Olin Kreutz Quits Saints

New Orleans Saints center Olin Kreutz either misses Chicago or can't handle the bayou.

Kreutz has decided to leave the Saints
because he felt like he was not able to bring the same passion to work every day that he had throughout his career, his agent Mark Bartelstein told the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

The six-time Pro Bowler spent his first 13 seasons with the Bears and was a revered captain before signing a one-year deal with the Saints. At the time, Kreutz said he and the Bears couldn't come to terms on a contract extension.

Kreutz returned to the Saints' lineup last Sunday at Tampa Bay after missing two games with a knee injury.

The center told Bartelstein that if he couldn't bring the same passion every day to work, he does not want to just sit around and collect a paycheck.

"That's the way he is," Bartelstein said. "Olin's a little different than most guys. People say all the time that it's not about the money. That's really how it is with him. It never has been."

According to the Chicago Tribune, Kreutz is going to return to his native Hawaii, but is not officially filing retirement papers with the league.

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