Saints' Jahri Evans happy with 2014 performance, speaks about pay cut

Although he's been a six-time Pro Bowl selection, New Orleans Saints guard Jahri Evans accepted a pay cut that slashed millions out of his total earnings over the next three years.

Over the past two summers, the Saints navigated their balance sheet carefully with the club in perpetual danger of going over the NFL's salary cap.

Evans accepted a downgrade from $7.5 million to $7.1 million in 2015, and a reduction from $8.7 million to $4.9 million in 2016.

The 31-year-old spoke about his altruistic decision Friday.

"It worked out in the end," Evans said to ESPN's Mike Triplett. "You know, it's part of the business, obviously. And I'm glad to be here."

Evans' play didn't match his reputation in 2014, allowing six sacks and a position-high 34 quarterback hurries, according to scouting service Pro Football Focus. However, Evans was happy about his performance last season.

"I feel like I had a good season. You tell us we're 50 yards away from 5,000 passing and averaging 4.5 on the ground, I mean, you tell me," Evans said. "So I feel like we had a good season; we just fell short in a couple areas that we haven't struggled with in the past."

Evans' decision will likely be praised by the organization, but the veteran guard will need to return to elite form if the Saints are to usurp the Carolina Panthers in the NFC South.