Dannell Ellerbe another soul-crushing front office misfire

Dannell Ellerbe will be released by the New Orleans Saints once he returns from IR, departing as just another example of Saints’ front office mismanagement.

Reports surfaced earlier this week that Dannell Ellerbe will be released by the New Orleans Saints once he returns from injured reserve. It seems he’ll end his short tenure as just another misguided acquisition by the New Orleans Saints.

Ellerbe arrived in New Orleans via trade with the Miami Dolphins in 2015. The Saints gave away their young up-and-coming wide out, Kenny Stills (while still on a cheap rookie contract), for an oft-injured Ellerbe and a third-round pick.

The Dolphins had actually planned to cut Ellerbe if no trade agreement could be reached.

So it seems like the Saints gambled on Ellerbe coming in and producing and they lost. But that’s starting to become a common theme in New Orleans.

The Saints have a recent history of in-house contract mismanagement, most notably with the handling of Jimmy Graham and Junior Galette (the team signed both players to huge contracts, only to trade Graham and cut Galette soon after).

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But it gets worse when looking at free agents. Over the past few years, the Saints have offered significant contracts to players like Brandon Browner, C.J. Spiller and Champ Bailey. None of those names stand out for their stellar play with the Saints.

Perhaps most famously, the Saints signed Jairus Byrd to a mammoth six-year, $56 million contract in 2014.

Over the three years since he signed, Byrd either played poorly or not at all. He was released  by the team this offseason, only halfway through that monster contract he signed.

So in context, this latest Dannell Ellerbe news stings a little for Saints fans.

With so much capital going to players that haven’t worked out, and at the same time having those L’s pile up, Saints fans have a right to be upset with the team’s front office.

Next: 3 free-agent targets for 2018

With an extremely talented free-agent class hitting the market in 2018, the New Orleans Saints can’t afford another costly mistake.