METAIRIE, La. -- Sean Payton has a great analogy he likes to use sometimes with free-agent signings.
When the New Orleans Saints coach was growing up, his parents loved going to garage sales on the weekend.
“That was their hobby together,” Payton said. “So we probably had about 10 different sofas -- and each one was met with the same enthusiasm when it arrived. Then every once in a while, you’d lean back and there’d be a leg off.
“And you’d be like, ‘Oh, this is why it was for sale.’”
Payton used that story recently while discussing new Saints tight end Jared Cook on Sirius/XM NFL Radio -- admitting that he was naturally a little skeptical about Cook’s inconsistent track record over the first 10 years of his career, which was spent bouncing around with the Titans, Rams, Packers and Raiders.