I just checked in with New Orleans Saints free agent safety Darren Sharper, who said he expects to be ready to hit the road for some potential visits with other teams within a week or so, as soon as he's recovered enough from his recent minor knee surgery to move around on it and fly.

Sharper hasn't ruled out a return to the Saints, but he did admit that if the Saints had shown him enough love with their early contract offers, he wouldn't be a free agent right now.

"If the love was right, that would have been taken care of. The love would have been reciprocated," said Sharper, who settled for a one-year, $1.7 million contract in New Orleans last year but expects more years and dollars this time around after his All-Pro season with nine interceptions and three touchdown returns.