ten: The 10 players who could be moved after Sean Payton departure .
.
.The New Orleans Saints are going to probably look drastically different in 2022.
With the surprise stepdown of head coach Sean Payton, the team needs a new leader and will probably empty out some cap space ahead of the meat of the offseason.
That means a good number of familiar faces could be elsewhere next season.
New Orleans missed out on the playoffs in 2021–22 for the first time in four years.
It finished second in the NFC South with a 9-8 record, breaking a streak of four straight NFC South division titles.
The Saints started the season 5-2 before injuries to quarterback Jameis Winston and several other stars dashed any hopes of success.
Looking ahead, NFL.com has listed 10 candidates on the Saints roster who could be traded or released before the new season.
Get the fastest scores, stats, news, live videos and more.
Click here to download the CBS Sports mobile app and get the latest news on your team today.
Let’s look at 10 Saints players who could be moved this offseason, according to NFL.com, as the team potentially goes in a completely different direction.
NFL.com’s Nick Shook also provided potential buyers for each player.
Potential buyers: anyone who needs a reliable kicker.
Lutz has been pretty reliable for the Saints throughout his career.
Sometimes the position is pretty interchangeable and you can easily go out and find another particularly solid player.
But NFL.com made an exception that there’s really no reason to trade a player with a cap value of more than $5 million, unless it’s Justin Tucker of the Baltimore Ravens.
Perhaps Lutz will become a candidate next year.
Potential Buyers: Las Vegas Raiders, Seattle Seahawks, Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots.
Another veteran presence on the defensive line who could be gone before the start of the 2022 season.
His cap hit for 2022 is $10.
169 million and despite having a first season effectively, New Orleans could break the relationship.
With a trade or early release, New Orleans would take home less than $1 million in dead money.
Not bad for the team if Roby is no longer a Saint.
Potential Buyers: Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans.
Onyemata restructured his contract last offseason to help New Orleans deal with its cap issues.
His 2022 cap hit is $13.
17 million, but NFL.com suggested the team could release him immediately just to wipe their hands of it.
He is one of the highest-rated defensive linemen according to PFF, but the Saints may feel like they wouldn’t get enough in a trade.
Potential Buyers: Las Vegas Raiders, Seattle Seahawks, Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots.
Another veteran presence on the defensive line who could be gone before the start of the 2022 season.
His cap hit for 2022 is $10.
169 million and despite having a first season effectively, New Orleans could break the relationship.
With a trade or early release, New Orleans would take home less than $1 million in dead money.
Not bad for the team if Roby is no longer a Saint.
Potential Buyers: Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans.
Onyemata restructured his contract last offseason to help New Orleans deal with its cap issues.
His 2022 cap hit is $13.
17 million, but NFL.com suggested the team could release him immediately just to wipe their hands of it.
He is one of the highest-rated defensive linemen according to PFF, but the Saints may feel like they wouldn’t get enough in a trade.
Potential buyers: Las Vegas Raiders, Washington Football Team, Pittsburgh Steelers.
This is an interesting case. Hill is getting paid a lot of money and his 2022 cap number is $12.325 million. While he was a favorite of Sean Payton, Hill looks a lot more expendable to a new coach. Hill can do it all on offense: pass, run, catch and block. But as a quarterback, he lost in a competition to Jameis Winsotn and also saw Trevor Siemien and Ian Book get the nod over him as well. Finding a trade partner might be difficult considering his money. But the potential buyers are very interesting, such as the Pittsburhg Steelers, who could welcome in a lot of quarterbacks to find a replacement for Ben Roethlisberger.
(Photo: Chris Graythen/Getty Images, 247Sports)
Potential buyers: Seattle Seahawks, New York Jets, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars.
Jordan is a Saint through and through but it might be time for the team to move on from the elite defensive end. If New Orleans is able to trade Jordan with a post-June 1 designation, they can clear $15 million off the cap. That’s big savings for a team looking to possibly rebuild at this point. Jordan logged 12.5 sacks in 2021, so any team would vye for his services. A team like the Colts listed above could use Jordan’s pass rushing ability considering they just missed the playoffs in 2021.
Potential buyers: New York Jets, Miami Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars.
At his peak, Thomas is one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. However, he hasn’t been heard much over the last two years, playing in just seven of 33 games. In 2020, Thomas caught just 40 passes for 438 yards. Unfortunately for the Saints, the team is paying Thomas a lot of money ($19.25 million) for little to no production after historic seasons prior to injuries. A change of scenery might be needed for both parties.
Potential buyers: New York Jets, Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins, Seattle Seahawks.
Kamara not being in the Saints backfield would be very interesting and frankly, weird. He received a five-year extension that paid him the team’s fifth-highest average annual salary at $15 million. If the Saints commit to a total rebuild, Kamara could fetch back a nice bounty in a trade, but he could be considered untouchable. If the Saints do want to keep him, a contract restructure could be in order to save money and keep the most talented offensive player on the roster.
About The Author
Leave a Reply