Who Dat News: Smith and Colston Will Attend Mandatory Minicamp

News: Defensive end Will Smith and wide receiver Marques Colston will participate in the New Orleans Saints mandatory minicamp, according to espn.com. Joel Segal, the agent for both players, said he wanted to clarify speculation that contract disputes could lead both players to miss this weekends mandatory camp, the first of the offseason. "Will's feeling is that if it's mandatory, it's football, then he will be there," said Segal. "We're having (contract) talks with the team on both players. They both have the same philosophy -- they'll play football and I'll deal with the contract."

WhoDatSay: This is great news for a team that desperately needed some at the defensive end position. What was just a month ago perhaps, the deepest position on the defense, has suddenly become a major concern for the Saints. Newly acquired Bobby McCray is injured, and Charles Grant is dealing with an involuntary manslaughter charge. Now, at least the team won't have to worry about a lengthy holdout from arguably their best defensive end. While it appears that neither Smith nor Colston will attempt to leverage his bargaining power by holding out, skipping team activities, or creating off-field drama ala T.O. or Chad Johnson, Loomis would do well to get both of these guys inked for the long term as they are part of a solid core of young players this team can lean on for years to come.