Tag: Saints

Saints’ 2022 free agency tracker

Keep up with each move in our New Orleans Saints 2022 free agency live tracker, via @RossJacksonNOLA and @john_siglerr:

The NFL’s legal tampering period opens at 11 a.m. CT on Monday, March 14, with deals becoming official at the start of the new league year at 3 p.m. CT on Wednesday, March 16. During this period, agreements can be made in principle and we’ll start to get an idea of where players are expected to head for at least the 2022 season.

For the New Orleans Saints, the next couple of days may be more about the team learning whether or not top free agents like Terron Armstead, Marcus Williams, and Jameis Winston will depart. Though it is reasonable to expect the Saints to potentially be in the mix earlier than usual with their own signings as well. Especially if their pending free agents begin to fly off the board early.

It will be a fast-paced and busy week for Saints fans so keep up with all the moves here in our live-updated Saints free agency tracker.

Saints, Panthers to meet with Deshaun Watson; Texans QB to testify on civil suits

Saints, Panthers to meet with Deshaun Watson ‘in the next 48 hours’; Texans QB to testify on civil suits Tuesday:

Deshaun Watson is in for a busy week. The Houston Texans quarterback is scheduling meetings with the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers ahead of Wednesday’s start to the new NFL fiscal year, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, with the Athletic’s Jeff Howe reporting that Houston has approved meetings for Watson and those teams to discuss a trade — meaning whatever trade offer New Orleans has made to the Texans was found acceptable.

Before he can talk with New Orleans and Carolina, though, Watson must testify in the 22 civil lawsuits filed against him alleging sexual misconduct on Tuesday. That should bring a lot of information to light as to the specific allegations against Watson, which have been previously reported by Jenny Vrentas at Sports Illustrated. How the public perception of Watson’s testimony impacts trade talks is anyone’s guess, but the Saints would not have taken the process this far if they weren’t comfortable with a negative reception.

But the public reaction is only part of the equation for New Orleans. Substantial draft picks and players will be traded for Watson, a 26-year-old three-time Pro Bowler in the prime of his playing career. Other teams beyond the Saints and Panthers are in the mix, too; these are just the first two franchise Houston has found acceptable trade offers from. Another team could swoop in and outbid them.

And there’s another factor to consider in the timeline: Wednesday marks the opening of free agency, when teams can begin signing other teams’ players to contracts. If this plays out too long, New Orleans risks missing out on both Watson (in a trade) and pending free agent Jameis Winston (who could be the best available free agent quarterback), as well as lesser veteran passers on the market like Marcus Mariota and Mitchell Trubisky. That would leave them with just Taysom Hill, Blake Bortles, and Ian Book under contract for 2022.

[listicle id=110223]

Staff Picks: Updating 2022 Saints team needs before free agency

Staff Picks: Updating the top 2022 Saints team needs before free agency

The start of the 2022 NFL free agency cycle is almost at hand, so it’s a good opportunity to update our projected team needs for the New Orleans Saints. And this time I surveyed our staff writers here at Saints Wire for their takes on where the Saints must make moves once free agency kicks off in earnest — so here is where we want the black and gold to get to work, starting with a focus on the passing game:

New Orleans Saints free agency primer: Everything to know for 2022

With NFL free agency right around the corner, here’s everything you need to know for the New Orleans Saints in 2022, via @RossJacksonNOLA:

NFL free agency hits its unofficial beginning as the “legal tampering” period begins Monday afternoon. During this time, teams and players can agree to terms on new contracts in principle. Those signings and more usually become official on Wednesday afternoon with a few dissenters. The New Orleans Saints will have what is sure to be one of their most interesting and important free agency periods this offseason. The team is in the market for help at multiple key positions and there are some important pending free agents that are set to hit the market if the Saints don’t find a way to keep them around first.

As New Orleans braces for free agency, here’s everything you need to know; salary cap update, key outgoing free agents, positions of need, and more.

Tom Brady bails on retirement so he can come lose to the Saints a couple more times

Like Brett Favre before him, Tom Brady has bailed on his retirement plans so he can come lose to the Saints a couple more times:

This is almost getting pathetic. It only took a month and a half of not being in the media spotlight for former New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady to quit his retirement plans and return for another year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which he announced from his official Twitter account on Sunday.

Clearly Brady hasn’t had his fill of losing to the New Orleans Saints, who have gone 4-1 against Brady since he first arrived in Tampa Bay. No team has posted a better point differential against Brady than the Saints (+66). New Orleans has also sacked Brady more often than any other team besides his old AFC East rivals (28 times), also ranking fifth in career interceptions (11) and fumbles (6) taken from him.

We’ll see if the Saints have enough defensive firepower to overwhelm Brady again in 2022. They’re in the hunt for a trade to acquire Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, which would cripple the roster and force them to part ways with some of their best players. Obviously there are a lot of different pieces involved here, so stay tuned to see which Saints quarterback will be beating Brady in 2022 after Jameis Winston, Trevor Siemian, and Taysom Hill worked together to sweep him in 2021.

[listicle id=110241]

What would a Saints trade for Deshaun Watson even look like?

What would a Saints trade for Deshaun Watson even look like? The Texans have been said to want five or six assets, including players and three first round picks:

Several teams are looking to trade for Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, and the New Orleans Saints are at the forefront. Distasteful as I find the idea of the Saints adding someone with 22 credible accusations of sexual misconduct, I’ve still got a job to do. So let’s see what a Saints trade for Watson might look like.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported that the price for Watson has not changed over the last year: Houston wants a package built around three future first round draft picks. That’s just the foundation. If the Saints or any other team want to separate from the pack, they’ll have to stack more assets to reach a deal with the Texans.

So we’re starting with New Orleans’ first rounder in 2022 (No. 18 overall) as well as their first-round pick in 2023 and 2024. Houston would likely want a pair of second rounders in addition to that. And then, based off the Denver Broncos’ trade for Russell Wilson, New Orleans would have to add a couple of players to the mix. As was the case for Denver, maybe the Saints can also negotiate a pick swap in the later rounds (the Broncos got back a 2022 fourth rounder in exchange for a fifth round pick).

Which players could be involved? No one who has restructured their contract this offseason can be moved without costing the Saints a lot of dead money. Their best remaining options include defensive end Marcus Davenport, defensive tackle David Onyemata, safety Malcolm Jenkins, quarterback Taysom Hill, right guard Cesar Ruiz, and former Texans cornerback Bradley Roby. Inexpensive starters like center Erik McCoy and defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson could also be on the table.

The Texans already have some quarterbacks in the building so Hill probably doesn’t appeal to them. Davenport is from San Antonio and could appeal to Houston, who need more pass rushers. It’s unclear if Roby would be a good fit in Lovie Smith’s defense but it’s worth considering a reunion given his familiarity with the team. Gardner-Johnson could be high on their radar, too. Houston’s secondary is rough at all levels and he could be a big addition for them. The Texans could try to convince the Saints to include McCoy but the Saints likely view him as equal to a second round pick, if not a first. They shouldn’t trade McCoy and a premium draft pick. It needs to be one or the other. That’s the case for a few other players we mentioned.

With all this in mind: here is the kind of trade package Houston may be looking for:

  • 2022 first round pick (No. 18)
  • 2022 second round pick (No. 49)
  • 2023 first round pick
  • 2024 first round pick
  • Defensive end Marcus Davenport
  • Defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson

If that feels like a lot, it’s because it is. A 26-year-old quarterback who has already earned three Pro Bowl appearances won’t be cheap. This gets the “five or six” assets Houston has said to covet, and the three first rounders we know they want. They also get an impactful pass rusher (who, like McCoy, could be valued as a second round pick) and a firebrand in the secondary. And this seriously guts New Orleans. They won’t pick in the first round again until 2025. They’re without maybe their best pass rusher and a foundational defensive back. But the strength of their team is on defense, and that’s where they’re likeliest to lose talent in a trade like this.

Now you’ve got to ask if it’s worth it. If Watson can elevate the Saints offense while they take these hits on defense, and without premium draft picks to fall back on in the foreseeable future. It’s a massive gamble. If Watson underperforms or draws more allegations like happened in Houston, this is a disaster for New Orleans. There’s an outrageously high level of risk. Whether you or I have the appetite for that kind of deal is up to us, but the Saints wouldn’t have gotten to this stage if they weren’t comfortable with it.

[listicle id=110225]

Opinion: Saints trading for Deshaun Watson would not be worth celebrating

The Saints trading for Deshaun Watson would not be worth celebrating. At best, the allegations against him could be spun as a distraction the team can’t afford:

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero set off a social media frenzy Sunday morning by reporting the New Orleans Saints have submitted a trade offer for Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, with a meeting expected to occur soon in which Watson will choose whether to waive his no-trade clause for New Orleans. Landing a top-five quarterback in the prime of his playing career would be a coup for the Saints, but Watson brings so much serious baggage that it shouldn’t have gotten to this point.

Critics love to say that a team can’t sign Colin Kaepernick because of the distraction his social activism would bring, or that Tim Tebow didn’t get a fair shake (he got several, actually) because of the circus that follows him everywhere. Watson has been credibly accused of a years-long predatory pattern of behavior by 22 different women all describing the same events. That wasn’t enough for the courts to criminally charge him. But it’s a situation the American criminal justice system isn’t built to resolve, with only a fraction of those accused of sexual assault ever actually seeing jailtime. A lack of physical evidence with which to levy criminal charges doesn’t signify innocence no matter how much Watson and his agent are trying to tell people it does.

There have been a lot of snide remarks asking why it’s important to take a moral stand on this right now. It’s because we risk letting the allegations against Watson be glossed over by a long and successful career, just like happened with Ben Roethlisberger and Kobe Bryant and Chauncey Billups. The gravity of the misconduct Watson is accused of demands we speak out against it now, six months from now, and six years from now. Downplaying it or ignoring it because he’s good at throwing a football is disrespectful to sexual assault survivors everywhere.

And the Saints have shown us they’re willing to live with that by taking the process this far. It lines up with their past behavior in overlooking the accusations against Jameis Winston and Carl Granderson, who actually served time in a Wyoming prison prior to his return to the team. They may have a female owner who promotes activism in a wide array of fields. But they’re in the business of winning football games, not taking moral stands, and they feel trading for Watson would give them the best opportunity to do that. We’ll see how it plays out.

[listicle id=110241]

Report: Saints have submitted trade offer for Texans QB Deshaun Watson

Report: Saints have submitted trade offer for Texans QB Deshaun Watson, likely to meet with him soon

Here we go. The New Orleans Saints have submitted a trade offer for Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero report, as have the Carolina Panthers. Other teams are also in pursuit of Watson, who was cleared of criminal charges stemming from allegations of sexual misconduct by 22 women in the Houston area on Friday. Pelissero adds that the trade package to acquire Watson is substantial, including three future first round draft picks.

Watson may have been cleared of criminal behavior, but that’s the case for the vast majority of sexual assault cases in America. It doesn’t mean he didn’t do anything wrong. And he clearly feels he is innocent of wrongdoing. That’s not the behavior of someone who is repentant or looking to avoid these situations in the future.

Let’s be real: there’s a cost to the Saints acquiring Watson beyond the trade package Houston might receive. Bringing him in would be a slap to the face of every sexual assault survivor and those around them in the fanbase. And the Saints know that. They’re betting that they can take the public relations hit, win a lot of football games, and gloss over all of this. When purely evaluating what Watson has done on the field, he’s a top-five quarterback in the prime of his career.

The Saints are obviously willing to pay the price for that. Watson does have a no-trade clause which he will exercise in meeting with teams prior to any trade can be agreed upon. If he isn’t interested in going to New Orleans, he won’t go there. But if the Saints are willing to get this deep in the process then they must be prepared to do whatever it takes to make him happy. Stay tuned.

[listicle id=110241]

Marshon Lattimore restructures contract, gets Saints near salary cap

Marshon Lattimore restructures his contract, gets the Saints near salary cap compliance:

Bang: the New Orleans Saints restructured their contract with star cornerback Marshon Lattimore, which gets them very nearly to salary cap compliance days before the start of the new NFL fiscal year. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that the Saints opened up $18.45 million in salary cap space through this Lattimore restructure, which converted $8 million of his base salary and his $15 million roster bonus into a signing bonus that will be counted against future years.

The end result: Lattimore’s cap hit has dropped to just $8.9 million from its previous heights of $27.4 million, which led the team by a considerable margin. He’ll have more manageable cap hits hovering between $22.4 and $25.9 million over the next four years, which could look like a bargain as the salary cap continues to recover from the COVID-19-depressed seasons.

But as for this year: depending on where you look, estimates have the Saints over the 2022 cap by as little as $5 million or as much as $7 million; we’ll split the difference and guess that New Orleans still has some work to do while being in the red by approximately $6 million. That will be easy to manage through an additional restructure with Taysom Hill (potentially saving up to $7.2 million), with other options on the table like extensions for David Onyemata (who could free up $5.9 million in a new deal) and Marcus Davenport ($6.3 million). An extension, pay cut, or outright release for Bradley Roby (whose $10.1 million cap hit ranks among team leaders) is also about to be determined.

And all of those options need to be considered because the Saints will take a $12.9 million hit in dead money should Terron Armstead leave in free agency. Finding a way to re-sign Armstead would undo that, sure, but it feels like a long shot. If he takes a big-money deal from another team the Saints will need to do more than reach cap compliance. They need to keep digging and open up more room to re-sign their own players while adding a couple of free agents.

[listicle id=110225]

Report: Saints among QB-needy teams considering Deshaun Watson trade

Report: Saints among QB-needy teams considering Deshaun Watson trade

That’s disappointing, but not terribly surprising. Pro Football Network’s Aaron Wilson, a longtime Houston-based reporter on the Texans beat, reported Friday evening that the New Orleans Saints are one of many teams exploring a potential trade for Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson. Watson, of course, was cleared of criminal charges earlier Friday afternoon despite facing 22 civil suits against him alleging sexual misconduct. With no criminal charges coming, Watson is now cleared to facilitate a trade to another team.

That doesn’t mean that Watson is innocent or that the 22 different women accusing him of predatory behavior are lying — in the eyes of the court, there wasn’t enough evidence to warrant further action. That’s a frustratingly bleak reality for many sexual abuse survivors in America today, and we can’t afford to just gloss over it.

But teams will overlook a lot of baggage if a player is talented enough. The Pittsburgh Steelers overlooked Ben Roethlisberger’s sexual assault allegations. So did the Saints themselves when bringing in Jameis Winston and his own history of not keeping his hands off of women. Whichever team trades for Watson, and one almost certainly will, is going to be prepared to accept a possible NFL suspension and the negative public reaction to the move in hopes that they’ll start winning games and fans will forget about it eventually. It isn’t right. It’s the reality we’re in.

Odds are low, though, that Watson lands with New Orleans. Because he has a no-trade clause written into his contract, just like ex-Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, he has a lot of control in where his career goes next. Wilson’s reporting at Pro Football Network names the Carolina Panthers and Seattle Seahawks as better-motivated teams seeking to acquire Watson, with the Cleveland Browns also in the mix. All of those teams have better draft picks and more desperation to get Watson than the Saints do. Maybe Watson would have strong interest in New Orleans if Sean Payton were still head coach, but they may not be a preferred destination for him.

As was the case in the Seahawks trading Wilson to the Denver Broncos, any team acquiring Watson is going to have to pay a king’s ransom with multiple high draft picks and several players. Elite quarterbacks become available only rarely, and Houston is still going to demand a premium for Watson despite his baggage, negative press, and the distractions it brings.

So let’s hope New Orleans’ interest here was only cursory, in seeking to decide whether the price to pay to get Watson was too much compared to just running it back with Winston this year, or going in a new direction at quarterback altogether. They do owe it to themselves to commit their due diligence and explore all options, even some that would turn off many ardent supporters. It’s an actively changing situation. Stay tuned to see how it develops in the days ahead.

[listicle id=110168]