Quarterback Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints announced his retirement following the 2020 NFL season. Sean Payton, the team’s longstanding head coach, left a year later. When these two actions were combined, most teams would fully reset and begin a new period. The Saints adopted an other strategy. They attempted to hold on to the winning culture that had been developed in the previous era and strove to keep the majority of their highly compensated veterans.
Sadly, there hasn’t been much success down that route. Instead, in the three seasons since Brees made a comeback, New Orleans has struggled with mediocrity, finishing 9-8, 7-10, and 9-8 and missing the playoffs each time. Now that the Saints don’t have a roster, they will be about $80 million above the cap as they head into the offseason.
This fact ought to put New Orleans in a position to have to decide whether to make a drastic change and let go of important veterans.
Is it time for the Saints to start rebuilding?
It’s not like New Orleans is dealing with a brand-new cap scenario. The Saints figure out a way to get under the salary cap every summer. All that’s really magic is a collection of rearranged contracts that punt the can down the road. By paying out a lot of old contracts, the Saints are delaying the inevitable—a multi-year period during which they will be unable to build with great veterans.
To combat this, New Orleans would ideally assemble a youthful, skilled roster that would allow it to both improve its cap situation and stay competitive. Unfortunately, because New Orleans is the NFL’s oldest franchise, that shift hasn’t happened. As a result, the Saints must decide whether to cut off the Band-Aid, let go of their oldest and highest-paid players, and settle for the outcomes that the players on the roster still produce.
While that process will soon need to begin in New Orleans, the time is not right now. The 2024 season ought to serve as a pivotal year as the team is ready to start its second season under Derek Carr and its first under offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. In the absence of a significant
