The New Orleans Saints were a part of the playoff push during the 2023 NFL season. Thanks to being a part of the lowly NFC South and having one of the softest schedules in the league, the team was in contention until the final weeks, but lost the division to the Buccaneers thanks to a tiebreaker as both teams finished with a 9-8 record.
NFL: 3 Questions The Saints Must Answer This Off-Season
NFC cut candidates: Alvin Kamara, Aaron Jones among potential cap casualties of free agency frenzy (via @MattOkada)https://t.co/xr3khLB2me pic.twitter.com/qmFLbpHPyx
— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) February 19, 2024
The Saints will have plenty of work to do this off-season if they want to have a winning record again in 2024. They have by far the worst salary cap situation heading into the spring, and will have some decisions to make as far as getting rid of/restructuring some of their high-priced contracts. They are currently just shy of $82 million over the salary cap, nearly $30 million further in the hole than any other team in the league.
So what moves will they have to make this spring? Here are three questions that the Saints must answer during the 2024 NFL off-season:
1. Who Should They Cut To Save Money?
Tough decisions are coming when it comes to some of the big name players on the team. There are more than a handful of guys whose contracts no longer match their levels of production, and who are now prime candidates to become cap casualties.
Alvin Kamara is still a high-level producer, but the Saints can save over $11 million in 2024 if they cut or trade him after June 1st. Michael Thomas also has a contract worth getting rid of, and there is over $7 million available if they part ways with safety Marcus Maye.
2. Can They Get More Draft Capital?
New Orleans has a couple of nice value picks in the first two rounds, as they are the owners of the 14th and 45th overall selections in the upcoming NFL Draft. And while they have seven picks after that, none of them are coming before the 5th round.
The Saints own four 5th round picks, three of them compensatory. They’ll make two selections in the 6th round and then one in the 7th to close things out. So while they are near the top of the list in terms of total picks, not many of them are first or second day selections, and the team could be looking to make some deals in order to climb back up into the 3rd and 4th rounds.
3. Which Wide Receiver Will They Add To The Mix?
One of the many positions that will need addressing this off-season is the wide receivers, especially if they part ways with Michael Thomas. If they did, there would only be two wide receivers on the active roster in Chris Olave and A.T. Perry, and the team would likely have to go hunting in the bargain bin in order to find targets for Derek Carr this coming season.
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