Category: Speculation

Saints involved in two trade proposals that would reshape the NFL

This B/R writer says two New Orleans Saints veterans getting traded to the AFC North could impact the NFL playoff picture:

Rebuilds typically lead to an exodus of veteran players as the team gets younger. As the New Orleans Saints begin their rebuild, reload or whatever they want to call it, they too will get younger.

Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport saw two Saints veterans as bargaining chips. He cooked up six trades that could reshape the league, and New Orleans was involved with two of them. Davenport had the Saints sending two players to the AFC North: Derek Carr to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tyrann Mathieu to the Baltimore Ravens.

Carr to the Steelers would probably make the fans in black and yellow pretty upset and fans donning the black and gold may rejoice. Carr would feel very similar to the acquisition of Russell Wilson. He’s been discussed already as a possible trade target for Pittsburgh.

While Davenport is right to say the Steelers showed they don’t need an elite quarterback to be competitive, their limitations on offense still showed. On the note of competitiveness, Davenport pointed out “the opportunity to play for a contender” could entice Carr to waive his no-trade clause.

Davenport pairs Mathieu with Baltimore to help a struggling pass defense. This trade may become less likely because the Ravens improved mightily after moving Hamilton to deep safety. It would allow Mathieu to play closer to the box, but Baltimore may not be in the market for safety help anymore.

But what would the Saints get out of this? In terms of draft picks, Davenport’s trades have New Orleans getting a fourth-round pick in 2025 and a conditional pick in 2026 for Carr, plus a fifth-round pick in 2025. As for the salary cap benefits? Trading Carr before June 1 saves the Saints $11.3 million. But trading Mathieu saves only $16,000. That’s it. The team would still be paying $11.3 million this year if they trade Mathieu before June 1. They might be better off holding onto him.

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How much would it cost the Saints to trade up for the first overall pick?

How much would it cost for the Saints to trade up with the Titans to grab Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders? This B/R writer has the answers

The New Orleans Saints are still in pursuit of their quarterback of the future. Derek Carr is only an answer in the immediate future, maybe. Though he wasn’t able to win a game, the door shouldn’t be completely closed on Spencer Rattler.

What if New Orleans wanted to make a more aggressive move to get a young quarterback? Tennessee Titans president of football operations Chad Brinker said the Titans are “going to look at all avenues as far as that No. 1 pick.”

That leaves the door open for a trade. You only make that trade for Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders if you’re the Saints. You don’t trade up to the first overall pick for any other position.

Tennessee trading down to ninth overall isn’t likely, but Bleacher Report’s Maurice Moton broke down what it would cost for the Saints to move up to the top of the draft.

Moton has New Orleans giving up a first and third round pick this year and a first and second round pick in the following draft. This is the furthest trade back Moton has the Titans making, so the Saints also give up the most compensation.

This is a little less than the trade the Panthers made to grab Bryce Young. They added DJ Moore to the mix while also giving up back to back first and second round picks.

Giving up that many picks would be rough on New Orleans. They have a roster that needs an insertion of young talent. Making this trade would hopefully give you the answer at the most important position, but could lead to you struggling to support him.

The Titans are unlikely to make a trade to the outskirts of the top-10, and New Orleans should be cautious of giving up too much capital to build the team.

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Saints suggested as a dark horse to trade up for No. 1 draft pick

Mickey Loomis is known for gambling with draft picks. Bleacher Report has his Saints as one of five teams who could trade for the Tennessee Titans’ No. 1 pick:

The New Orleans Saints are huge fans of trading up in the NFL draft, there is no doubt about that. Their history of doing so is a long one, and while it works out sometimes, it also backfires spectacularly other times.

In a recent article put out by Bleacher Report, they discussed some of the top candidates who the Tennessee Titans could trade the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft to. Among those five teams are the Saints, who while considered somewhat of an outlier among the others, are on the list regardless.

The package for the pick would be a relatively large one, even in a down class compared to some others. The compensation they provide as their projected return is:

  • 2025 No. 9 overall pick
  • 2025 third round pick
  • 2026 first round pick
  • 2026 second round pick

Then following that up, their rationale for the Saints being a candidate:

“This would be the exact same jump Carolina made two years ago, with the Saints leaping from No. 9 to No. 1. It’s extremely unlikely considering that New Orleans still has Derek Carr and would be better off loading up on more picks if it were to finally commit to a rebuild, but it also can’t be totally ruled out because…NFL.

The Saints have an extra third-round pick this year. I believe they’d have to give that up along with the obvious 2026 first-rounder, and probably another Day 2 selection.”

The logic is… less than sound to say the least. Trading up just to trade up is something that nearly never happens in the NFL, teams trade up for a player they want, and the team trading down has to keep that in mind. With the Saints in desperate need of a youth movement, it feels like trading away all their premier assets for 2025 and 2026 in the draft is a ridiculous notion, especially when the 2025 class is not particularly plentiful with blue-chip prospects.

Trading away the 2026 first round pick is asking for disaster, as if the Saints fall apart in the 2025 season, they would be missing out on a high draft pick in a class that is currently viewed quite highly, especially at the quarterback position.

The Saints feel more like an inclusion due to lack of competitors more than anything. While they do have a knack for trading up, it tends to happen in day two or three predominantly, and unless the Saints get extremely desperate for a quarterback that they’re willing to make that jump, it is hard to rationalize.

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ESPN designs odd scenario to get Derek Carr off of the Saints

ESPN came up with a bizarre scenario which has the Saints moving on from Derek Carr, sending him to the AFC North instead

The New Orleans Saints 2025 offseason is no doubt going to be an intriguing one, with cap management, head coaching searches, and whatever free agents they are able to bring in and retain. However, with that in mind, there is also a line to draw between likely and unrealistic. ESPN writer Ben Solak recently put out an article discussing the quarterback market in this offseason. One of the pieces discussed is Derek Carr, and how things could shape up if Sam Darnold returns to the Minnesota Vikings.

In his scenario where Darnold does return, Solak believes the Pittsburgh Steelers could pivot and make a push for Carr via trade:

“While the most likely outcome is that Darnold gets a big deal from someone else in free agency, I remain far less confident than public perception that he gets out of Minnesota. And if he stays, things could get wonky, fast. In Darnold’s absence, I could see the trade market getting hot for a player like Carr, the next-best option for two to three years of acceptable play. The Steelers and coach Mike Tomlin need that plug-and-play fix at quarterback to finally find some postseason wins before seats start to get too hot. Could they work with the Saints to get New Orleans some cap relief in return for Carr’s services? I think it’s doable.”

This is one of the more peculiar suggestions on how to get Carr off the Saints this offseason, but then again when you think about it, the Steelers do need a plug and play starter as Solak mentions. And they do also have a substantial amount of cap space (approximately $40.4 million) where they could eat a large majority of his contract. This would give the Saints the ability to either draft a new quarterback (via trade up, potentially) under whoever their new head coach ends up being, or find a free agent they believe could be serviceable and build around them.

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If Kellen Moore is going to coach the Saints, he must bring this assistant with him

If Kellen Moore is going to coach the Saints, he must bring this Eagles assistant with him. There isn’t a better offensive line coach in the league than Jeff Stoutland:

Kellen Moore shouldn’t be the only Philadelphia Eagles coach on the New Orleans Saints’ radar. If they’re serious about hiring him as their head coach, the Saints must make a strong effort to recruit Eagles offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland into becoming his top assistant.

There isn’t a better offensive line coach in the league than Stoutland, who has held that job since 2013. That’s through multiple regime changes and head coach firings, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a team which has done a better job drafting and developing offensive linemen than the Eagles over the last decade-plus. He was given the run-game coordinator title back in 2018 and has been a vital part of one of the league’s most consistent rushing attacks.

Stoutland has demonstrated a unique ability to scout talent and teach his players the techniques they need to win on Sundays. The Eagles reached a deal on a new contract extension for him in 2023 to ward off interest from other teams interested in hiring Stoutland as an offensive coordinator. Whatever number he needs to move from Philly, the Saints must match it.

Much of Moore’s success calling plays has come because of the work Stoutland does getting his linemen ready to block well and fight in the trenches; the best-designed plays fall apart without good protection, and Stoutland has done an excellent job making sure that blocking is great, not just good.

So pay him what he wants to wear the offensive coordinator title. Maybe draft an explosive running back who can take advantage of the lanes his blockers open up, and take some pressure off Alvin Kamara’s shoulders in the final stretch of his career. Let Stoutland take in young pros like Cesar Ruiz and Trevor Penning (both 25 years old) and Taliese Fuaga (22) and see if they can hit their ceilings under his tutelage.

The Saints have gone through three offensive line coaches in the last four years; Brendan Nugent in 2021, Doug Marrone in 2022 and 2023, then John Benton in 2024. If they’re going to bet big on Moore succeeding as a first-time head coach, it’s only right for them to back him up by spending big on his support cast. You can bet the Eagles want to keep Stoutland around until he’s done coaching football. But there’s no salary cap on paying coaches. If they can’t get the most out of their investments along the offensive line, it won’t matter who’s throwing the football or running with it, or even calling plays. And Stoutland has the resume that makes gambling on Moore worthwhile, as long as they’re a package deal.

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ESPN writer won’t rule out a Derek Carr trade this offseason

The Giants may be out of reach for a top rookie quarterback, so this writer lists Derek Carr as a possible alternative. The problem is Carr’s no-trade clause:

Derek Carr is not the quarterback of the future for the New Orleans Saints. He was brought in by Dennis Allen to help elevate the Saints. That didn’t happen and it would be far from surprising to see the Saints move on from Carr soon. ESPN’s Giants beat reporter Jordan Raanan wouldn’t rule out a divorce this offseason.

Raanan sees the New York Giants as a team that should inquire about Carr due to an obvious need an unfavorable draft position. Typically the third overall pick would be great, but the Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns could pick Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders first and second overall.

That would leave the Giants to either go in a different direction or select another quarterback much higher than most would recommend. Insert Carr, who ironically had his season ended on the road against the Giants. He could pick up where he left off. As Raanan said, “nothing should be ruled out”

Giants owner John Mara has listed quarterback as “obviously the number one issue for us going into this offseason.” If they can’t get a rookie in the first round, they could pair a veteran quarterback with a rookie from that next tier in the second round.

A rookie contract would hypothetically balance out Carr’s contract, but the deciding factor here is Carr himself. His agent talked the Saints into writing a no-trade clause into his contract, and if he won’t play ball with New Orleans (just like he wouldn’t do in an ugly split with the Las Vegas Raiders), his future is in his hands. The fact trading him would still cost the Saints more than $40 million this year in dead money makes it even more unlikely.

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Does Aaron Glenn’s order of interviews disclose a preference?

Does Aaron Glenn’s order of interviews suggest a preference? He’ll meet with the Jets on Tuesday, and only visit the Saints if New York can’t close the deal:

Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn has a meeting scheduled with the New Orleans Saints on Wednesday. The operative word here is scheduled. First, Glenn has to make it to Wednesday without taking another job. That wasn’t the case for his teammate Ben Johnson who reached an agreement with the Chicago Bears on Monday.

Glenn’s first in-person interview is with the New York Jets on Tuesday. It had been previously reported that Glenn’s preferred destination was New York, though local outlets in New Orleans dispute that. This decision to meet with the Jets first definitely gives that report a little more credibility.

The Jets getting the first interview also means they are the first team that can make Glenn an offer. Does hearing a real offer take the Saints out of the running? That depends on what it looks like and how determined Glenn is to get the right fit, not the first one.

That offer is more than just monetary. It’s also about alignment of vision and path to success. Glenn may already have his opinion of the latter, but the first two aspects being adequate may make a trip to New Orleans unnecessary. If Glenn does sit down with the Saints, that means he at least wants to hear what the Saints have to offer. That would suggest it is at worst an even race between New York and New Orleans.

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There’s a Ben Johnson-shaped hole in the Saints coaching search

There’s a Ben Johnson-shaped hole in the New Orleans Saints head coach search. Why hasn’t this year’s top option been linked to their job opening?

There’s a Ben Johnson-shaped hole in the New Orleans Saints head coach search. Johnson, the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator, has been a popular candidate in this year’s hiring cycle. He’s interviewed with teams including the New England Patriots (who hired Mike Vrabel instead), Jacksonville Jaguars, Chicago Bears, and Las Vegas Raiders.

But not the New Orleans Saints. Why hasn’t this year’s top option been linked to their job opening? It’s been reported that the New York Jets chose to not request an interview with him, and there’s speculation he could meet with the Dallas Cowboys after their late arrival to the market. But the Saints stand apart. Johnson’s absence in all the reporting surrounding their search is conspicuous.

Maybe they didn’t feel like he was a good fit, like the Jets reportedly did. If Johnson wants to team up with a new hire at general manager, he may have balked at the situation in New Orleans where he’d be working under the league’s longest-tenured GM. Reports say Johnson made his disinterest in what the Jets had to offer known around the league.

Or maybe the Saints did request an interview with Johnson and were rebuffed. That’s rarely reported — his teammate Aaron Glenn declined an interview request from the Patriots in this cycle’s most notable rejection — but it does happen, and it’s the kind of thing Loomis and the Saints would want to keep under wraps if it did happen. That would be an embarrassing mark against the operation they’re running and what they have to offer to candidates for the job.

It’s no secret the Saints have less to offer than most other teams looking for a new coach. They lack the salary cap resources to sign impact players in free agency. They don’t have a history of drafting well. They’re effectively stuck with Derek Carr’s bad contract. Loomis enjoys rare job security given his lack of success, so if that chemistry is off, a new coach like Johnson would just have to grin and bear it.

Johnson is in a rare position of strength, too, where he can pick and choose where he wants to go. He doesn’t have to, say, hit up the McDonald’s drive-through with Al Davis like Sean Payton once did just because it’s offered to him. Maybe the Saints realized that and chose not to reach out in the first place to avoid the potential embarrassment of getting publicly rejected. If so, that’s the kind of self-awareness Loomis and Co. could really benefit from. But right now we just don’t have enough information to say one way or another. Either way, it’s disappointing that such a promising candidate like Johnson doesn’t appear to be in their plans.

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Saints named potential landing spot for Vikings QB in free agency

The New Orleans Saints were named a potential landing spot for Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold, if they’re able to move on from Derek Carr:

The New Orleans Saints enter the offseason with a ton of questions to answer. One question, the quarterback, could end up in the hands of the offensive coordinator.

Derek Carr is the most likely option by far, but there is a chance that they eat the cap hit and cut ties. If that were to happen, they would probably move to Spencer Rattler and bring in a veteran to compete.

That would have to be the case in the future that Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport sees, as he recently named the Saints a landing spot for Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold.

Here is why Davenport believes it is a move that New Orleans should make:

Loomis and the Saints are apparently hell-bent on just blowing up a bad team, taking their lumps for a year or two, and then rebuilding. Loomis has twisted the cap into a pretzel so many times that it has no meaning anymore.

And anyone with functioning eyes knows that the only “turnaround” the Saints are making with Carr is from bad to worse.

Darnold completed 66.2% of his passes this season for 4,319 yards with 35 touchdowns to 12 interceptions. His reputation has varied heavily throughout the campaign, but is currently way down after struggling the playoffs.

While this might be an interesting development this offseason, it is a long shot to actually happen. Mickey Loomis seems intent on sticking with Carr and even if they don’t choose him, they likely won’t want to spend the money it would take to get Darnold.

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ESPN reporter predicts Saints will hire coveted Lions coordinator for HC

An ESPN reporter predicts the New Orleans Saints will hire a popular Detroit Lions coordinator to be their new head coach this offseason:

The New Orleans Saints are one of six NFL teams still searching for their next head coach and it seems to be down to a couple of candidates.

With it being a few weeks into January and some initial interviews being done, or at least scheduled, ESPN’s Dan Graziano took a crack at how those searches will play out. For the Saints, he landed on Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn.

Glenn has been one of the favorite to land the job since Dennis Allen was fired in the first place, so it at least makes sense. Here is what Graziano had to say about the potential hire:

I don’t know which job Glenn would pick if it came down to a choice between the Saints and Jets. But based on everything I have heard, I expect the Saints — whose process seems less expansive so far than the Jets’ process — to make a strong push for Glenn and probably land him.

Despite numerous injuries to the unit, the Lions’ defense finished eighth in defensive efficiency this season under Glenn; the Saints were 27th. 

The 52-year-old coach was a former defensive back in New Orleans himself and then went on to coach the position for the team from 2016 to 2020. He is a well-respected coach and makes sense for a front office that seems intent on chasing ghosts of the Sean Payton era.

It would mean a somewhat similar defensive mindset than in the past, but would put the offense back into question. With Klint Kubiak taking interviews elsewhere, Glenn would likely have to decide which offensive coordinator and system he prefers.

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