steadier center fielder who has always had a knack for making big plays--he leads all active players with 54 interceptions.
And Sharper should get more chances to make those big plays in New Orleans. He told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune that he felt restricted by the Vikings Tampa-2 scheme which required him to play a lot of deep zone that limited him to covering roughly a third of the field. Under Saints coordinator Gregg Williams, Sharper should have more chances to read quarterback's eyes and roam the middle of the field.

The terms and length of the deal have not been disclosed yet, but if it's a relatively short-term deal, this could be one of the better pick-ups the Saints will make this offseason.