Tag: options

4 trade-back scenarios for the Saints to consider

The New Orleans Saints haven’t done so since 2007, but they have the flexibility to consider trading back in this year’s NFL draft, via @RossJacksonNOLA:

Ever since the New Orleans Saints and Philadelphia Eagles agreed to swap picks in the 2022 NFL draft, the NFL world has pondered whether the Saints will stand pat at Nos. 16 and 19 or move up for a specific player. A lot of believers of the latter assume that move would be for a quarterback, but moving into the top ten picks for a starting left tackle to replace the recently-departed Terron Armstead wouldn’t be a shock either. However many, including myself, believe the Saints should stay put with their two picks, let the board fall to them and walk away with two top-tier players at premium positions. 

But what if things go an unexpected direction, as they often do in the NFL draft? What if New Orleans can make the leap for a highly coveted player and top tier tackles and wideouts fly off the board leaving only one ideal selection at No. 16 with mostly undesirable options left at No. 19? Saints general manager Mickey Loomis told Peter King of NBC Sports that trading down is certainly a possibility for the team.

“One of the things we did talk about is that, in (Loomis’) mind, he said, ‘We absolutely are not done,’” King recalled from their conversation on The Peter King Podcast, “And Loomis’ point was ‘You never know if there’s going to be a team that, as one of our picks approaches, is going to be desperate to move up.” 

King then said that Loomis used a falling quarterback as an example. “Let’s say one of the quarterbacks is there that somebody really wants. And who knows? They may trade up and we may be able to get a bounty for it.” 

With that in mind, one should consider trading back a real possibility for New Orleans, a team that hasn’t done so since the 2007 season. If the team is invested in improving at left tackle and wide receiver at Nos. 16 and 19, taking advantage of a falling quarterback makes a ton of sense if those other positions go quickly. Here are four trade-down scenarios for the Saints in this year’s NFL draft:

Which veteran WRs could be trade targets for Packers?

The win-now Packers might need to get bold at wide receiver. Which veteran pass-catchers could be options in a trade scenario?

The Green Bay Packers have a glaring need at wide receiver after trading away Davante Adams, and it’s possible a rookie or two won’t be enough for Aaron Rodgers and the Packers to get by in the passing game in 2022. This is a Super Bowl-caliber roster everywhere else, so general manager Brian Gutekunst might need to get bold and make a big trade for a veteran receiver.

Rookies can be unreliable in Year 1, and the free-agent options aren’t super appealing. Odell Beckham Jr., Julio Jones and Jarvis Landry are among the receivers available, but Beckham Jr. could miss a big chunk of the 2022 season while recovering from ACL surgery, Jones has missed 14 games to injury over the last two seasons and Landry is more of a slot receiver type and less of a No. 1 target. A trade, using draft capital just acquired by dealing away Adams, could be the more attractive option, especially for a win-now football team with the NFL MVP at quarterback.

Who could the Packers realistically target in a trade scenario? Here are some potential options.

10 best available free agent wide receivers for the Saints

The Saints retained Deonte Harty and are in pursuit of Jarvis Landry, but they need more help at wide receiver. The 10 best free agents available, via @KadeKistner:

The New Orleans Saints have a need at the wide receiver position despite the fact that receiver Michael Thomas should be healthy come time for the 2022 NFL season. A steady receiver across from him should allow him to face better matchups and coverages.

While the Saints gave a second-round tender to restricted free agent Deonte Hardy, the team has been looking outside the building for additional help. Former Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jarvis Landry was recently cut and the team has been mulling over the possibility of bringing him into the fold. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that New Orleans have expressed interest in the wideout, which means they could be looking at other options as well.

Here are the 10 best remaining free agent wide receivers left on the market that the Saints could pursue:

5 free agent safeties the Saints could sign to replace Marcus Williams

There’s a good chance the Saints lose Marcus Williams in free agency. Marcus Maye, Quandre Diggs, and Justin Reid may be among their best options to replace him:

It’s looking more and more likely that one of the best New Orleans Saints free agents will test the open market — if not sign with a new team altogether. If standout free safety Marcus Williams does leave for a better opportunity, it’s going to be extremely difficult to replace him. With Friday evening’s news that Williams doesn’t anticipate spending a second year on the franchise tag, New Orleans will have to sign him to an extension to keep him in town. That’s far from certain.

Don’t say that the Saints could just sign one of the other top safeties on the market like Jessie Bates III or Tyrann Mathieu. They’ll be looking for the same market-setting contract Williams is about to get, if they aren’t franchise tagged, anyway. If the Saints aren’t about to pay $16 million per year for a known quantity in Williams, why would they do that for a completely new player who doesn’t already know their system?

And while it may be a stronger free agent market at safety than we saw a year ago, finding players who share Williams’ specific skills set is going to be tough. There just aren’t many centerfielders who can cover from one sideline to the other, tackle well, and intercept passes as often as he does. Anyone the Saints sign to replace Williams will almost certainly be a downgrade.

Still, it’s good to know which options may be available. We’ve already explored which teams may try and sign Williams themselves. If the Saints can’t cut a deal with Williams to pay him what he’s worth, these are the free agents they may have to turn to:

9 players Saints should target before NFL trade deadline

The Saints should swing for the fences in pursuing playmakers like TE Evan Engram and WR Brandon Aiyuk at the NFL trade deadline. 9 trade candidates:

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How active will the New Orleans Saints be at this year’s NFL trade deadline? Recent history suggests they’ll be right in the thick of things. They acquired linebacker Kwon Alexander at the 2020 deadline and came close to trading for wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders in 2019; cornerback Eli Apple arrived in a 2018 trade. And, oh yeah, they just brought Mark Ingram back after his three-year exodus with the Ravens and Texans. Expect them to continue to work the phones in search of upgrades.

And there isn’t a more obvious upgrade than the group of pass-catchers surrounding Jameis Winston. Well, pass-catchers in name only — 16 targets went to wide receivers during Monday night’s close win over the Seattle Seahawks, but only four of them were caught. With Michael Thomas still on the PUP list, Deonte Harris injured, and Tre’Quan Smith looking rusty-at-best, the Saints are quite literally beggars now, with their only real hope of improving Winston’s supporting cast being another team’s cast-offs.

They may be unwilling to throw too many resources at the problem after putting two draft picks on the table for Bradley Roby, but it’s worth noting that New Orleans still has a number of picks to work with in 2022 and 2023, with several compensatory picks expected to convey. But here are nine names they should call about:

The NFL’s cornerbacks trade carousel keeps skipping the Saints

No team has broadcast their interest in trading for a cornerback more loudly than the Saints. So why haven’t they done it yet?

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Few teams have broadcast their intentions more loudly and more broadly than the New Orleans Saints have this year: they want to trade for another cornerback. Ever since the NFL’s unprecedented salary cap plunge forced them to cut Janoris Jenkins as a cap casualty, the Saints have searched high and low for more help in the secondary. Sean Payton has repeatedly described the position as his top priority for months.

Their efforts go back to the draft in April, when the Saints called anyone picking in the top 10 who would pick up their phone, targeting top prospects Jaycee Horn and Patrick Surtain II. More recent reports in early August linked the Saints to the Jacksonville Jaguars and mercurial starter C.J. Henderson. But more trades continue to be completed across the NFL, and none of them have involved the Saints. What gives?

On Friday, Sept. 3, the Steelers traded a 2023 fifth rounder for benched Seahawks starter Akhello Weatherspoon. On Oct. 30, the Seahawks traded a sixth round pick for Jaguars corner Sidney Jones IV. Days earlier, the Patriots acquired Ravens rookie Shaun Wade for a 2022 seventh rounder and 2023 fifth round choice. Back on Aug. 23, the Texans swapped a 2022 seventh rounder for Packers backup Ka’dar Hollman, who was later cut and landed with the Saints practice squad. Other options like Isaac Yiadom (Giants to Packers) and Josh Jackson (Packers to Giants), and John Reid (from Texans to Seahawks, for a conditional seventh rounder in 2023) have all been dealt.

For the folks keeping score at home, that’s seven different cornerbacks changing teams in less than three weeks. And the Saints, for all the chatter surrounding their interest in the trade market and the clear need on the roster, have stayed out of it.

Have they been unable to seal the deal? Were they unwilling to put future draft picks on the table? The salary cap for once wasn’t an obstacle (the team currently boasts cap space in the double digits). The team has a ton of picks to use next year between their own selections and multiple compensatory choices in the forecast. To make sense of their inaction, we’ve got to consider the context of the players being moved.

So far, no cornerback has been traded over the last month for much better than a fifth rounder two years from now. The players being offloaded aren’t likely to be ready to start, at least not over the Saints’ own in-house options of Ken Crawley and Paulson Adebo. A rookie fifth rounder like Wade wouldn’t get the nod over Adebo, a third round pick this year, for example. Maybe Jones would have made sense but his up-and-down play in the NFL and significant injury history are a tough sell.

At this point, there haven’t been any corners available for trade that would be worth the Saints’ while. None of those players are upgrading Crawley and Adebo. There’s an argument for improving the depth chart behind those top three corners but you shouldn’t burn a future draft pick for that when there are still free agents available.

Still, it feels inevitable that the Saints are going to add another corner soon — one way or another. The 53-man roster currently has three and a half corners between Marshon Lattimore, Crawley, Adebo, and part-time free safety P.J. Williams, with three others held in reserve on the practice squad (KeiVarae Russell, Bryan Mills, and Ka’dar Hollman). How many of those players are you ready to throw into a game against Calvin Ridley, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Robby Anderson, DJ Moore, or Terrace Marshall?

If they can’t make a splash through a trade, maybe the Saints convince someone like Desmond Trufant or Josh Norman to sign for near-veteran’s minimum to warm up and wait on the sidelines on game days. But given the team’s need for greater help and the resources burning a hole in their wallet, you’ve got to think the clock is already ticking on some sort of move.

[lawrence-newsletter]

Predicting best options for New Orleans Saints practice squad

Predicting best options for New Orleans Saints practice squad

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We’re a day away from the New Orleans Saints whittling their depth chart down from 80 players to just 53, but as many as 16 of those roster cuts could return to the practice squad should they clear waivers. And up to six of those players eligible for the practice squad may have unlimited NFL experience, unlike in the past. We took one last shot at predicting the 53-man roster here, so here is a follow-up in guessing at who could be a good fit on the practice squad.

 

5 wide receiver trade targets for Saints after Michael Thomas surgery

Between a thin free agent market and shaky depth chart, the Saints could consider a trade for help without Michael Thomas. Five names to know:

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The New Orleans Saints have neglected their depth chart at wide receiver for too long, and now they’re paying the price. Michael Thomas is on ice for the foreseeable future following ankle surgery. Tre’Quan Smith is the only player on the roster with real NFL experience behind him — everyone else is either a special teamer, fourth-string player, or both, unless they’re an unproven rookie.

Smith and 2021 seventh rounder Kawaan Baker are the only receivers the Saints have drafted since 2018. Their options now are to roll out Smith and some mix of backups and pray, with some smoke and mirrors thrown in to disguise the unit’s weaknesses. Maybe the Saints can take a flier on a veteran free agent, but their best avenue of improvement could be through a trade.

But unless you’re willing to give up a first round pick or two and make Allen Robinson or Davante Adams the NFL’s top-paid receiver, the message is the same: you aren’t going to replace Thomas, you’re just looking for more help. Here are five names to know:

Breaking down Chiefs’ options at RG after Kyle Long’s injury

The Kansas City Chiefs have a TON of options at right guard sans Kyle Long.

The Kansas City Chiefs received some disappointing news on Thursday, learning of a knee injury to right guard Kyle Long.

Long returned from a season of retirement to join the Chiefs this offseason. He had been the starter at right guard since OTAs began just a few weeks ago and looked to earn the starting job heading into the season. Part of the excitement surrounding his return was his health as nagging injuries hampered his career with the Chicago Bears. In his final two seasons in the windy city, he appeared in just 12 games.

Now, with Long sidelined again, the Chiefs will be tasked with finding a replacement on the roster for the remainder of offseason training and perhaps to start the regular season. Thankfully, the team invested a ton of resources on the offensive line and the right guard position might be the deepest spot in terms of players capable of playing it.

Below you’ll find a quick look at several of the options who can fill in for Long while he’s injured in no particular order:

 

Which quarterbacks are available for the Packers?

A look at the quarterbacks available to the Packers, a team in need of at least one new quarterback this offseason.

The Green Bay Packers are in need of a quarterback, regardless of whether Aaron Rodgers returns or not, and the team is expecting to add one or two new quarterbacks at some point in the near future.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reported Thursday that the Packers are already exploring the quarterback market, and veteran options are possible.

Both a veteran insurance option and an undrafted free agent worthy of development are strong possibilities for the Packers.

Here’s a look at which quarterbacks are available to the Packers at this point: