The Saints and Drew Brees still remain a ways apart in their efforts to produce a long-term contract, according to sources. If significant progress isn't made soon, the Saints will be forced to use their franchise tag on the quarterback by the Monday deadline.

The clock is ticking for the two sides to get a deal done, but Drew Brees remains confident that he'll get a long-term contract from the Saints. The NFL's franchise-tag deadline is March 5. Brees isn't surprised at the pace of the negotiations and said he's "still very optimistic" a long-term deal will be agreed to in the near future.

The Saints would love to place their franchise tag on Carl Nicks if they can get Drew Brees signed to a long-term contract. Carl Nicks told Rich Gannon and Jim Miller on Sirius XM Tuesday that Nicks wants and expects to make more money than teammate Jahri Evans, who signed a seven-year, $56.7 million contract in 2010 that made Evans the highest paid guard in the league.

It isn't for lack of effort, but the Saints still don't have a long-tern contract in place for Drew Brees. Brees is widely expected to remain with the Saints, but the terms of his next contract remain a mystery. That the negotiations have gone this long is somewhat surprising, considering the public sentiment on both sides to reach a deal.

Former Seahawks linebacker Lofa Tatupu visited the Saints on Monday, a league source said. Tatupu did not play during the 2011 season after being released by the Seahawks after the conclusion of the lockout.

It seems like a mere formality that Drew Brees and the Saints will agree on a new contract this offseason. However, one report suggests that contract talks aren't moving as quickly as the quarterback's side expected. ESPN's John Clayton reports that Brees' agent, Tom Condon, is surprised by the slow pace of the talks. "I ran into his agent, Tom Condon of CAA, last week, and even he's kind of baffled at this time as far as how this is going because it's going to slow," Clayton said. "Everybody knows the Saints aren't going to lose Drew Brees. They can franchise him, they can get him to a long-term deal. But they're really somewhat nowhere right now as far as getting a contract. But there's still plenty of time before they have to make a franchise designation to pick things up. But that has to start picking up, really, in the next week or so. At this stage there's been no real solid progress, but everybody in New Orleans, including Drew Brees, knows he's not going to be a free agent. He is their franchise."

Drew Brees’ record-setting season has earned the New Orleans QB the 2011 Associated Press NFL Offensive Player of the Year award. Brees shattered Dan Marino’s 27-year-old mark by passing for 5,476 yards, and his 468 completions broke Peyton Manning’s 2010 record of 450.

The Saints and Drew Brees have already started discussing terms on a new contract, according to the quarterback. "Contract talks are underway, as we speak," Brees told NFL Network. "I'm very hopeful, and very confident that a deal will get done prior to free agency. There's no doubt in my mind that I'm going to be a Saint for the rest of my career. Certainly that's what I hope and pray for. "Like I've said, I have all the confidence in the world that we're going to get that deal done very soon."