NEW ORLEANS -- Brandon Browner was an awful fit with the New Orleans Saints' defense.
I don't blame Browner alone for that. I also blame the Saints for not figuring out how to use the big, physical veteran cornerback the right way.
Either way, his one year in New Orleans amounted to one of the biggest free-agent busts in the Sean Payton-Mickey Loomis era. And their divorce feels like a positive step for the struggling Saints defense -- even though it means swallowing another bad personnel decision and millions more in wasted money.
Here are my takeaways after Browner sent out a farewell message Friday and ESPN NFL Insider John Clayton confirmed he will be released:
Saints' mistakes adding up: This has been an ugly trend for the Saints, who also dumped outside linebacker Junior Galette last year, just 11 months after signing him to a lucrative contract extension. They also cut cornerback Stanley Jean-Baptiste just one year after drafting him in the second round in 2014. (To be clear, Galette was released for off-field reasons, while the others appear to be the result of on-field struggles.)
The Saints also spent millions last year on running back C.J. Spiller, who barely played, in part because of a summer knee injury. And they still haven't gotten enough bang for their buck out of their 2014 blockbuster free-agent safety Jairus Byrd, also largely because of injuries.
As I wrote last season, these are mistakes the Saints couldn't afford to make because of their tight salary-cap situation. As Loomis often says, New Orleans' cap situation reduces the margin for error.
The one positive: At least the Saints haven't let their pride or the financial ramifications keep them from admitting their mistakes and moving on.
What went wrong: Like I said, I don't blame Browner alone. He was exactly as advertised -- a big, physical corner who was effective in press coverage against big receivers but got exposed against faster receivers down the field.
Check out how well he did against Calvin Johnson and DeAndre Hopkins when he jammed them at the line of scrimmage with safety help behind him. Why on earth didn't the Saints do that every week?
Instead, Browner was caught in one-on-one matchups deep down the field way too often. For months I used Carolina Panthers speedy wideout Ted Ginn Jr. as my ultimate example for this, because I couldn't figure out why Browner was matched up with Ginn in Week 3. Then it happened again when they faced Carolina in Week 13.
Some of that was because of the Saints' injury issues at cornerback (if only Keenan Lewis were healthy in 2015 to pair with Delvin Breaux on the edges). Added together, it led to New Orleans shattering the NFL records for TD passes allowed in a season (45) and opponents' passer rating (116.1).
Those mismatches also led to many of Browner's astounding 24 penalty calls (21 accepted). A lot of his penalties came when he was grabbing receivers to keep them from breaking loose. But there also were some boneheaded penalties. And Browner caught a ton of flak both nationally and locally for laying an unnecessary crack-back block on an offensive lineman in Week 10 at Washington instead of trying to make a tackle during a 78-yard screen-pass touchdown.
Browner was praised as a veteran leader who was elected by teammates as a defensive captain. But he also had some run-ins with the media and became unpopular with the fan base. It got so ugly that he was booed during pregame introductions before the home finale.
Salary-cap ramifications: The Saints aren't just doing this for cap savings, though that is a factor because they are roughly $10 million over the projected 2016 salary cap.
Because Browner's base salary of $2.75 million is fully guaranteed, the Saints can save only $950,000 against the cap and $2.25 million in cash by cutting Browner before June 1.
The Saints could designate the move as a post-June 1 release, which would allow them to push $1.3 million in cap costs back to 2017. But the Saints would have to keep Browner on their books at full price until June 1 if they go that route.
Who's next? If the Saints are starting their cuts early, there are several other veterans who could be next.
The most likely candidates for either release or pay cut are linebackers Dannell Ellerbe and David Hawthorne, receiver Marques Colston and offensive tackle Zach Strief.
They also could consider releases or pay cuts for Spiller, Byrd, guard Jahri Evans and punter Thomas Morstead, among others.
The Saints also will be able to shave millions off of their salary cap through routine restructures (converting bonuses in Cam Jordan's contract, for instance). And there is a good chance they will try to extend quarterback Drew Brees' contract to cut down his scheduled cap cost of $30 million, though Brees told ESPN on Thursday that no contract talks have taken place yet.