Dennis Allen leaves the door open to an Andrus Peat return

Andrus Peat remains on the market despite a free agent visit with the Titans. A return to the Saints could help both parties, at the right cost:

Dennis Allen met with media at the NFC coaches breakfast on Tuesday during NFL owners meetings in Orlando, Fla., and he touched on a range of topics. One of those centered on free agent offensive lineman Andrus Peat, who has yet to sign with a team despite visiting the Tennessee Titans after his Saints contract expired.

“I think all things are on the table in terms of how we want to fill out our roster,” Allen said Tuesday. That’s hardly an endorsement for bringing Peat back, but it isn’t a door-slams-shut moment, either. “And so there’s a business aspect that goes along with all these decisions, so we’ll see.”

That sounds like the typical coach-speak to say the door is open on Peat returning to the team. This is likely just a sign there’s no bad blood between him and the team, but a return should be firmly on the table. The Saints do not have the luxury of being comfortable at offensive line.

The one move the Saints made in that position group was signing Oli Udoh. Udoh is a depth signing with limited potential. When you break down his value to New Orleans, it’s very similar to Peat but with seemingly a lower floor. Udoh is a depth piece that provides versatility at left guard and left tackle. He’s played both position, but has limited starting experience in the NFL at either spot.

Peat on the other hand has a lot of experience at both left guard and tackle. He could easily start at either position next year. The longer he stays on the market could be a sign of his value to teams. Udoh can improve depth but  his presence shouldn’t deter a reunion with Peat, at the right price. With Trevor Penning’s progress stalling out at left tackle and Ryan Ramczyk’s future in doubt at right tackle, they need to make more moves.

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Bleacher Report says Chase Young picked the wrong team

Chase Young was the Saints’ biggest free agency signing, but Bleacher Report says he chose the wrong team:

Chase Young signing with the New Orleans Saints was the team’s biggest splash in free agency, but it didn’t come without some drawbacks. Young needing neck surgery has taken some of the shine away from the signing, however, he remains the biggest name they signed this offseason.

But there are some analysts still criticizing the move. Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay says it was a bad decision for both, and that Young picked the wrong team:

“Injuries have been a big part of the Ohio State product’s NFL story thus far and are already derailing the start of his tenure in the Big Easy. While he may have recovered from a career-altering ACL and patellar tendon tear he suffered in 2021, he recently underwent a neck procedure that will keep him sidelined during the leadup to the 2024 season.

Even if New Orleans felt Young is still capable of taking a leap this year, it likely wouldn’t be able to reap the benefits beyond the upcoming season and would struggle to afford his next contract.

The Saints are already projected to be a whopping $69 million over the 2025 salary cap and would be hard-pressed to fit a market-value deal in for Young if he performs at or above a level commensurate with his current pay.

Considering the team isn’t exactly a contender right now—especially with the NFC South race looking much tougher following Kirk Cousins’ decision to join the Atlanta Falcons—this signing doesn’t make sense and doesn’t really benefit either party.”

Kay comes to this conclusion even factoring Young’s neck surgery. Yes, Young is likely a one-year rental. It can be a Band-Aid until next year or maybe it’s security in case the Saints can’t get an edge rusher in the NFL draft. Projecting the future beyond this season for a player on a one year contract feels unfair. Maybe his tone will change when he realizes the contract isn’t fully guaranteed.

But Kay doesn’t explain how Young chose the wrong team, instead focusing on how the Saints chose the wrong player and contract. The Saints aren’t in a position to lay down and give up just because Kirk Cousins makes the NFC South more difficult. Nothing about how the Saints have constructed their roster says to give up on 2024. They aren’t Super Bowl contenders, but they remain in the divisional race. Chase Young was signed to put the best quality on the field this year which is always the goal.

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Saints enter the mix for a 2025 comp pick thanks to Isaac Yiadom

The Saints entered the mix for a 2025 compensatory draft pick thanks to Isaac Yiadom. But they haven’t locked it in just yet:

The New Orelans Saints could be in play for a 2025 compensatory draft selection after the San Francisco 49ers signed away cornerback Isaac Yiadom this offseason according to OverTheCap’s Nick Korte.

After being a career journeyman that had not found much time on the field in the past few years, Yiadom found a resurgence in New Orleans. Once Marshon Lattimore went down with a midseason injury, Yiadom was called on to pick up the slack and he did more than just be a replacement-level player. He was very solid this year with the Saints and earned a bigger contract in San Francisco, reportedly worth $3 million.

The Saints currently own their first six draft picks in 2025. Their own seventh round draft selection was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in the C.J. Gardner-Johnson trade. Adding a seventh-round compensatory pick would essentially bring things back to default for New Orleans. With more free agents still out there it remains to be seen whether the Saints will earn a comp pick or outweigh it by signing more players.

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Report: Cowboys CB Stephon Gilmore could be on move to Carolina

From @ToddBrock24f7: The former Gamecock and onetime Panther could be heading back to Charlotte; Stephen Jones is already speaking of Gilmore in past tense.

Cowboys cornerback Stephon Gilmore has had one foot out the door this entire NFL offseason, with the free agent seemingly the odd man out in a Dallas secondary that’s set to include Trevon Diggs, DaRon Bland, and Jourdan Lewis.

Now it seems the five-time Pro Bowler may be going to Carolina in more than his mind, possibly returning there for the third time in his football career.

The Carolina Panthers have reportedly reached out to the 33-year-old about donning the teal and black once again in 2024. Gilmore previously starred for the Panthers for a portion of the 2021 season, and he played collegiately at the University of South Carolina in his home state.

Gilmore spent the 2023 season as a Cowboy, starting all 17 regular-season games. Originally thought to be the team’s CB2 behind Diggs, Gilmore’s role increased when Diggs was lost for the season to injury. His veteran presence on one side of the defense may have prompted opposing quarterbacks to test second-year man Bland, who responded by leading the league in interceptions and setting a new single-season record for pick-sixes.

With Diggs set to return opposite the Fresno State phenom, Gilmore may now be expendable in 2024, depending on how one interprets recent comments from Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones.

“We think a whole lot of Stephon,” Jones said this week from the league meetings in Orlando. “Obviously, with Bland stepping up and us re-signing J-Lew, and of course having Diggs coming off that injury, there’s another- really- a great football player that we’re allocating a lot of our cap resources to that didn’t play much last year, and here we’re going to have him back and ready to go. It’s just having to pick and choose where you want to use your resources.”

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Jones, perhaps notably, went on to refer to Gilmore in glowing past tense.

“Stephon was- not only was he really good for us on the field, but I’d say a better guy off the field in terms of how he goes about his business, being a pro, helping the young guys in the room. So, look forward to- hope things go well for him. He was nothing but very productive for us, and you don’t ever rule that out, either.”

Gilmore is one of the top free agents still available this offseason, with 561 tackles and 31 interceptions logged over 12 NFL seasons for five different teams.

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Jerry Jones: Jets’ incentives for Tyron Smith would have ‘really wrecked’ Cowboys financially

From @ToddBrock24f7: The Cowboys owner claims that the $20M Smith could earn in New York was just too much and compared his departure to another Cowboys legend.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones once famously said that there was no check too big for him to write in pursuit of another world championship.

But as it turns out, there is: the one he might have had to write to Tyron Smith.

Jones made a surprising claim to reporters over the weekend at the league meetings in Orlando, addressing for the first time the departure of the eight-time Pro Bowler. The 33 year-old, who was the club’s first-round draft pick in 2011, left in free agency to sign last week with the New York Jets.

His loss- both at left tackle and in the locker room- will be a major obstacle for the 2024 Cowboys to try to overcome. Jones likened the situation to 2014, when the team released longtime defensive standout DeMarcus Ware after nine seasons.

“We both hated it,” Jones said, per David Moore of the Dallas Morning News.

Ware went on to win a Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos and ultimately make the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was also named to the Cowboys Ring of Honor last season.

Smith seems to be on a similar track, although the Super Bowl ring is very much up in the air.

But so is Smith’s compensation for 2024, thanks to an incentive-laden contract that ultimately made the prospect of keeping the offensive tackle too expensive for the world’s most valuable sports franchise.

Smith is slated to earn $6.5 million guaranteed this season, an absolute bargain for a lineman of his rare abilities. But the rest of Smith’s paycheck will come from bonuses based on how many snaps he plays, whether he makes the Pro Bowl, and how many playoff wins the Jets can rack up.

If Smith meets every single one of the contractual mile markers? Very unlikely, but it would bring the grand total to $20 million for one season.

“You know how highly he is thought of by us,” Jones said. “[But] We can’t afford that. We can’t afford that. If he makes all of these incentives and things like that, we would be really wrecked.”

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That’s a hard pill to swallow, coming from an owner who has always- publicly, anyway- prided himself on being able to find a way to retain any player he’s truly wanted to keep.

But like Ware before him (and even Emmitt Smith a decade before that), Tyron Smith will now wear another team’s uniform because Jones has decided to gamble that the Cowboys got the best years out of him and is unwilling to pony up for what could- but probably won’t- turn into an obscenely overpriced farewell tour.

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Updated Saints salary cap space after all of their latest signings

The Saints worked hard to reach salary cap compliance before free agency, so where do they stand now? Here’s our updated estimate with some details still unknown:

We’re a couple of weeks into free agency and more creative accounting decisions by the New Orleans Saints have allowed the team to keep their best players while spending responsibly on new additions. And a more measured attitude to retaining depth has allowed some fan-favorite backups to leave for bigger opportunities. So where do the Saints sit beneath the salary cap after working feverishly (or at least that’s how it looks from the outside peering in) to reach compliance before this all started? Can they even sign their draft class?

Now, this is an estimate based off some key assumptions and calculations. Again, it’s an estimate. Those with access to these contracts, agents, and key personnel in the Saints front office are going to have more accurate numbers. But we should be pretty close given everything that’s publicly available.

Let’s start with the big one: Chase Young’s contract. There’s still some confusion going around about his cap hit. Over The Cap’s experts, relying on early reporting, have him at $5,026,000 (and so does Spotrac, which regularly scrapes OTC’s website for data). But Young’s cap hit is much lower thana that. NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill more recently reported that it’s under $3.5 million, which is the number the New Orleans front office is working with. How did they get there? What is the cap hit exactly?

We’re guessing it falls at about $3,406,000. That would account for a minimum salary ($1,125,000) and a prorated signing bonus ($2,281,000), which is how the Saints are treating Young’s per-game roster bonuses (totaling $7,990,000) and workout bonus ($450,000). Because all of that money was guaranteed to pay out this year, the Saints can treat it as a signing bonus (with voiding ghost years, of course) for cap purposes. Locked On Saints’ Ross Jackson reports that 16 of those 17 per-game roster bonuses  were designated as “likely to be earned” which means the Saints will be refunded a cap credit in 2025 for any games Young misses after Week 1.

Now to the others. Contract details on linebacker Willie Gay Jr., safeties Johnathan Abram and Ugo Amadi, and offensive lineman Oli Udoh are scarce. All we know for sure is that Gay received $3 million guaranteed with incentives that raises his deal’s max value to $5 million (and, if he reaches them, will count against the cap in 2025). So that probably means a guaranteed minimum salary ($1,125,000) and a signing bonus ($1,875,000) prorated over five years with more of those voiding ghost years, giving us a 2024 salary cap hit of just $1.5 million.

And in the cases of Abram, Amadi, and Udoh: we’re assuming they each signed at the minimum with few, if any, guarantees, as Abram and Amadi did last year. Udoh played on a $2.5 million deal for the Minnesota Vikings but missed most of the season with an injury and may have had to settle for less on a prove-it deal with the Saints. If that’s the case, all three of them qualify for the veteran salary benefit, where they’re receiving the minimum they qualify for ($1,125,000) while counting against the cap by less ($985,000).

Something often overlooked by fans is the offseason top-51 cutoff. Each team only counts their 51 highest cap hits against the salary cap before roster cuts in September, which allows them to sign 90 players for training camp and preseason. So any players added will push lower cap hits down beneath the top-51 apron. Which means, if accurate, these $985,000 cap hits for Abram, Amadi, and Udoh are pushing guys like second-year pros A.T. Perry ($959,091), Louo Hedley ($916,666), and Blake Grupe ($915,833) down beneath the top-51 threshold. That’s a net cost of just $163,410 against the cap.

The same principle applies for Young. The $3,406,000 cap hit we’re estimating for him would be pushing out a $915,000 deal for someone like tight end Tommy Hudson or defensive end Niko Lalos, which results in a net cost of $2,491,000.

And if you take all these estimated cap hits and net costs together, you’ll come up with about $14,681,353 in salary cap space for the Saints. That gives them enough room to sign their draft class (and remember, they’re getting back $2,420,000 in cap credits on June 2, which will help do that), add some more free agents, and roll over a little money into 2025. Maybe a lot of money if Young isn’t able to get on the field early this season.

Again, that number is an estimate. The reality could be higher or lower. Wait for word from people with better information before you start comparing the Saints to other teams — though, if you’re curious, this $14.6 million figure would rank 17th around the league.

While we’re at it, how does 2025 look? Right now, the Saints have about $331.4 million in cap commitments. That’s going to change once they reach a decision on contracts with Alvin Kamara and Taysom Hill this offseason, whatever that ends up being (a pay cut, extension, restructure, or early release are all options). Kamara and Hill combine for cap charges of $34.4 million and $44.7 million this season and the next. The same is true for Marshon Lattimore, whose $31.4 million cap hit in 2025 could change if he’s traded. They also have a $51.4 million anchor tied to Derek Carr next year. It’s important he play well in Klint Kubiak’s offense so they can restructure him again without anyone second-guessing the decision.

We shouldn’t undersell it: $331.4 million is a lot of money. Even if there are some easy off-ramps in place (another one: Ryan Ramczyk, who will be in the same position in the spring that he was in this year while dealing with a degenerative knee and a $29.6 million cap hit), the Saints will need some help from the salary cap itself to reach compliance. The cap is expected to keep rising after skyrocketing from $224.8 million to $255.4 million this year, and early estimates have it landing between $273 million and $280 million for 2025. It’s very possible to exceed expectations again.

If the cap does go even higher in 2025 than forecasts predict, the Saints will be in great shape. Every dollar it rises is a dollar they won’t have to restructure and kick in a can down the road or ask a player to give up in a pay cut. Let’s say the 2025 salary cap lands in the middle at $276.5 million. The Saints would be in the red by $54.9 million, which is their best start in years.

They’ve set themselves up to compete with the roster as it is now, without many changes. They believe they have their quarterback, a couple of talented young receivers, and a defense with every-down starters at each level. The team’s salary cap specialist, Khai Harley, has a plan to keep the books in order. It’s absolutely vital for head coach Dennis Allen and his staff to get the most out of the roster they’ve been given. So far, that has proven too challenging for them. If 2024 isn’t any different then bigger changes have to be in order for 2025.

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Saints find themselves in the bottom-8 of new NFL power rankings

After a quiet offseason, the New Orleans Saints found themselves 10 spots lower than they started in the latest NFL power rankings:

We’re a few weeks into free agency and everyone has a take on how well each team has improved (or degraded). NFL.com’s Eric Edholm recently released his first power rankings since free agency began, saying that the article is meant to be a reflection of each team’s 2023results  and the moves they’ve made thus far in the 2024 offseason.

Changes at quarterback and coaching elicit the greatest response. It’s a fun exercise to see how teams are viewed prior to the draft. The New Orleans  Saints came in at 25th:

The Saints haven’t truly been gutted in free agency, and they managed to sign Chase Young in spite of their salary-cap constraints, but they also haven’t truly upgraded in any one obvious way, either. Both lines of scrimmage need multiple additions, and wide receiver is pretty barren. It’s going to be hard to make the offensive talent significantly better around QB Derek Carr, based on what’s available and what they can spend.

New Orleans should be able to seek help at receiver and on the offensive line in the draft, but they had better find ready-made talents who can step in Year 1. Carr and Dennis Allen can’t yet be sleeping too easily, given the state of the roster. If this coming season is a failure, it’s hard to have confidence in the futures of either beyond 2024.

Harsh. Edholm clearly doesn’t share the opinion that coaching was the biggest detriment to the New Orleans offense. Your opinion on if the Saints can improve their offense largely comes down to if you believe in Klint Kubiak. The Saints dropped 10 spots despite remaining essentially the same as last year, roster wise. Edholm is not a believer.

Is it the Greatest Show on Turf? No, but describing the wide receiving corps as barren feels extreme. Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed are a solid foundation with room to grow within the room. The description of the trenches is more accurate than his take on the receivers. The Saints do need to make improvements on each side of the ball, but New Orleans isn’t as far from simply being average as Edholm believes.

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B/R says hiring Klint Kubiak the Saints’ smartest move this offseason

The Saints tried to jumpstart their offense by hiring Klint Kubiak, and Bleacher Report labels that the smartest move of their offseason:

It’s been a busy offseaseon for the New Orleans Saints, but Bleacher Report’s Maurice Moton labels the hiring of offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak as their smartest move so far. Free agency is on the front of many minds, specifically the Saints’ Chase Young signing, but Kubiak is unquestionably the biggest move of the offseason.

Here’s why Moton agrees with that sentiment:

“New Orleans hired Klint Kubiak to replace Pete Carmichael Jr., whose offense moderately improved between 2022 and 2023 but sputtered for stretches last year. The Saints’ offense finished 15th and 18th on third-down conversions and in red-zone scoring, respectively.

After a year as the San Francisco 49ers’ passing-game coordinator, Kubiak may be able to carry over some principles from the Niners’ fourth-ranked passing offense that can help elevate Derek Carr’s production.”

New Orleans’ inconsistent offense was the biggest issue on the team, so it was naturally the paramount question heading into the offseason. The Saints answered that question in the form of a new offensive coordinator. Kubiak must, at the worst, establish consistency on the offensive side of the ball. That alone elevates ceiling of the Saints in 2024.

Improvements on the offense may be more important than last season. The defense is talented and has been carrying the team since Drew Brees retired. The recipe hasn’t resulted in playoff teams. The defense is getting older at pivotal positions, and there’s questions about the younger players. A dropoff could occur at any moment.

The offense remaining stagnant limits the Saints’ ceiling as an above-average team. Chemistry between players should be an issue left in 2023. Now it’s about mastering the offense and Kubiak maximizing the talent.

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Grading the Saints’ signing of former 49ers DE Chase Young

We know the contract terms and 2024 salary cap hit. So how do you grade the Saints’ signing of Chase Young? Here’s our take:

It took a while for all the details to come to light, but now we know the structure, risks, and true costs of Chase Young’s contract with the New Orleans Saints. So now the fun part: evaluating it with a simple letter grade.

This is complicated, so stay with us. Young signed a one-year contract carrying $13 million in guarantees, and so long as he’s active and healthy for all 17 games, he’ll see every dollar. But his salary cap hit in 2024 is just over $3.4 million. How did the Saints do that? Why not pay it off all at once?

Young’s contract is structured to include $7.99 million in 17 per-game roster bonuses, of which 16 are treated as a signing bonus for accounting purposes. So they’re guaranteed now and spread out over the next five years to more easily fit on the books. The Saints will get a $470,000 cap credit next year for any games that Young misses in 2024.

So if this is a one-and-done deal the Saints will be paying $3.4 million for Young in 2024 and as much as $9.1 million in 2025 as dead money. If Young misses extensive time that 2025 dead money figure goes down significantly. It’s about as team-friendly a deal as it gets while also making concessions for the player. Young has a lot of incentive to recover quickly from offseason neck surgery and get back on the field in time for Week 1.

But Young is worth the risks. When he’s healthy, engaged, and firing on all cylinders he looks like the best pass rusher in the NFL. The Saints are hoping to get that version of him more than what the San Francisco 49ers saw after trading for Young last year: a slow-footed player who shied away from contact, and who they allowed to leave in free agency without a fight.

Grade: B

So with all this in mind, we’re grading this move with a B. Young looks like a good pickup, not a great one, and his availability is our greatest concern. It’s reassuring that the Saints protected themselves financially but fans have seen too many talented defensive ends go missing for weeks on end because of injuries in recent years. Hopefully Young can end that streak rather than continue it.

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Eagles sign another player from the Saints’ 2023 practice squad

The Philadelphia Eagles signed another player from the New Orleans Saints Saints’ 2023 practice squad, joining Shaquan Davis:

The Philadelphia Eagles signed another player from the New Orleans Saints Saints’ 2023 practice squad, joining second-year wide receiver Shaquan Davis. Defensive tackle PJ Mustipher, another second-year pro, was not retained when the Saints signed most of their practice squad to reserve/future contracts after the season ended. Now he’s going to Philly.

Mustipher, 25, was an undrafted free agent pickup for the Denver Broncos last summer (turning pro out of Penn State) who spent most of the season on their practice squad. The Saints poached a player from Denver, for a change, by signing Mustipher to their 53-man roster once injuries hit the position. Ironically, the Broncos ended up signing one of the players Mustipher was replacing in New Orleans — Malcolm Roach. He was later moved down to the practice squad, where he finished the 2023 season.

Now he gets a new opportunity in Philadelphia. Life for young players like Mustipher and Davis can be hectic as they’re tasked with moving from one city to the next, sometimes in the space of just a few months. Good luck to them both on the Eagles.

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