Saints must bench Brees and see what Grayson can do

The time is now.

The time is now for New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton to sit quarterback Drew Brees and give some meaningful playing time to rookie Garrett Grayson.

If not now, when?

Face facts:

-- The Saints are 4-8 and in sole possession of last place in the NFC South with four games remaining. They are all but mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. There is a better chance of it snowing on the Gulf Coast over the holidays than the Saints reaching the postseason.

-- Brees will be 37 on Jan. 15.

-- He has one year remaining on a five-year, $100 million contract and due to count $30 million against the salary cap in 2016. The team already is above next year's projected cap of $153.3 million. Arguably, he has become a severe drain on the cap.

-- Last time I looked, the Saints have not been above .500 since the 2013 season with Brees under center.

-- The time is now to take Grayson for a test drive, kick the tires and see what's under the hood.

If not now, when?

At some point, GM Mickey Loomis and Payton need to know what they have in Grayson, the team's third-round pick from Colorado State.

In an era of situational football, Payton should find the right situation(s) to insert Grayson in the lineup and give him a chance to play. Give him a chance to succeed and fail if necessary. Let him taste what real NFL football is all about, even if it comes at the end of a game when the outcome has been decided.

A good start to the project would have come a few weeks ago, during the fourth quarter of the Saints' 47-14 meltdown loss against the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field in Landover, Md. Why in the world was Brees still taking snaps with the Saints trailing by a country mile?

How does playing Brees in the latter stages of a blowout loss make the Saints better? I'm not suggesting Brees is over the hill. I'm not suggesting he is past his prime. I'm not even suggesting that he still doesn't give the Saints the best chance of winning.

I am merely saying let Grayson get on the field. Let him walk the NFL walk, talk the NFL talk, sink, swim or tread water between the lines. If he's the future, in my opinion, the future is now.

Look around: Don't kid yourself. Even if the team closes with a flurry of wins, the organization has reached the proverbial fork in the road under this regime. Who knows what tomorrow will bring for Payton and Loomis? Who knows where Brees fits in the big picture? Those are questions that will be answered during the offseason.

In the meantime, give The Kid a chance.

If not now, when?

There's no better time than the present.

This story was originally published December 8, 2015 at 2:38 PM with the headline "Saints must bench Brees and see what Grayson can do ."