National Football League

Saints re-sign receiver Colston

Published Mar. 13, 2012 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

The New Orleans Saints have kept one of their top wide receivers from testing the market.

FOXSports.com has learned that wide receiver Marques Colston agreed to a five-year contract extension just hours before he was set to become an unrestricted free agent.

Colston has played all six of his NFL seasons with Saints quarterback Drew Brees. Colston has posted 1,000-yard receiving seasons in five of them, including a career-high 1,143-yard campaign in 2011.

Brees isn’t under contract with the Saints but he cannot test the market after being tagged as an exclusive franchise player. New Orleans now has 13 players set to become unrestricted free agents led by left guard Carl Nicks, wide receiver Robert Meachem and cornerback Tracy Porter.

Along with San Diego’s Vincent Jackson and Indianapolis’ Pierre Garcon, Colston was expected to draw heavy interest among teams with wide receiver needs in free agency before being re-signed.