Saints ink receiver Colston to 5-year deal

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NEW ORLEANS, March 13 (UPI) -- The New Orleans Saints have inked wide receiver Marques Colston to a five-year contract as the NFL free agency season loomed, team officials said Tuesday.

Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis didn't release the terms of the deal, but The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune reports it is worth between $35 million and $40 million, with about $19 million of the total guaranteed.

"Since we drafted Marques in 2006, he's been everything that we are looking for in a Saint as a player and a person," Loomis said. "His combination of production, work ethic and reliability speaks for itself."

With 1,143 yards with eight touchdowns in 14 games for the Saints last season, Colston, a six-year veteran, was set to become a free agent Tuesday,

The Hofstra University product has racked up five 1,000-yard receiving seasons en route to 449 career receptions for 6,240 yards with 48 touchdowns.