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During the 2011 season, we heard that, if the Saints and quarterback Drew Brees failed to work out a contract and the Saints applied the franchise tag, Brees wouldn’t sign it.

Now that the tag has been applied, Brees reportedly won’t be signing it.

Jeff Duncan of the New Orleans Times-Picayune said during Thursday’s PFT Live that Brees won’t be signing the tender and won’t be present when the Saints assemble for offseason workouts next month.

And, as Duncan also pointed out, that will cut against the team-first image that Brees has crafted in New Orleans. Still, for Brees to get the kind of contract that he wants, he’ll need to be willing to stay away from offseason workouts (and possibly more), even if it makes Brees look bad in the eyes of Saints fans.

Meanwhile, good luck having a meaningful offseason program without the starting quarterback in the building.