On Tuesday, there were more than a few NFL insiders reporting that Eric Decker would be visiting the New Orleans Saints. One of those people reporting on this development was Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post, who got a rather blunt response from none other than Sean Payton, head coach of the Saints.
Former Titans WR Eric Decker is in fact visiting the #Saints, per source. pic.twitter.com/BycBMg1N8g
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) March 20, 2018
Now, it’s worth pointing out that some local Saints beat writers started reporting that Decker was not, in fact, scheduled to visit with the Saints after this news broke.
I’m told Eric Decker is NOT scheduled to visit the Saints, per source
— Nick Underhill (@nick_underhill) March 20, 2018
Then Payton dropped the hammer on Jhabvala and all the other reporters who had sources tell them Decker was visiting the Saints.
Bad sources.
— Sean Payton (@SeanPayton) March 20, 2018
I had a trusted source. If my info is wrong, I apologize. https://t.co/Y1RQc1DPjR
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) March 20, 2018
Payton wasn’t done yet, either.
All good. You can remove the if.
— Sean Payton (@SeanPayton) March 20, 2018
Ouch.
We’ll go ahead and put our money on the coach here. He’s got the inside scoop, and it’s rather interesting that he chose to shoot down this rumor so publicly. One thing we do know is that it’s still lying season in the NFL, and sometimes reports we see are nothing more than a ploy to influence those who hold the purse strings around the league.