Colston gets 3-year Saints deal

• By SHELDON MICKLES
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Jul 24, 2008 - Page: 1C - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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JACKSON, Miss. — While the first ball won’t be thrown or kicked until this morning, the first day of training camp was an eventful one for the New Orleans Saints on Wednesday.

After 79 players checked in to Millsaps College, weighed in and went through a grueling conditioning test, coach Sean Payton was pleased to report that everyone passed the test and only one player was overweight — and it wasn’t defensive tackle Hollis Thomas. (Payton did not say who it was.)

Later in the day, things got even better for Payton and General Manager Mickey Loomis when wide receiver Marques Colston signed a three-year contract extension — his reward for clearly outperforming the standard rookie deal he received as a seventh-round draft pick in 2006.

Colston, who has more catches in his first two seasons than any player in NFL history, is now under contract with the Saints through 2011. He was going into the final year of his rookie deal, which would have paid him a base salary of $455,000 after he earned $360,000 a year ago.

Despite being the 252nd and third-to-last pick of the 2006 NFL draft, Colton has 168 career receptions for 2,240 yards and 19 touchdowns. Last season, he set a club record with 98 catches and tied the mark for TD catches with 11. He also had 1,202 receiving yards, tying him for third in the NFC.

Of his 168 career catches, 115 have produced first downs. He has been particularly effective with 49 receptions for 724 yards and six TDs on third down.

“Marques has been a durable player, he’s been a dependable player,” said Payton, who watched Colston come out of nowhere to win a starting job as a rookie in 2006. “He’s a quick study and a big target for Drew (Brees). He’s a hard worker and he does his job. The things we saw in training camp two years ago have manifested themselves.”

With Colston getting a new deal, Payton has four of his top offensive weapons under contract through the 2011 season. Brees, tight end Jeremy Shockey, who was acquired in a trade Monday, and running back Reggie Bush also have four years remaining on their contracts.

“We’re real excited about it,” Loomis said in making the announcement. “It’s a tribute to how well Marques has done for us when you consider he was a seventh-round pick and how productive he’s been. It’s a special day for Marques as well as us.”

The only thing that could have made Payton’s day better was to have his top two draft picks — defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis and cornerback Tracy Porter — walk through the campus gates.

Ellis, the seventh overall pick of the draft this spring, and Porter, who was the 40th selection, were still out as of early Wednesday evening as were many of the other first-round and top second-round choices.

Ellis’ deal likely won’t get done until the Kansas City Chiefs sign former LSU star Glenn Dorsey, who went two spots higher. Dorsey and Ellis were rated No. 1 and No. 1a by most teams, which means Ellis will likely sit and wait until Dorsey signs and then seek similar financial terms.

“Right now, there’s been very little progress,” Loomis said. “There’s been very little in the first round, period, and the top of the second round. It’s frustrating, I’ll be truthful.