Yesterday it was Brad Johnson, Eric Moulds and Jamal Lewis. Today, the Saints cut Joe Horn, the Steelers cut Joey Porter (above, as well as his strong jawline, dangerously unpredictable temperament and RB Verron Haynes), and the Cowboys dropped Drew Bledsoe. Of the released, Porter and Lewis are probably the most likely to regain full-time jobs — with Lewis in “conversation” with the Ravens on a new deal and Porter instantly one of the offseason’s top free agents — and the 35-year old Horn is the most likely to say something really off-message and weird (say, in the ESPN piece linked above) that would definitely end his career in a city that loves him and about which he obviously cared when it mattered most. Oh, wait:
“Right now it’s going around that (the Saints) wanted to restructure my contract and I asked to be released, but this has nothing to do with money,” Horn said told The Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer. “I wanted to retire as a Saint. I’ve been through hell and back for that city and that organization. If I wanted out of New Orleans that bad, I would have just kept my mouth shut and let them move the team to San Antonio.
“I just don’t think [coach] Sean Payton wanted me back. I asked to be released because I felt betrayed by a head coach who wanted to prove he could win without Joe Horn.”
There you go. Horn had an excellent career — although he was a less productive member of my fantasy team last season — but his departure leaves New Orleans to rely on this guy (the one wearing a Joe Horn jersey, holding machine gun) for inspirational leadership. Nutria: your time is up.
