METAIRIE, La. -- Marques Colston was bluntly honest about his personal struggles this season. But the New Orleans Saints' all-time leading receiver declined to speculate on his future during a rare visit with the media on Friday.
“I pride myself on trying to be part of the solution. Instead this year, I feel like I was part of the problem at times,” said Colston, who has declined interview requests since Week 1.
“Clearly, it’s not a secret I didn’t play up to my own standards. I’ve got to live with that,” said Colston, who leads the Saints with 851 receiving yards but has struggled with ball security and consistency.
He began the season with a critical lost fumble in overtime at Atlanta in Week 1 and finished with about seven or eight dropped passes during the season, depending on your grading scale.
“The tape speaks for itself. Putting the ball on the ground, that’s just something that I shouldn’t be doing,” Colston said. “It’s just one of those things where it’s just been a tough year, personally, and obviously we’ve struggled as a team.”
Colston, 31, has 57 catches for 851 yards and four touchdowns this season. Although he’s played in every game without some of the same nagging health issues that plagued him in recent years, he’s on pace to have his lowest totals in catches, yards and possibly touchdowns since 2008 (when he missed five games due to injury).
He’s also due to earn $7 million in salary and bonuses next season for a salary-cap-strapped Saints team, which has led to a lot of speculation about his future in New Orleans.
Chances are, Colston would have to agree to a significant pay cut to stay. But he wasn’t interested in speculating on any scenarios Friday.
“With all due respect, that’s an irresponsible question,” Colston said when asked whether he would play for another team or retire if it came down to it. “I’m focused on playing a game in two days. It’s just not a place where I can allow my mind to go.”
And when asked if he’d consider a pay cut, Colston said, “I’m getting ready to play Tampa Bay. I understand that there’s a business side to the offseason, and I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.”
He later added: “Change is tough for everybody. It's something that is coming at some point, but it's not that point yet.”
Colston has already begun to prepare for life beyond playing football by purchasing one arena football franchise in his hometown of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and becoming part owner of the Philadelphia Soul in the Arena Football League. He said he has high aspirations for that burgeoning career, but he said that’s independent from his playing career.
Colston has politely declined interview requests throughout the season. He said Friday that it had nothing to do with any specific incident that occurred with him or anyone else in the Saints’ locker room, but that he had just soured on the process in general.
“Just some of the stuff that was in the media earlier in the season, and a lot of it didn’t have to do with this locker room. I just really wasn’t a fan of how it was being handled. And it just kind of went from there,” Colston explained. “My outlook on the media as a whole kind of shifted. It was nothing personal, just an overall deal.”
It wasn’t a huge shift for Colston, who has always been one of the most soft-spoken stars in the NFL -- even in good times. He sent out a statement through the public relations department last year when he broke one of his many franchise records.
His teammates have always lauded him for keeping an even keel through the highs and lows.
Longtime teammate Zach Strief said it was evident how hard Colston was on himself this season because of a few rare sideline outbursts, like throwing his helmet.
“He’s a unique guy. I mean there’s not a lot of receivers that I can think of that have gone through a career with essentially never being given some of the credit that he’s due -- and never asking for any -- and as a matter of fact, hardly ever talking,” said Strief, who also praised Colston as “the toughest player I’ve ever played with” for catching so many balls in traffic over the years and elevating his game in big moments.
“And he’s as good of a guy as you could have around the locker room,” Strief added.
Quarterback Drew Brees showered Colston with a lot of the same praise for about the fiftieth time in their nine years together earlier this week, while insisting that he expects Colston back. Coach Sean Payton praised Colston on Friday as well.
But Colston insisted Friday that his quiet demeanor shouldn’t be confused for any lack of passion.
"I think there may be a common misconception that because I'm quiet I'm not an emotional guy. You can't play this game without emotion,” Colston said. “Just like every guy in this locker room, I put my heart and soul into what we are trying to do and what we're trying to build here.
“That being said, to not experience the success that you're looking to have, and you put in the work to have is tough.”