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The big waves of NFL free agency have come and gone, and the New Orleans Saints are left with a whittled-down list of players who haven’t signed a new contract just yet. The most notable names in that group would be Pro Bowl guard Larry Warford and former first-round draft pick Eli Apple, who the Saints acquired in a trade back in 2018.
Because this year’s compensatory draft pick cutoff passed by, the Saints will not recoup any future picks once Warford and Apple sign with new teams. But where will they end up playing in 2020?
ESPN writer Matt Bowen suggested the Chicago Bears (a team that quickly expressed interest in the guard) as a match for Warford, while his peers Jeremy Fowler (Detroit Lions) and Field Yates (Cleveland Browns) approached from different angles. Bowen wrote:
Chicago signed veteran guard Germain Ifedi to a one-year deal this offseason. Adding Warford, however, would bolster the interior of the offensive line and the run game.
ESPN’s three writers were also in disagreement as to where Apple should sign, with Bowen picking the Tennessee Titans whereas Fowler went with the New York Jets, and Yates suggesting the Houston Texans. Yates wrote of a possible Apple-Texans matchup:
The Texans have been willing to take fliers on players while banking on a change of scenery going a long way. Apple would be the latest first-rounder to join the cornerback group, along with Gareon Conley and Vernon Hargreaves III.
Wherever Apple and Warford play their next football game, it doesn’t appear they’ll do so in New Orleans — or if they do, they’ll be wearing opposing colors.
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