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.