Saints Star Could Request Trade; Chargers Make Sense

Could the New Orleans Saints send one of their most talented players to the Los Angeles Chargers?

Trade rumors have been swirling around three-time Pro Bowler Tyrann Mathieu all offseason long, mostly due to his age, a factor noted recently by FanSided’s Romell Williams.

“Mathieu is still a productive player, but at 33 years old, his trade value is dwindling,” Williams wrote. “If the Saints pivot towards youth or try to cut costs, he could be one of the first to go. … He’s not worth a high draft pick anymore, but a sixth or seventh rounder, or a player swap could get a deal done. A playoff contender team would be tempted to do this deal.”

Mathieu is far from washed, and he’d have plenty of suitors if the Saints made him available. Jumping off of Williams’s report, Last Word On Sports’ Anthony Palacios recently floated the idea of Mathieu landing with the Chargers.

“As Mathieu enters his final year of his contract, it would make sense for the Saints to trade (him),” Palacios wrote.

“The Saints don’t look like contenders this year, so it shouldn’t be surprising if the veteran himself requests a trade and hopes to land with a contender. At age 33, he knows his time is winding down, and just like his trade value, the Saints need to act fast as soon as they see they don’t have a real chance of making it to at least a wild-card round.”

“The Los Angeles Chargers made a lot of investments in their secondary unit after losing Kristian Fulton to Kansas City, and the team might not be done yet,” Palacios continued. “Head Coach Jim Harbaugh wants to win football games in the trenches, but it looks like the Chargers are taking a different direction after the acquisition of Donte Jackson and Benjamin St-Juste. This means the Los Angeles secondary might look dramatically different, but it may pay its dividends this upcoming season.”

Mathieu, originally the No. 69 overall pick in the 2013 NFL draft out of LSU, has tallied 838 tackles, 11 sacks, seven forced fumbles, 100 pass deflections, and 36 interceptions in his illustrious career, which has included a Super Bowl LIV title with the Kansas City Chiefs.

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