METAIRIE, La. -- Marques Colston said he would "obviously" like to stay with the New Orleans Saints. But he said Monday that those types of business decisions will be made later this offseason.
"You don’t have the success and build the relationships that I have here and want to walk away from that. So we’ll see where the chips fall, and when it’s time, that decision will be made," said Colston, a nine-year veteran whose future is uncertain because he’s due to receive $7 million in salary and bonuses this coming season.
It’s possible the Saints could decide to release the 31-year-old Colston or ask him to take a pay cut with two years left on his contract.
When asked if his longstanding relationships with quarterback Drew Brees and coach Sean Payton would weigh heavily in any such decisions, Colston said yes.
"At the receiver position, you’re kind of dependent on all the pieces around you, even more so than some other positions. So, obviously you’re playing with a first-ballot Hall of Fame quarterback, a head coach that’s probably on his way there, and all of the other relationships that I’ve formed here in this locker room," Colston said. "It makes you want to be here."
Colston didn’t want to dwell on his future decisions much more than that, however. He said his immediate plan was to "get away."
"I’ve been grinding at this since March or April. And obviously a day is not long enough to process it all," Colston said. "So I fully plan on getting away and spending time with my family and addressing the business side when it’s time."
Colston’s production has been declining each of the past two seasons, though he still ranked among the team’s receiving leaders with 59 catches for 902 yards and five touchdowns in 2014. Like everyone else on the team, his biggest issue was consistency, as he dropped an estimated seven-to-10 passes this season, depending on the grading scale.
Colston talked bluntly last week about how he prides himself on being part of the solution, but felt like he was part of the problem instead at times. He reiterated that Monday.
"(The season was) definitely not according to plan on all accounts," Colston said. "Personally, it’s been a disappointing year, and then obviously we haven’t had the success as a team that we were hoping to have. But you have years like this. It’s a tough pillow to swallow."
Colston suspends operations on arena-league team: One tough business decision that Colston had to make immediately this week was to suspend operations for the minor-league arena football franchise he owns in his hometown, the Harrisburg Stampede.
Colston made the announcement in a statement on the team’s web site, citing the ever-changing economic landscape.
Colston, who took ownership of the franchise near his hometown in central Pennsylvania in 2012, also became part-owner of the Arena Football League’s Philadelphia Soul three months ago. He has said in the past that he was interested in team ownership, both as a way to become involved in the community and to prepare for life after the NFL.