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Just two New Orleans Saints players carry salary cap numbers higher than $10 million for the 2020 season. Unsurprisingly, one of them is Drew Brees; the quarterback is due to count $23.65 million against the 2020 salary cap, more than any of his teammates.
However, the second-ranked contract might raise fans’ eyebrows. That’s right guard Larry Warford, who slots in with a $12.875 million salary cap hit. While Warford has been productive and reached the Pro Bowl as an alternate in each of his first three years with the Saints, his 2019 efforts have reportedly drawn internal criticism from the Saints. He needs to shed some bad weight and execute blocks better in the final year of his deal.
While the Saints aren’t hurting for cap space right now, getting out of Warford’s contract could help out in a big way. An outright release or trade would free up $7.75 million to spend this year.
But who could trade for him? The Athletic’s Sheil Kapadia suggested the Seattle Seahawks give up a third-round pick to take Warford’s contract off the Saints’ hands:
The Seahawks have two second-round picks and two fourth-round picks and can afford to give up the No. 101 selection.
On one hand, that would be a risky move for the Saints. Their focus is on trying to win a Super Bowl. On the other hand, if they felt like Warford’s play was starting to slip last year and liked what they saw out of Easton, perhaps it’s something they might consider.
A trade might make more sense after the draft if the Saints use an early selection on an interior offensive lineman and are willing to accept compensation for the 2021 draft.
The Saints may have an in-house replacement for Warford in Nick Easton, who had logged more NFL snaps at guard than center when the Saints signed him last summer (and he ended up playing 409 snaps in seven games, predominately at left guard). But as noted by Kapadia, it’s also possible that the Saints could target an interior lineman in this year’s draft before deciding to trade Warford. That wouldn’t pay off immediate dividends but it would open the door for a rookie draft pick to help out right away. With a few compensatory draft picks on the way in 2021, acquiring another asset for Warford would give the Saints a strong resource pool to work with later on down the road.
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