Offseason In Review: New Orleans Saints

A pre-draft trade with the Eagles and then another swap with the Commanders vaulted the Saints up to No. 11 for Olave, and he is 3-for-4 in 1,000-yard seasons to start his career. Olave’s lone three-digit receiving season (2024) came when he suffered two concussions and was shut down. Olave, who has suffered four known concussions as a pro, considered retirement but responded with a career-best season in 2025.

En route to second-team All-Pro acclaim, Olave posted 1,163 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. This helped Shough finish as the Offensive Rookie of the Year runner-up despite not being named the starter until Week 9. The Saints had decided before Olave’s resurgence they were interested in a long-term partnership, having begun negotiations nearly a year ago. The deal, which included a brief hold-in, wrapped not long after Olave’s clearance from a blood clot issue that ended his ’25 season one game early.

While the position’s market saw its ceiling raised during negotiations — via ex-Olave Buckeyes teammate Jaxon Smith-Njigba‘s $42.15MM-per-year Seahawks extension — the team managed to reach a reasonable deal with its top skill-position player. The Saints made Olave the NFL’s ninth-highest-paid receiver, slotting him between A.J. Brown and Amon-Ra St. Brown (he has since dropped to 10th via the Ravens’ Zay Flowers extension). The Brown and St. Brown contracts being agreed to in 2024, when the cap stood at $255.4MM, could position Olave’s pact as team-friendly.

The Saints also did not agree to a rolling guarantee structure here, separating this from a host of recent big-ticket extensions. Olave did secure a March 2028 guarantee on his 2028 compensation ($23MM), and $13MM of his 2027 compensation ($27MM) locks in that March. But not having year-out protection favors the Saints.

If history is a guide here, the Saints will turn to this contract for restructures in future offseasons (as no void years are attached yet; give it time). That will make moving on from Olave more difficult, as the Derek Carr process showed. But for now, the team has its top target signed through 2030 at an AAV more than $11MM south of Smith-Njigba’s.

It is worth wondering if Olave could have gotten more. Envisioning his numbers with better quarterback play than what the Carr, Spencer Rattler and Andy Dalton years brought would stand to have boosted this price. But New Orleans completed a non-top-market agreement with a player whose deal will pair with Shough’s nicely in the coming years.

This offseason did not bring the volume of Kamara headlines 2023 or 2024 did. A suspension cloud followed Kamara in 2023, while a lack of extension progress set up a possible divorce a year later. The Saints circled back to an extension (two years, $24.5MM) for the best running back in team history during the 2024 season, but 2026 brought more separation rumors after Travis Etienne‘s arrival.

Etienne’s $12MM AAV nearly matched Kamara’s 2024 agreement, and the ex-Jaguars first-rounder’s skillset certainly does not complement the longtime Saint’s in the way Mark Ingram‘s or Latavius Murray‘s had. The Etienne agreement felt different, and for a while it appeared like the Saints would part with their nine-year RB mainstay. Like in 2024, however, the sides reached a compromise to extend the relationship. It took a sacrifice on Kamara’s part.

Securing $19.23MM at signing when he inked a second Saints extension in 2024, Kamara earned a $3MM guarantee for the ’26 season by remaining on the team’s roster last March. The Saints already reduced Kamara’s cap number from $18.12MM to $10.45MM via the CBA’s 50% rule, which stipulates a player’s salary and bonuses need to come in above the remaining prorated amount of that year’s signing bonus, earlier this offseason. A simpler resolution kept Kamara around but at a reduced rate.

Kamara, 31, will be the first Saints running back to play 10 consecutive seasons with the team. Ingram played nine, across two stints, while RB-turned-special-teamer Fred McAfee reached 10 Saints slates across two stints. New Orleans drafted Kamara in the 2017 third round, as part of an impact class Loomis and Jeff Ireland assembled, and he played a lead role in the team’s late-2010s turnaround. Kamara started his career 5-for-5 in Pro Bowls, as the Saints made four straight playoff berths from 2017-20. Kamara’s descent from that peak coincided with New Orleans’ 2020s fall.

Injuries have also nagged the productive vet; most recently, an MCL sprain ended a Kamara season and provided a push for the Saints to sign Etienne. Kamara missed the final six games of last season, after a bounce-back 2024 that featured 1,493 scrimmage yards. He had consistently voiced a desire to be a one-team player, invoking retirement amid trade rumors last fall. Teams eyed Kamara in trades after the Etienne pledge as well, and while Kamara said in early June no pay-cut request had emerged, that did end up being where this situation ended not long after.

Kamara broke into the NFL as a lethal situational back, as Ingram served as the starter in 2017. It looks like the Saints will try to return their all-time rushing leader to that role. As he will attempt to complement Etienne, Kamara did not add any new years to his deal this time around. The contract still expires after the 2026 season. Kamara can earn up to $8.5MM via incentives on the revised deal.

Free agency additions:

• David Edwards, G. Four years, $61MM ($30MM guaranteed)
• Travis Etienne, RB. Four years, $48MM ($24MM guaranteed)
• Kaden Elliss, ILB. Three years, $33MM ($23MM guaranteed)
• Ryan Wright, P. Four years, $14MM ($7MM guaranteed)
• Noah Fant, TE. Two years, $8.75MM ($4.5MM guaranteed)
• Martin Emerson, CB. One year, $1.52MM ($650K guaranteed)
• Zach Wilson, QB. One year, $1.4MM ($599K guaranteed)
• Anfernee Jennings, ILB. One year, $1.4MM ($188K guaranteed)
• Ty Chandler, RB. One year, $1.22MM

Sean Payton has signed a host of Saints since becoming the Broncos’ head coach, and he attempted to lure Juwan Johnson away last year. Loomis, however, won that free agency duel. Loomis, the second-longest-tenured pure GM in NFL history (behind only Hall of Famer Tex Schramm), prevailed against his former coworker again this offseason.

Etienne chose the Saints over the Broncos, keying a chain reaction that led Denver to re-sign J.K. Dobbins. The Broncos were believed to be shocked when the former first-round pick ended up In New Orleans, but it took a strong guarantee for the Saints to win that derby.

Benefiting from the Jets keeping Breece Hall off the market via the franchise tag, Etienne secured two fully guaranteed years. Entering free agency, only two RBs on non-rookie deals were tied to more fully guaranteed money (Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry). Despite the gradual decline of running back value, both Etienne and Kenneth Walker ($28.7MM) commanded considerable attention.

Etienne did so despite being nearly two years older than Walker. The 27-year-old back, who stayed for his senior season at Clemson and missed his rookie NFL campaign due to a Lisfranc injury, did very well on the market and will be supplanting Kamara atop the Saints’ depth chart.

The Saints did not give Kamara that much fully guaranteed on either of his extensions, showcasing the power of the open market (and the salary cap’s steady growth since 2022). Etienne certainly does not have Kamara’s resume, having yet to make a Pro Bowl. He also stumbled through the 2024 season, seeing Tank Bigsby cut into his role. The Jaguars then drafted Bhayshul Tuten and LeQuint Allen last year, but Etienne reemerged to help the Jags win their most games since 1999. Jacksonville’s new regime traded Bigsby and moved Etienne back to an every-down role. He responded with 1,399 scrimmage yards and a career-high 13 touchdowns.

The three-time 1,000-yard rusher has shown pass-game ability in the past, via a 476-yard 2023 season, but that has not been a key part of his game over the past two seasons. Etienne-Kamara does not profile as a classic thunder-and-lightning duo, with Etienne checking in at 215 pounds. But it would appear the Saints will give Etienne the bulk of their run-game work while Kamara settles back in as a change-of-pace/aerial option.

This pursuit marked a significant pivot from the Loomis-era Saints. They had relied on homegrown RBs for most of their carries (Kamara, Ingram, Pierre Thomas, Reggie Bush, Deuce McAllister) during Loomis’ GM stay. Prior to the Etienne signing, the most the Saints had guaranteed a free agent RB under Loomis was the $8.15MM given to Jamaal Williams in 2023.

New Orleans did not need to provide any guarantees beyond 2027 to land Etienne, but the team did need to do so in order to sign Edwards. Third-year guarantees are still fairly rare for non-quarterback or star-level talent, but Edwards rebuilt his value in Buffalo. As a result, he received two fully guaranteed seasons and a $10MM early guarantee for 2028.

If Edwards is on the Saints’ roster by Day 3 of the 2027 league year, he will see $10MM of his ’28 salary lock in. Edwards will see the rest of his 2028 base salary guarantee on Day 3 of the ’28 league year. Coming out of a competitive market, this is a wildly player-friendly contract for a player who had been tied to a two-year, $6MM Bills deal.

This contract is a long time coming for Edwards, who needed a midcareer reset to command it. A concussion-marred 2022 season depressed the former Super Bowl LVI starter’s value, leading to a one-year Bills deal worth just $1.77MM. Edwards worked as a backup for the 2023 Bills, but after the team released center Mitch Morse the following March, Connor McGovern slid to center and Edwards moved to the left guard spot he once held in Los Angeles. Edwards excelled there for two seasons, but the Bills prioritized retaining McGovern over him in free agency.

With this guard market lacking quality in terms of second-contract-seeking players, Edwards (29) checked in 24th on PFR’s top 50 free agents list. Part of an O-line that powered James Cook to a rushing title, Edwards finished last season 10th in run block win rate among all interior O-linemen while also ranking 12th among guards in pass block win rate. The Saints will ask the resurgent blocker to solidify a left guard spot that has seen continuity issues form since the team kicked Andrus Peat back to tackle during the 2023 season.

Elliss returns after three years in Atlanta. The former Saints draftee followed ex-New Orleans exec Terry Fontenot to Georgia, and even entering an age-31 season, the oldest of the NFL’s three active Ellisses (along with the Patriots’ Christian and Broncos’ Jonah) still secured a nice upfront guarantee. Kaden Elliss got there by being a durable player whose versatility resembles Demario Davis. With Davis exiting Louisiana after eight years, Elliss will step into that role alongside Pete Werner.

A strong blitzer like Davis, Elliss tallied 12.5 sacks in three Falcons seasons. He did not miss a game with Atlanta, notching five sacks for a then-rush-deficient Falcons team in 2024. Over the past two seasons, Elliss has 26 QB hits. That leads all non-rush linebackers in that span; no one else with this job description tallied more than 20. With the Jets hoping to benefit from the ageless Davis, Elliss’ blitz skills — also on display via a seven-sack 2022 Saints season — will likely be of good use in Brandon Staley‘s New Orleans defense.

Demoted to the third-string level by the Dolphins after residing there with the Broncos in 2024, Wilson is running out of chances. Wilson received a $6MM Miami guarantee after sitting behind Bo Nix and Jarrett Stidham in Denver, but the former No. 2 overall pick’s New Orleans money better reflects where his career currently stands. It is worth wondering if Wilson’s status will affect Rattler’s. While Rattler (14 career starts) would probably retain the QB2 gig ahead of Wilson — based on where the BYU product’s trajectory — a trade should not be ruled out.

The Saints have lost Marshon Lattimore, Paulson Adebo and Alontae Taylor over the past three years. Emerson represents a decent bet due to his Browns work before a 2025 Achilles tear. Loomis said post-draft the Saints had aimed to land a cornerback in the early rounds, and Emerson ended up signing soon after.

The former third-round pick moved past Greg Newsome to become Denzel Ward‘s top Cleveland sidekick. In a 12-start 2023 season (on a career-high 87% snap share), Emerson allowed a paltry 46.3 passer rating as the closest defender. That helped the Browns lead the league in pass defense that year. Emerson was not as good in 2024, with Pro Football Focus ranking him 112th among qualified CBs, but he was still expected to start before the Achilles tear last summer. A bounce-back opportunity exists in New Orleans.

Re-signings:

• Cameron Jordan, DE. One year, $7.5MM ($7MM guaranteed)
• Dillon Radunz, OL. Two years, $7MM ($4.2MM guaranteed)
• Chris Rumph, LB. One year, $2MM ($2MM guaranteed)
• John Ridgeway, DL. Two years, $5.72MM ($1.65MM guaranteed)
• Julian Blackmon, S. One year, $2.54MM ($1MM guaranteed)
• Terrell Burgess, S. One year, $1.4MM ($25K guaranteed)

Playing long enough to be teammates with John Kasay (born 1969) and Jordyn Tyson (born 2004), Jordan is a Saints institution. He broke Hall of Famer Rickey Jackson‘s 33-year-old franchise sack record last season, roaring back with a 10.5-sack campaign after two down years. Jordan’s 132 sacks sit 17th on the official list. A host of Hall of Famers — DeMarcus Ware, Richard Dent, Jared Allen and Lawrence Taylor — can be realistically caught this year. Jordan can move into the top 10 all time with seven sacks this season. It is possible the 2011 first-rounder needs this year to cement Canton status.

It is obviously arguable Jordan has already done enough for enshrinement. The New Orleans ironman will soon break Brees’ longevity record, being set to become the only player in Saints history to play 16 seasons with the team. Jordan will present a longevity-based Canton case, as he “only” has three All-Pro honors (two second-team placements) on his resume. But last season gave him a seventh double-digit sack slate.

Jordan, 37, played a pivotal role in the Saints reemerging as a Super Bowl contender in 2017 — his first-team All-Pro season — and he has now signed six contracts with the team (not counting restructures). Jordan accepted a pay cut after a four-sack 2024 season; that came after a two-sack 2023. He played for $6.1MM last season but secured more after his 2025 resurgence.

The Saints made an offer well before the contract became official (in mid-June), and the accomplished vet considered leaving. The Saints had proposed a multiyear deal to K’Lavon Chaisson, who chose a “prove it” Commanders contract instead. Jordan may well have finished his career elsewhere had Chaisson joined the Saints.

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Jordan now works as a complementary piece to Chase Young, with Carl Granderson carrying a heavy workload as well. Jordan played 48% of the Saints’ defensive snaps in 2024 and 54% in ’25; those rates are way down from his usage over the first 13 years of his career. Hall of Famers Julius Peppers and Dwight Freeney occupied similar late-career roles, and the Saints will hope for one more quality season from the proven pass rusher. Jordan, who did not sign until after Saints minicamp, has said Year 16 will be his last in the NFL.

Seeing his 2025 season nullified by injury, Blackmon re-signed in January. The veteran starter worked with the Saints’ first unit during the offseason program. This meant Jonas Sanker — a 2025 fifth-round pick who started at safety last season — saw time in the slot in a secondary also housing Justin Reid at safety. Staley viewed Sanker as a clear-cut candidate to replace Taylor in the slot. While the boundary position opposite Kool-Aid McKinstry is open, Sanker looks to have solidified the other CB post.

Notable losses:

• Ugo Amadi, S
• Jonathan Bullard, DL
• Will Clapp, C (retired)
• Demario Davis, ILB
• Luke Fortner, C
• Taysom Hill, TE
• Foster Moreau, TE
• Dante Pettis, WR
• Ja’Lynn Polk, WR (retired)
• Jack Stoll, TE
• Alontae Taylor, CB
• Samori Toure, WR
• Jonah Williams, DL
• Landon Young, T

Although Davis is unlikely to overshadow Jackson or fellow Dome Patrolman-turned-Hall of Famer Sam Mills in Saints linebacker lore, his accolades and dependability at advanced age create one of this era’s top off-ball LB resumes. Only a two-time Pro Bowler (as the increasingly unimportant event regularly limits off-ball LBs’ inclusion), Davis is a five-time All-Pro. Each honor came during his Saints run, and all five came after his 30th birthday.

Davis, 37, reunited with ex-Saints assistant Aaron Glenn on the Jets — on a two-year, $22MM deal. A non-quarterback securing $15MM guarantee at signing at 37 is rare, and while it would have been highly atypical for the Saints to deploy two 37-year-olds on their defense, they received quality showings from both Jordan and Davis at 36.

Davis completed his usual high-usage season — from 2020-25, the 14-year veteran played between 97-100% of the Saints’ defensive snaps — and finished with a career-high 143 tackles. PFF continues to view Davis as an elite ILB. The advanced metrics site slotted him fifth among off-ball ‘backers in 2025; Davis ranked in PFF’s top 10 at his position in six of his eight Saints seasons. Elliss has big shoes to fill.

PFF’s evaluations do not always align with front offices’ views, however; Taylor is a prime example. PFF ranked the versatile cornerback outside the top 100 at his position from 2022-24 and only ranked him 53rd last season. Our free agent list expected a big Taylor market to emerge nevertheless, as the former second-round pick had logged more than 1,500 snaps on the perimeter and in the slot with New Orleans.That materialized. Our top-ranked FA corner signed with the Titans on a three-year, $58MM deal. His $42MM guaranteed at signing ranks sixth among CBs, and it took four-year commitments for all but one of the players above him to land those upfront figures.

Neither Lattimore nor Adebo impressed upon leaving New Orleans, though the latter — who signed a three-year, $54MM Giants deal in 2025 — still has time to turn things around. While New Orleans is set to deploy Sanker at the star position in Staley’s defense, the team has a spot to fill on the outside.

Emerson, Quincy Riley and Isaac Yiadom are options opposite McKinstry. The two who do not land starting jobs represent decent depth here. Emerson brings the most first-string experience, while Riley logged 594 defensive snaps as a fourth-round rookie last season. Yiadom also impressed with the Saints in 2023. That was in Dennis Allen‘s defense, however, and the now-30-year-old CB made only one start under Staley last year.

The Saints are not re-signing Hill, who is not believed to have received an offer. In light of this, the free agent is naturally being linked to the Broncos. The chess piece Payton deployed tormented Brees and Kamara fantasy GMs for years, and the Saints continued to value the historically versatile talent well after the HC’s departure. Hill (36 this month) played out a four-year, $40MM deal last season. He eclipsed 650 scrimmage yards twice on this contract (2022, 2023) and even after suffering an ACL tear, the BYU alum totaled 63 touches in 2025.

A 2017 waiver claim, Hill will go down as having one of the most interesting careers in Saints history and being one of this NFL era’s most intriguing players. He finished his Saints run with 34 rushing touchdowns — to the chagrin of Kamara’s legions of non-Loomis GMs — to go with 11 receiving scores and 12 TD passes. Hill added two receiving scores in the playoffs. The former UDFA threw 308 regular-season passes as a Saint; among non-QBs, that is in its own stratosphere in the post-merger NFL.

The Saints acquired Polk and a 2028 seventh-round pick in exchange for a 2027 sixth last September. That certainly represented a value freefall for a player chosen 37th overall in 2024. New Orleans acquired Polk from New England knowing he’d miss all of last season, but after nearly a year with the NFC South team, the ex-Washington Husky called it quits at age 24. The Saints had just used three draft choices on wide receivers, providing a locked-in starter and hopeful depth.

Draft:

• Round 1, No. 8: Jordyn Tyson (WR, Arizona State) (signed)
• Round 2, No. 42: Christen Miller (DT, Georgia) (signed)
• Round 3, No. 73: Oscar Delp (TE, Georgia) (signed)
• Round 4, No. 132 (from Seahawks): Jeremiah Wright (G, Auburn) (signed)
• Round 4, No. 136: Bryce Lance (WR, North Dakota State) (signed)
• Round 5, No. 172 (from Seahawks): Lorenzo Styles (S, Ohio State) (signed)
• Round 6, No. 190: Barion Brown (WR, LSU) (signed)
• Round 7, No. 219 (from Raiders): TJ Hall (CB, Iowa) (signed)

The Saints and Rashid Shaheed were headed toward a divorce at season’s end, so the team cashed out and collected fourth- and fifth-round picks for the speedy wideout. Shaheed’s exit left a vacancy opposite Olave, and the Saints acted.

Having a clear plan to pay Olave while rostering Shough’s rookie contract, New Orleans added a player many viewed as this draft class’ highest-ceiling wideout. Tyson and Shough will be tied to rookie deals for the foreseeable future, complementing Olave and Etienne’s contracts.

Connections to the top receivers in this draft emerged. The Saints met with Tyson, Carnell Tate and Makai Lemon. New Orleans’ No. 8 slot was viewed as Tate’s floor. While the Titans took Tate off the board at No. 4, the Chiefs viewed the Saints as a threat for area product Mansoor Delane (Loomis later said he did not make a call about moving up from No. 8). Kansas City traded up three spots to nab the LSU corner, and after the Commanders passed on filling their evergreen need for a Terry McLaurin complementary piece, the Saints pounced.

Shough, Tyson and tackles Kelvin Banks Jr. and Taliese Fuaga being on rookie deals — all can be retained on those pacts through at least 2028, via Fuaga’s fifth-year option — offers intrigue that reminds of where the team was during the late 2010s. Brees’ contracts paired well with the Kamara, Michael Thomas, Ryan Ramczyk and Erik McCoy rookie deals.

The Saints are still carrying $36.7MM in Carr dead money, and the void years-driven pain extends to recently departed FAs (Davis, Hill), retired players (Ramczyk, Tyrann Mathieu) and even players re-signed (Jordan, whose dead cap hit is $18.76MM). More than just about any other team, New Orleans needs productive rookie-deal players.

Tyson has a serious knee injury — ACL, MCL and PCL tears — along with a 2024 broken collarbone and pre-draft hamstring trouble on his medical sheet, and Tate’s floor was deemed higher. But some teams preferred Tyson’s ceiling to the Jeremiah Smith Ohio State sidekick’s. A mid-April workout brought tremendous Tyson attention and seemed to boost the Pac-12-turned-Big 12 pass catcher’s stock. Injuries affected Tyson’s stock, but it is safe to say the buzz on the 6-foot-2 prospect built to the point the Saints did not get a discount in the draft.

The Colorado transfer impressed with 1,101 receiving yards in 2024, and he was limited to nine games in 2025. The twitchy traits that had Tyson rated as this class’ top wideout in the past showed up at the right time, as the pre-draft workout brought connections to him going even higher than No. 8. The resurgent receiver secured a $32.49MM guarantee from the Saints, whereas Lemon — chosen 20th by the Eagles — is tied to a $20.81MM rookie pact.

More may be on Miller’s plate after the Saints lost Bryan Bresee to a training camp ACL tear. New Orleans rosters 2025 trade pickup Davon Godchaux and veterans Nathan Shepherd and John Ridgeway, but losing Bresee deals a major blow to the team’s defensive line.

A 2025 first-team All-SEC performer, Miller brings a track record as a strong run defender who played in multiple spots with the Bulldogs. Godchaux is heading into an age-32 season and is a 2027 free agent-to-be. The coast could be clear for the 321-pound Miller to start by 2027, but he should be a key part of the Saints’ D-line as a rookie.

A pre-draft report hinted at Saints interest in wide receiver and tight end help; both areas were filled by Round 3. The Miller Georgia teammate arrives with a modest college resume (zero 300-yard receiving seasons). He did not flourish as a receiving option after Brock Bowers‘ exit. The Saints have some time to groom Delp, however, with Juwan Johnson and Noah Fant rostered. The vets are respectively headed into age-30 and age-29 seasons, highlighting the need for a younger option behind them.

Trades:

• Acquired OLB Tyree Wilson, No. 219 from Raiders for No. 150
• Dealt P Kai Kroeger, 2028 seventh-round pick to Texans for 2028 sixth-rounder

The Wilson trade came after the Saints made an offer for the Giants’ Kayvon Thibodeaux. New Orleans is believed to have offered New York a fourth-rounder for the inconsistent former top-five pick. The Giants balked, and it looks like — despite drafting hybrid linebacker Arvell Reese at No. 5 — they will keep their EDGE surplus going into the season. After a Thibodeaux trade did not materialize, the Saints took a shot on a far less impressive former top-10 draftee.

Chosen seventh overall in 2023, Wilson wildly underwhelmed as a Raider. The Texas Tech product, who was rumored to be challenging Will Anderson Jr. as the top EDGE prospect that year, did not come especially close to giving Las Vegas a Maxx Crosby wingman. Wilson has shown glimpses, but the Saints did not need to part with too much to acquire him.

The Raiders gave Wilson seven starts and used him both as an edge rusher and interior disruptor. While Wilson did combine for 14 TFLs over the past two seasons, the 26-year-old is very much an unfinished product. Las Vegas re-signed Malcolm Koonce and added Kwity Paye during the period when the Crosby-Ravens trade was still on, but after Baltimore reneged on the deal a day later, Vegas held a crowded EDGE room.

The team’s third-round selection of Keyron Crawford made Wilson — a Josh McDaniels-Dave Ziegler draftee — expendable, and the Saints suddenly have a crowded OLB corps. Wilson will fight for time in a group headlined by Young, Granderson and Jordan.

Other:

• Exercised Bryan Bresee‘s $13.93MM fifth-year option; DL suffered ACL tear
• Declined OLB Tyree Wilson‘s $14.48MM fifth-year option
• QB Spencer Rattler came up in trade rumors
• QB Derek Carr considering comeback
• Placed OL Nick Saldiveri on reserve/PUP list
• Hired Will Clapp as offensive assistant
• Assistant special teams coach Kyle Wilber interviewed for Packers’ ST coordinator job
• Added 10 UDFAs

As Wilson predictably saw his new team decline his option, Bresee joined Lukas Van Ness and Myles Murphy as D-line option uncertainties. The Saints bet on the former No. 1 overall recruit. That turned out to be pivotal for Bresee, who did not make it into August healthy.

Bresee, 24, impressed more in Dennis Allen‘s system than Staley’s. He racked up 7.5 sacks and 14 QB hits in 2024 while finishing with 2.5 and eight in those categories in 15 2025 games. The Clemson product will have a crucial 2027 season to prepare for, as the Saints have not yet received a strong return on their first-round investment.

Illustrating the risks restructures can bring, Carr’s $36.7MM cap hold is by far the largest on the Saints’ 2026 payroll. Carr retiring after the Saints turned to his deal for cap space on multiple occasions brought the fourth-largest single-player dead money hit ($50.13MM) in NFL history — behind Tua Tagovailoa, Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers (Jets version).

Despite rumors Carr was seriously considering a return, the retired middling QB drew minimal trade interest. The Saints hold the 35-year-old passer’s rights for one more season. The Bengals and Colts kicked the tires on a Carr unretirement last year; the Saints would have needed to move him off their reserve/retired list for Indianapolis to have had a post-trade deadline crack at him. A contender facing an emergency QB need would seem to be the only way the Saints could scrape together any trade value here.

Top 10 cap charges for 2026:

1. Cesar Ruiz, G: $14.2MM
2. Alvin Kamara, RB: $11.39MM
3. Erik McCoy, C: $10.32MM
4. Chase Young, DE: $9.61MM
5. Chris Olave, WR: $9.57MM
6. Carl Granderson, DE: $9.47MM
7. Juwan Johnson, TE: $7.61MM
8. Davon Godchaux, DT: $7.14MM
9. Nathan Shepherd, DT: $7.12MM
10. Kelvin Banks Jr., LT: $6.3MM

The Saints’ newly assembled young core on offense (feat. Brees-era O-linemen McCoy and Ruiz) accompanies a defense that will have four starters plus Jordan in their 30s by season’s end. It is worth wondering if New Orleans has enough talent in 2026 to capitalize on Shough’s rookie contract. While the Saints ranked ninth in defensive EPA per play last season, the Shough- and Rattler-led offense ranked 27th in that metric (and 28th in points).

But thanks to residency in the NFL’s worst 2020s division (by far), they shouldn’t need Seahawks- or Rams-level roster strength to snap a playoff skid. Yet to book a post-Brees postseason berth, the Saints still have dead money comprising more than a third of their cap sheet. Considering the power players atop the NFC, true contention does not appear in play for 2026. But a playoff berth and a path to a future where contender status is logical should be in play given the issues gripping the Buccaneers, Falcons and Panthers. If Kellen Moore and the Olave-Tyson tandem can foster true Shough development, this very well might be the NFC South favorite.