The New Orleans Saints have plenty of self-inflicted wounds that contribute to their 2-5 start, and the magnitude of injuries can’t be ignored. The dispiriting losses are piling up, and it’s hard to know what the team would be if they had even half their missing starters. Decimating injuries are an unfortunate, unavoidable part of football. Replacing a longtime franchise quarterback, however, awards more control – should a team decide to take it.
It was almost unfathomable to imagine life after Drew Brees, and history warned that leaving that decision in the hands of the quarterback is not without lasting consequences. Injuries became insurmountable last season, but the Saints somehow remained in postseason contention until the final hour. They appeared to have broken the mold. We’re now seeing how much of that had to do with Sean Payton – and how irreplaceable a tandem like Brees and Payton truly is.
It’s a notion that seems obvious, but there was valid reason to assume a sense of consistency following both their departures. At quarterback, the Saints managed a carousel of four last season and pulled off a winning record. They were missing top players in Michael Thomas and Wil Lutz – who weren’t included in their NFL record for fielding the most starters in a season. The ripple effects of the pandemic on the salary cap led to the departure of key players: Trey Hendrickson, Sheldon Rankins, Malcolm Brown, Janoris Jenkins, Emmanuel Sanders.
The re-signing of Jameis Winston seemingly solved the question mark under center, and Dennis Allen made sense to lead the new team era with continuity. As of Week 8, Winston appears to be benched, not due to injury. That’s a bit more alarming when you consider how hard the team pushed to sign Deshaun Watson despite the consequences off-field. Frankly, it doesn’t feel like they settled the position heading into this season. Nor did there seem to be any contingency plan for life after Drew Brees.