Saints GM Mickey Loomis said this week the team hasn't made a decision on bringing back quarterback Aaron Brooks. The reality is that decision has been all but made. Just look at the numbers. Brooks will count $8.48 million against the cap this year with a base salary of $6.5 million. The team can save about $4.5 million on its cap by releasing him. The Saints are expected to take a quarterback with the second overall pick in the April draft, with Southern California's Matt Leinart considered the favorite to land in that spot. Some of Brooks' Saints teammates have said they don't expect him back.

The Saints will return to action in New Orleans much earlier than originally hoped or expected. The Saints will host their first game at the Louisiana Superdome, severely damaged in Hurricane Katrina, on Sept. 24 when they host the Atlanta Falcons, the NFL announced Sunday. "Superdome officials are pointing to the Falcons-Saints game on Sept. 24 as the first event in the building since Hurricane Katrina," commissioner Paul Tagliabue said. "We are pleased that this historic reopening will feature the annual renewal of the traditional Falcons-Saints rivalry." A 40-foot by 150-foot mural with the news of the Saints' 2006 home opener was completed on the outside of the Superdome just hours before kickoff of Super Bowl XL in Detroit. The mural contains the date of the Saints' first regular-season home game in the Superdome since 2004, Saints and Falcons helmet logos, and a "Go Saints" slogan. It took four workers nearly five days to complete the project, amid high winds and winter weather in Detroit this week.