The New Orleans Saints have their work cut out for them this offseason. They are once again in rough shape when it comes to the salary cap and has already begun restructuring contracts to get under the cap.
This year, the Saints have to accomplish that while also navigating the quarterback market. New Orleans doesn’t have a starting option currently under contract with Andy Dalton’s contract expired and Jameis Winston looking like a salary-cap casualty.
The Saints can check in on a veteran such as Derek Carr, but it will take a lot more work to fit the kind of contract he is likely to demand into their salary structure. As a result, the Saints will have to get creative when filling their need for a starting quarterback.
One intriguing suggestion would be going after Tyler Huntley of the Baltimore Ravens. All eyes are on Lamar Jackson when it comes to the Ravens quarterback position, but Huntley is set to hit restricted free agency this offseason as well. If the team can work out a long-term deal with Jackson, Huntley could be made available.
The asking price in such a deal would come down to the kind of tender that the Ravens place on Huntley. He is eligible for a first- or second-round tender depending on how much Baltimore wants to pay him. The first-round tender would pay him $6 million in 2023, certainly a palatable number for a backup quarterback.
But, that tender wouldn’t keep a team from giving him an offer sheet. Over at Bleacher Report, a $10 million offer was used as a number that could give the Ravens pause about matching. That is a lot of money for a backup quarterback, especially if they end up agreeing to a deal with Jackson that will likely pay him an AAV of $45M-50M.
In that scenario, the Saints would be flipping their first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, No. 30 overall, to the Ravens in exchange for Huntley. Unlikely to find a Day 1 starter at the quarterback position at that point in the draft, so it would make a lot of sense for New Orleans to pursue such a move.
$10 million and a first-round pick is palatable when considering what it could cost to land one of the other free agent quarterbacks. A bona fide starter is going to demand at least three times that amount. Currently, with zero wiggle room under the salary cap, the Saints would be ecstatic to get a capable starter for that price.
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