Breaking Down Saints' Loss of Cornerback Alontae Taylor

Dec 21, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints cornerback Alontae Taylor (1) reacts to sacking New York Jets quarterback Brady Cook (4) during the second half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Breaking Down Saints' Loss of Cornerback Alontae Taylor

Originally posted on New Orleans Saints on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Mar 9, 2026 3:47 PM ET

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The New Orleans Saints' cornerback room is going to be different in 2026. This has been a topic that has been touched upon over the last few weeks, but there's no need for speculation any longer on the subject.

On Monday afternoon, NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported that former Saints cornerback Alontae Taylor is in agreement with the Tennessee Titans on a three-year, $60 million deal in free agency.

"Breaking: The Titans are signing former Saints CB Alontae Taylor to a 3-year, $60M deal, per multiple sources," Schultz wrote. "Taylor was the top target for Tennessee to join Robert Saleh’s defense. He started 53 games in New Orleans and is viewed as an outside corner by Tennessee.

The former Saints corner found a new home

"Tennessee made it a strong priority to get both Alontae Taylor and Cor’Dale Flott. They got both."

Now, the Saints losing Taylor shouldn't come as much of a surprise right now. He took to X on March 6 with a goodbye message to New Orleans.

"New Orleans — thank you for letting me shine in 'The Big Easy,'" Taylor wrote on X.

What the reporting from Schultz shows is that the speculation can end now. Taylor is in agreement to leave the franchise to join the Titans and now the Saints need to chart a path forward. Fortunately, the Saints have two good building block pieces in Kool-Aid McKinstry and Quincy Riley. Free agents are flying off the board left and right, but as of writing, a few other corners who are still available are Marshon Lattimore, Tariq Woolen, Rasul Douglas and Greg Newsome, among others.

If the Saints want, they could target a top option in free agency. If not, they could always wait until the 2026 National Football League Draft in April. Regardless, the Saints are going to need to add another piece to pair with McKinstry and Riley.

Taylor had a good four-year run in New Orleans, but now he'll take his talents to Tennessee. There are plenty of options available to reasonably believe the Saints can find a solution to replace him without breaking the bank.

This article first appeared on New Orleans Saints on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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