Tag: Deadline

Saints have two deadlines to consider in Michael Thomas extension talks

The Saints have two deadlines to consider in Michael Thomas extension talks. They’d like this deal to be done by Wednesday, but Friday brings heavier consequences:

Will the New Orleans Saints be able to hammer out a contract extension with Michael Thomas? Things are trending that way, but there’s a couple of important deadlines to dial in on as both sides continue to meet at the negotiating table.

Per NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill, Thomas will be owed a $200,000 roster bonus if he’s on the roster under his current deal at 3 p.m. CT on Wednesday, March 15. That isn’t much more than a drop in the bucket as far as the $223 million salary cap is concerned, but losing that money wouldn’t be the best use of resources.

More concerning is the $31 million roster bonus for 2024 that will become fully guaranteed on Friday. The Saints need to get out in front of that poison pill and reach a resolution with Thomas one way or another — either by tearing up his contract and signing him to a new deal or by releasing him altogether.

Thomas played a part in helping the team recruit Derek Carr, who has been talking about him like a new contract is already signed and delivered. But we’ll have to wait and see if the Saints and the Saints can beat the clock.

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Derek Carr had dinner with Saints brass, visiting team facility a second day

Derek Carr had dinner with Saints brass, returns to visit the team facility for a second day of meetings, as first reported by @nick_underhill:

The New Orleans Saints kicked off a second day of meetings with Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr on Thursday, per NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill, who adds that the Saints took Carr out to dinner on Wednesday night after he spent the day meeting with coaches and touring the team facility. It’s developing into a drawn-out recruiting pitch, but a second day suggests he’s receptive to what they’re selling him.

And the clock is ticking. The Raiders will be on the hook for more than $40 million in guaranteed money over the next two years if Carr is on their roster after 3 p.m. CT on Wednesday, Feb. 15. They’re hoping to reach an agreement to trade him to another team like the Saints prior to that deadline, or else he’ll be released and become a free agent.

New Orleans probably can’t afford to enter a bidding war with other teams should Carr hit the open market so they have some incentive to reach a deal with Las Vegas, but a trade will only materialize if Carr is happy with the situation he’s walking into thanks to his no-trade clause. That gives him a ton of leverage and agency in these discussions, but it’s notable that he hasn’t yet scheduled any future meetings with other teams as this window continues to shrink. The Saints are very much in the driver’s seat.

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Report: Saints, Raiders have agreed on potential Derek Carr trade compensation

The Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore reports that the Saints and Raiders have already agreed on trade compensation for quarterback Derek Carr, but no deal is imminent:

This was the implication, but now it’s been put out in public. The New Orleans Saints and Las Vegas Raiders have already agreed on compensation should Derek Carr waive his no-trade clause in order to facilitate a move, per Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Now it’s on New Orleans to sell Carr on what they have to offer and reach an agreement on how his hefty contract will be restructured should he wish to join them, likely through an extension.

So what could the Saints and Raiders be looking to exchange here? Las Vegas has little to no leverage given the ticking clock of a Feb. 15 trade deadline, and New Orleans is in the driver’s seat without any other teams having scheduled a meeting with Carr (at time of writing, anyway). It’s a very similar situation the Atlanta Falcons found themselves in last year when they alienated Matt Ryan in selling out for Deshaun Watson, eventually honoring his request to be traded to the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for a third-round pick (No. 82 overall) while taking on $40.5 million in dead money.

New Orleans is picking at No. 71 overall in the third round this year, though they don’t own a third rounder in 2024 after including it in the Sean Payton trade. That also lines up with the value other mid-level quarterback trades have brought recently like the Carson Wentz trade in 2022 that sent him from Indianapolis to the Washington Commanders, which saw both teams swap second-round picks with the Colts recouping a third rounder in 2022 and a conditional third-round choice in 2023.

Maybe the Saints are willing to pay more to get their quarterback. Maybe the Raiders are willing to ask for less to get him off their books. That hard deadline and Carr’s substantial salary cap hit puts a lot of pressure on Las Vegas to accept an offer before their window closes and they’re forced to cut him without getting anything. Hopefully the Saints are aware of that and approaching these negotiations from a position of strength accordingly. We’ll know within a week.

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Report: Derek Carr doing his homework on ‘prospective teams’ like the Saints

ESPN reports longtime Raiders QB Derek Carr is doing his homework on ‘prospective teams’ with a trade on the horizon, and lists the Saints among his expected suitors:

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports that longtime Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr has begun looking into the teams that may try and trade for him in the weeks ahead, having been benched for the final two weeks of the regular season to protect the Raiders from risking an injury guarantee in the remaining years on his contract. Carr’s no-trade clause gives him some leverage in choosing where he’ll go next, but the New Orleans Saints have been listed among his potential suitors.

Fowler explained the situation: “Derek Carr, he will be traded; that is the expectation. I’m told that he’s started to do his homework on prospective teams. He has a no-trade clause, so he’s got a lot of power here. The teams I talk to expect a variation of the Saints, the Commanders, and the Jets to all inquire. I’m told some teams have already made some early initial calls to the Raiders but still in the process of coming out of the season. There’s not a lot of traction yet. Expect this to heat up closer to the Super Bowl.”

That lines up with the time-frame that saw the Detroit Lions agree to swap quarterbacks with the Los Angeles Rams a few offseasons ago, exchanging Jared Goff for Matthew Stafford for a couple of early draft picks just days after that year’s Super Bowl. The Raiders have a hard deadline of Feb. 15 to find a trade partner for Carr before more than $40 million guarantees over the next two years. If they can’t find a trade partner at that point, he’ll be released.

But Fowler’s report suggests a trade market is already heating up as various teams begin to look into the cost to acquire Carr. A package of multiple second- and third-round picks could probably get that done, and the Saints have the means to do so. Carr would probably waive his no-trade clause to work with head coach Dennis Allen again (who drafted him with the Raiders back in 2014). You just have to ask how big of an upgrade Carr is over Andy Dalton and Jameis Winston, if at all.

It doesn’t sound like we’ll have to wait long to get our answer. With the Saints choosing to keep Pete Carmichael at offensive coordinator and run it back with a mostly-intact coaching staff after their mediocre 7-10 season, it’s absolutely critical that Allen find a quarterback he has faith in. It’s just unclear whether Saints fans share that belief in his ability to find a passer to team up with.

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Saints stay quiet at the NFL trade deadline; what’s next for the black and gold

Saints stay quiet at the NFL trade deadline; what’s next for the black and gold as they work to reach the playoffs and prepare for another challenging offseason

Whew: there was the active rush to beat the buzzer we’ve been looking for at the annual NFL trade deadline, with a crowd of players changing teams. The Atlanta Falcons traded wide receiver Calvin Ridley to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Minnesota Vikings acquired Detroit Lions tight end T.J. Hockenson, and the San Francisco 49ers shipped out running back Jeff Wilson to the Miami Dolphins, among a host of other moves around the league.

But the New Orleans Saints were one team that didn’t rock the boat. Sitting at 3-5 on the year so far with some reasons for optimism but little salary cap space or future draft assets to use in a trade, so they didn’t have many options. Torching everything and trading all of their best players wouldn’t have brought back much in the way of draft assets or salary cap resources (in many cases, it would have cost the Saints more to unload those contracts at this point).

So what’s next?

The Saints will continue to focus on the things they can control: the nine games remaining on their schedule, including four games against teams who are .500 or better. They’re just a game out of the lead in their division and could rally down the stretch, enjoying the benefits of a late-season bye in Week 14. The playoffs are still in sight, and every team in the NFC South is tripping over each other in pursuit of it.

After that, they’ll have to navigate a challenging offseason in which they’re again facing serious salary cap hurdles. A small crowd of Saints players will be free agents in the spring including Marcus Davenport, Deonte Harty, Andy Dalton, Mark Ingram II, Jarvis Landry, and David Onyemata. New Orleans will be over the cap by more than $50 million (against even the most-optimistic projections). They’re without a first-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft (and there’s no guarantee Sean Payton will be traded somewhere else to return a first rounder). How they approach those problems will be fascinating to see.

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Falcons take Cordarrelle Patterson’s shirt too literally, trade Calvin Ridley to the AFC

Falcons take Cordarrelle Patterson’s shirt too literally, free Calvin Ridley in a trade with the Jaguars — who will visit the Saints in 2023:

Oh no. The New Orleans Saints won’t have to worry about Calvin Ridley anymore — the Atlanta Falcons traded their suspended wide receiver to the Jacksonville Jaguars hours ahead of the 2022 NFL trade deadline, dealing an embattled superstar to a team in a whole other conference.

Ironically, and painfully for Falcons faithful, this comes just days after Ridley’s teammate Cordarrelle Patterson was seen patrolling the Atlanta sidelines in a “Free Calvin Ridley” shirt advocating for his friend’s suspension to be lifted. Ridley was suspended for an entire year after a gambling scandal in which he was accused of placing bets on games including his own team while inactive with an injury. It looks like the Falcons took Patterson’s message too literally.

And the return Atlanta is getting for trading Ridley is kind of complicated. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that if Ridley is reinstated before a specific date, the Jaguars will give up a 2023 fifth rounder (otherwise it’s a sixth-round pick). But if Ridley is on the roster in 2024, Jacksonville also sends out a 2024 fourth rounder. That pick becomes a third rounder if Ridley meets certain incentives for play time and performance. If he signs a long-term contract extension with Jacksonville, the Falcons will receive a 2024 second rounder.

So there are some hoops to jump through here, and the ramifications of this trade won’t be felt for quite some time (Ridley won’t even be eligible to play this season). At the end of the day, it just means that Ridley won’t suit up against the Saints twice a year anymore. New Orleans will host the Jaguars in 2023, but there’s a chance Ridley’s suspension won’t have even been lifted by then. It’s a storyline to watch out for over the next few months.

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4 Saints who could be on the move ahead of NFL trade deadline

4 Saints who could be on the move ahead of NFL trade deadline, via @john_siglerr, @DillySanders, and @RossJacksonNOLA:

Will the New Orleans Saints be players at the NFL trade deadline? Historically speaking they’ve been buyers rather than sellers, but they’re in a position to make some moves with long-term ramifications after a 3-5 start to the season. And no, that doesn’t include Alvin Kamara.

With that in mind, here are four Saints trade candidates as the Nov. 1 trade deadline inches closer:

Ravens trade for Bears LB Roquan Smith ahead of Week 9 game vs. Saints

Ravens trade for Bears LB Roquan Smith ahead of Week 9 game vs. Saints, pairing him with Patrick Queen:

Deadlines spur action, and the annual NFL trade deadline (falling on Nov. 2 this year) prompted the Baltimore Ravens to trade for Chicago Bears linebacker Roquan Smith ahead of their Week 9 game with the New Orleans Saints. Smith is seeking a long-term contract, and playing the second half of the regular season next to standout linebacker Patrick Queen will do a lot to raise his profile.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport first reported news of the deal, with ESPN’s Adam Schefter clarifying the compensation for Chicago: second- and fifth-round draft picks in 2023. Ironically, former Saints linebacker A.J. Klein was also included in the trade, going to Chicago. Not a bad price for Baltimore to acquire the former No. 8 overall draft pick.

Smith will have plenty of time to pick up the playbook. Because the Saints and Ravens aren’t going to play until Monday night, he’ll have all three days of practice to work on the field, with Tuesday and Wednesday to work in the classroom. He’ll be a problem for New Orleans — Smith is one of two players to log multiple seasons with 100-plus tackles, 10-plus tackles for loss, and 3 or more sacks over the last four years (the other being Demario Davis).

He’s gone 0-2 against the Saints before while playing for the Bears, totaling 18 combined tackles (16 solo) with 2 tackles for loss and 2 pass deflections. But the Saints are 2-5 against the Ravens in series history with both of their victories coming on the road. New Orleans needs to rally at home against Smith and his new team.

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Report: Saints ‘rebuffed’ Bills trade inquiry on Alvin Kamara

FOX Sports reports that the New Orleans Saints ‘rebuffed’ a trade inquiry on star running back Alvin Kamara from the Buffalo Bills:

Well that’s something. FOX Sports’ Jay Glazer reported Sunday morning that the New Orleans Saints “rebuffed” a trade inquiry from the Buffalo Bills focusing on superstar running back Alvin Kamara ahead of the Nov. 1 NFL trade deadline. Kamara has been the subject of a lot of speculation and rumormongering with that deadline on the horizon, but this is the first time we’ve seen a specific team linked to him by a reputable outlet. And no, a random general manager speculating to Sports Illustrated about the Philadelphia Eagles doesn’t count.

“They are in it trying to make a splash,” Glazer said of the 5-1 Bills. “They were already in it there for Christian McCaffrey, but what people don’t know, is that they actually called about Alvin Kamara this week from the Saints. They were rebuffed there, but look there are still other running backs out on the market: Kareem Hunt, Jeff Wilson, Cam Akers. Certainly no one on the level of Alvin Kamara, but they could be had.”

NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill reports that the Saints have had no trade talks centering on Kamara “internally or externally” with the team’s focus instead centering on a rally towards the playoffs. So it’s likely the Bills received a flat “No” when they called up New Orleans. It would take an astronomical trade package to convince the Saints to part ways with the face of their franchise and incur massive salary cap penalties this year and next, but they do owe it to themselves to hear out offers. That doesn’t mean they’re going to bite.

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Latest on the Saints from the rumor mill ahead of NFL trade deadline

Latest on the Saints from the rumor mill ahead of NFL trade deadline: Speculation won’t stop on Alvin Kamara, even though it makes no sense

The annual NFL trade deadline is just days away (it’ll pass at 3 p.m. CT on Tuesday, Nov. 1, so mark your calendars), so clout-hungry social media account managers are driving up speculation on struggling teams like the New Orleans Saints. But they’re approaching it from the same perspective as pro football executives from around the league, who see a 2-5 squad in New Orleans whose record doesn’t match the talent on their roster. Could this be what drives the Saints into a fire sale?

Probably not, given the finances involved and how difficult it would be for the Saints to offload some of their star players. Even if the Saints were motivated into dealing household names like Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas, they’ve written themselves into a corner while working around the salary cap, and it’s hard to imagine another team could present a strong enough offer to make it worth their while. They’d be paying for the player and for the salary cap penalties New Orleans would absorb in moving on.

Still, it isn’t stopping people from asking questions. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer spoke with one NFL general manager who speculated that one Super Bowl contender could get the Saints to at least consider an offer involving a valuable 2023 draft pick. Here’s what Breer reported from his conversation with someone not involved in this hypothetical decision:

“There have been conflicting reports on Alvin Kamara, but one GM told me he thought the Saints would consider moving him to the Eagles if Philadelphia gives them back the first-rounder they traded in April.”

The Eagles would be insane to give the Saints what’s projected to be a top-five draft selection for a running back in his late 20’s who is facing a six-game suspension later this year or early next season, but New Orleans would be just as out of pocket to agree to such a deal. Moving Kamara would accelerate outrageous salary cap payments onto their books this year (which they have no way of wriggling out of) and it would be a death-knell for Dennis Allen’s regime. Kamara is a foundational player you build around, not someone you ship off to a rival team. Pro Football Talks’ Mike Florio already ruled out the Eagles as a team interested in trading for Kamara, so this story doesn’t have legs, even if people won’t stop talking about it, to Kamara’s own amusement.

That’s not to say the Saints won’t make a trade before the deadline. Breer suggested “second-tier types such as Nick Vannett and Marquez Callaway” as players interested teams are calling about, and the Saints could see some benefits in moving on from them. Vannett has a disproportionately high salary cap hit in 2023 and will likely be cut after the season anyway. Callaway will be a restricted free agent, and if the Saints see Michael Thomas or Jarvis Landry (or, hopefully, both of them) returning soon his role in the offense evaporates. Neither player would return trade compensation greater than late-round picks in the draft a year or two from now, but it’s possible the Saints accept that anyway. We’ll just have to wait and see.

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