Saints Ripped After Rollercoaster Offseason

The New Orleans Saints entered the offseason with far more questions than answers.

New Orleans finished in last place in the NFC South in 2024 with a 5-12 record. The Saints had so much promise last year after starting the season off with two blowout wins, but things completely changed after that. The Saints finished in last place in the division, had an opening at head coach, and serious salary cap issues to worry about.

The Saints filled the head coach position with former Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, pushed some cap issues into the future with contract restructurings, and clearly aren't rebulding after making a handful of additions throughout the offseason. The team made a somewhat surprising decision to restructure Derek Carr's deal and keep him in the fold, but that isn't the case any longer after he announced his retirement.

It's been a wild offseason, to say the least in New Orleans. The Saints have had to manueveur around some serious issues and the response to the team hasn't been unviersally positive. For example, Pro Football Focus' Trevor Sikkema shared a column with offseason grades for each team and gave the Saints a "D-."

"New Orleans Saints: D-," Sikkema said. "It’s hard not to be harsh about the Saints' offseason. Unless you love the Kellen Moore hire at head coach — which was a good addition but not an immediate fix — there isn’t much to praise.

"Brandon Staley has been hot and cold as a defensive coordinator. Kelvin Banks will help an offensive line that didn’t have a single full-time player earn a PFF overall grade above 70.0 last season, but Derek Carr’s retirement gives the offense a very low ceiling. The Saints spent money at safety with Justin Reid but were already fairly solid at the position. They are still missing a major difference-maker on the defensive line. New Orleans once again decided not to lean into a full rebuild, and their 2025 projection is that of another 5-12 team."

Sikkema doesn't seem to agree with the Saints' moves so far this offseason. But, is New Orleans in a better position?

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