A few weeks ago, Reggie Bush implied that he was ready to pack his bags and head out of New Orleans for good. Now, he’s singing a different tune. The Associated Press is reporting that Bush says he wants to stay in Nawlins for the rest of his career.
“I would love to retire here if possible,” Bush said Saturday. “I would love to play for the Saints for however long my career, God-willing, allows me to play. First and foremost, I want to be a Saint.”
That’s a far cry from Day One of the NFL Draft when Bush tweeted “It’s been fun New Orleans” after the Saints selected Mark Ingram in the first round. Although according to WWL-TV, Bush now says he regrets making that statement.
“Obviously sometimes you write things and you say things and it may come off the wrong way,” Bush said. “It may be taken the wrong way. You may not even mean it that way or you may regret it. At the end of the day, I probably shouldn’t have tweeted that…
I’m sure a lot of people took it the wrong way and I apologize to the city of New Orleans if they have.”
Now that Bush says he wants to stay with the Saints, the question is whether the Saints still want him. The answer is probably yes, but likely with a significant pay cut. Bush is set to make $11.8 million in 2011 (Drew Brees will earn “only” $9.8 million). That’s a lot of money to pay a third-down back/punt returner…no matter how much he says he loves the franchise.