After a brutal start to the Kellen Moore era, the New Orleans Saints may have at least found their long-sought post-Drew Brees answer at QB.
Turn out the lights, the party’s over.
With a little help from Willie Nelson, former NFL quarterback and narrator Don Meredith would routinely herald closing time before it was cool on the original editions of Monday Night Football. Alas for all but one of football’s 32 finest, it’s over before the desired Vince Lombardi Trophy hoist, as the season, or at least the championship-contending portion of it, has come to an end.
With that in mind, TeamFB7 goes over the season that was for the fallen, looking at what was, what is, and what could be. Part three centers on the New Orleans Saints.
Team: New Orleans Saints
Record: 5-10 (and counting)
Date of Playoff Death: Nov. 30
Last Playoff Appearance: 2020
What Went Wrong
Still picking up the pieces from the Drew Brees/Sean Payton era, the Saints brought in Kellen Moore as the new boss after he oversaw Philadelphia’s Super Bowl-winning offense. Even with their posting in the NFC South, where nine wins will likely produce the division winner and the home playoff game that comes with it, Moore’s debut outing felt doomed from the start.
While Moore was prepping for the Super Bowl — staged in New Orleans, ironically enough — Saints general manager Mickey Loomis and Co. were engaged in a dire financial game plan. One that produced nine figures in dead money on the Big Easy’s ledgers. Approximately $40 million alone went to retired Saints, with Ryan Ramczyk and Michael Thomas forced to leave due to injuries while Derek Carr opted for a similar fate in lieu of last ditch surgery. Over $31 million also goes to Marshon Lattimore, who was traded to Washington at last year’s trade deadline.
Unable to make any sizable splashes in the offseason (the biggest being a new $51 million deal for Chase Young, who missed the early portions of the season with a calf injury), New Orleans was resigned to another year of rebuilding, but there wasn’t much construction done early on.
Starting the year with Spencer Rattler under center, Moore’s offensive brilliance failed to manifest in a 1-8 start, the lone silver streak being a home win over the equally woebegone New York Giants. That included four straight games where the Saints put up fewer than 300 yards, an unheard-of concept in the modern NFL. Despite welcoming in a new escort in ninth-overall pick Kelvin Banks Jr. and enjoyed the continued consistency of veterans like Erik McCoy (prior to October medical departure), lingering leftover Alvin Kamara lost some carries snaps to rookie Devin Neal and is posting career-lows in average carry (3.6) and touchdowns (1).
To be fair to the Saints, they’ve handled elimination in stride. New Orleans has rattled off three consecutive playoff victories since the “e” situated itself next to its name in the standings, the first two coming against divisional foes Carolina and Tampa Bay amid their fight for the South crown. That, however, could only serve to bury the dire history New Orleans is creating in the Loomis era: the last bayou playoff run without both Brees or Payton came back in 2000, two years before Loomis took the helm as GM.
Silver Linings
— After meandering through the post-Brees era with stopgap throwers ranging from the experienced (Carr, Andy Dalton, Jameis Winston) to the failed homegrown projects (Rattler, Jake Haener), the Saints do appear to have their franchise thrower in Tyler Shough. The second-round choice posted a winning record over his first seven starts and has formed a solid rapport with the Saints’ offensive foundation led by Juwan Johnson and Chris Olave. There’s plenty of work to do but the Saints, in a welcome change of pace, don’t have to put quarterback on their offseason wishlist this time around.
— Shough wasn’t the only New Orleans freshman to leave an impact: the versatile Banks passed most of his tests amidst medically-induced turnover, third-round safety Jonas Sanker may one day be viewed as the ultimate yield of the Lattimore trade, and day three find Danny Stutsman has developed into a strong run defender. Even International Playoff Pathway Program kicking find Charlie Smyth did his part, instantly vindicating New Orleans’ decision to grant him a three-year deal out of Northern Ireland. Combine that with the progress of other post-Payton picks (i.e. Kool-Aid McKinstry, Alontae Taylor) and Loomis might be able to buy himself a little more time in the front office.
Looking Ahead
Notable Free Agents: LB Demario Davis, C Luke Fortner, EDGE Cameron Jordan, OT Dylan Radunz, EDGE Chris Rumph III, CB Alontae Taylor
Potential Cap Cuts: DT Davon Godcahux ($3.5 million), RB Kendre Miller ($1.5 million)
The Saints’ ability to make major moves could be obstructed by the dead money they’ll keep paying. Carr and Ramczyk, for example, are still due over $47 million next year and that number could only go up if some beloved franchise faces choose to join them in retirement.
New Orleans put forth a respectable effort on defense under first-year coordinator Brandon Staley and bayou staples Davis and Jordan had a big part of that. But with their contracts entering a void point, the team has decisions to make: do they opt for a full-on youth movement on defense or do they ask Davis and/or Jordan to stick around, albeit on likely lower deals?
The pass rush should be in decent shape with Young and Carl Granderson under contract, even if that duo decides to move on, and their potential interest in Ohio State standout Arvell Reese could be interesting. Keeping a homegrown veteran like Taylor could also be worth keeping an eye on considering the secondary talents (i.e. Lattimore, Paulson Adebo) that have moved from New Orleans in recent tours.
That could turn the focus over to finding weaponry for Shough, who likely won’t have the safety blanket of Kamara around for much longer: the tenured rusher is under contract for one more season but could opt for retirement while an extension for Olave (back on the fifth-year option on his rookie deal) will also be on the table. Releasing Brandin Cooks in November (adding $3.2 million more to the dead money tally) was likely the clearest sign that the team wants to bolster its weaponry.
Is There Hope?
These final hours hint that there may be a little something to get excited about in New Orleans. But Saints fans are used to fake prophets beyond Brees and Payton: they had a winning record just two years ago but were forced to start from relative scratch with the in-season firing of Dennis Allen.
Saints fans can rightfully resent being told to stop living in the past considering the checks that are still being written to long-departed talents. But they have some solid ingredients to work with in the form of a trusted quarterback and a proven offensive play-caller … for now.
The fact they play in the NFC South, where mediocrity is rewarded, also bodes well in their favor, depending on what happens abroad: Tampa Bay, for example, could look for a new coach, but they do have Baker Mayfield, while Carolina is widely viewed as a rising talent. The Saints likely won’t reach the lofty heights that their Saints established earlier in the new millennium any time soon, but there at least seems like there’s a realistically-applicable plan to make it back.
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Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
