The defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints are hosting their first free agent of the new NFL season.

They are bringing in former Rams defensive end Leonard Little for a visit this Wednesday.

The reason the Saints have not hosted any other free agents is because as the Super Bowl champions they fall under the new provisions of the uncapped year called the “Final Eight Plan”.

This new language restricts what the eight best eight teams from 2009 can do in free agency. The four teams who lost in the divisional round of the playoffs are allowed what is akin to the NBA’s mid level exception. Allowing them to sign one unrestricted free agent for a base salary of $5.5 million or more, in addition to anyone with a $3.7 million salary or less with a 30 percent limit on annual salary growth.

For the four teams who made the NFC Championship game, (applying to the Saints), they are not allowed to sign any unrestricted free agent until they lose one. The salaries of the imported free agent must be similar to the departing free agent. There is the similar restriction as previously mentioned of nothing more then 30 percent in annual growth of the contract.

With the Saints recently losing free agent linebacker Scott Fujita to the Cleveland Browns, this is what allows them flexibility to pursue Leonard Little.

With the release of Charles Grant the Saints are presumably targeting him for a starting role. Little notched 6.5 sacks last season for the lowly St. Louis Rams and that figure would likely increase with a much better supporting cast around him in New Orleans.

Look for this deal to likely get done considering the Saints released starting defensive end Charles Grant and they need is apparent. In addition Little would be jumping from a 2-14 squad to the defending Super Bowl Champions while still retaining a starting role, it all makes too much sense for both sides if the interest is mutual as seems apparent.

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