There has had to be some heavy lifting done in recent offseasons for the New Orleans Saints to have money to spend. They have been in salary cap hell, routinely one of the teams furthest over the cap heading into free agency. This year, it was no different.
New Orleans was once again near the bottom, which led to some players moving on quickly in free agency. Their depth along the defensive line was decimated with Marcus Davenport, David Onyemata and Shy Tuttle all departing.
Despite the losses they have endured, this offseason is still considered by many to be a win for the Saints. That is because the one big splash they did make came at the quarterback position, giving them a leg up on the rest of the NFC South division.
Early in the offseason, the Saints came away as winners in the Derek Carr sweepstakes. Carr was released by the Las Vegas Raiders days after the Super Bowl and didn’t waive his no-trade clause to approve a deal. He waited to become a free agent to cash in, landing in the Big Easy.
Acquiring Carr gives the Saints the most stable quarterback situation in the division. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will have Kyle Trask and Baker Mayfield battling it out. The Carolina Panthers are in a transition and will likely select a quarterback with the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. The Atlanta Falcons, right now, have put all of their eggs into the Desmond Ridder basket.
Carr, himself, is also a winner in this situation. He never planned on leaving Las Vegas, and certainly not in this manner, but landed in a good situation with the Saints. He is surrounded by excellent weapons in Alvin Kamar, Chris Olave and Juwan Johnson. Michael Thomas agreed to a restructured deal to come back for another season and Jamaal Williams was signed in free agency.
The Saints may not be Super Bowl contenders, but they are likely the current favorites in the NFC South, something that could not be said about them a few weeks ago. When your fortunes change that drastically, it is easy to be considered a winner in free agency.
