NFC South review: Drew Brees returning, Devonta Freeman likely won’t

Right now, it’s tough to say anybody but the Panthers will be the worst team in the NFC South next year.

After a blizzard of mostly bad news early in the offseason, things have slowed down for the Panthers of late.

Let’s catch up on what’s going on around the rest of the NFC South.

Saints: Drew Brees returning

Last time we heard from New Orleans, Brees was saying he’d make a decision about his future some time next month. Apparently, he didn’t need that much time. Brees announced today on Instagram that he will indeed return for the 2020 season.

Brees didn’t look particularly sharp in another surprising playoff loss to the Vikings. However, a lot of that had to do with Sean Payton not having an answer for Mike Zimmer moving his edge rushers inside. Brees is still playing at a high level, especially for his age. Our QB rankings will be coming later this week and Brees is still among the top five.

As for what it means for the rest of the depth chart, Teddy Bridgewater is pretty much guaranteed to be gone after this news. He’s set to become a free agent in March and won’t have to settle for a backup role this time around. Bridgewater went 5-0 in 2019 when Brees was out with a hand injury.

We can assume Taysom Hill is still a thing. Anyway…

Falcons: Devonta Freeman likely out

Christian McCaffrey may be a rare exception to the rule, but generally speaking giving running backs big contracts doesn’t work out well in the NFL. Atlanta has learned that the hard way with Devonta Freeman, who signed an absurd five-year, $41.25 million extension in 2017. That Tevin Coleman was already on the roster only makes it worse. Now the expectation is the Falcons will be cutting Freeman. They’ll save $3 million in cap space, but that won’t help them much.

Buccaneers: Plenty of cash on hand

While Atlanta is stuck in the fourth circle of salary cap hell, it’s a much different story in Tampa Bay. The Bucs currently have around $79.8 million in cap room for 2020. Only the Bills, Colts and Dolphins have more cash. That will give general manager Jason Licht plenty of resources to re-sign Jameis Winston (if that’s what he wants to do) and also be a major player in free agency. They also have the fewest cap commitments this year.

The Buccaneers have been the worst team in the division more often than not lately, but the arrival of Bruce Arians and this much money to play with could give them a better long-term position. Meanwhile, Carolina has the most dead cap money of any team in the league by a wide margin.

Right now, it’s tough to say anybody but the Panthers will be the worst team in the NFC South next season.

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