The New Orleans Saints didn’t lose too much in free agency. As we lead into the season, we’ll look at the five biggest departures in order from least devastating to most devastating. The list begins with Malcolm Roach.
The veteran defensive tackle left New Orleans to rejoin Sean Payton with the Denver Broncos. The writing was on the wall for Roach’s departure late in the 2023 season; his comments on the Saints’ preparation level felt more like a player disappointed in the culture than temporary frustration.
Roach’s departure flies under the radar because he was genuinely depth piece. Roach played a season-high of 50% of the defensive snaps in his last game of the season versus the Detroit Lions.
Don’t allow his snap count to devalue his contributions to the team. Roach heading to Denver means the Saints have lost their best run stopper on the interior. According to Pro Football Focus, Roach’s 17.4% run stop win rate was the best in the NFL. More than just the best in black and gold, Roach was one of the best in the NFL. He was highly disruptive at the line of scrimmage. Even though he missed the last five games with an injury, Roach finished the season with the fifth-most tackles at or behind the line for the Saints (10).
The Saints already struggled defending the run last year; they allowed the 11th-most rushing yards in the league, and now they need to find a path forward without Roach. You could argue he should have been on the field more often. That’s not a choice anymore, and he should be missed.
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