The New Orleans Saints have a lot of tough decisions waiting for them after the 2022 season.
Monday’s 27-13 loss to the Baltimore Ravens showed how New Orleans has struggled in its first year after Sean Payton. Not having stability at quarterback doesn’t help, nor does star wideout Michael Thomas being sidelined with an injury for another season.
The 3-6 Saints will most likely leave the 2022 season with a lot of questions to answer, and no playoff berth to mark Dennis Allen’s first year as head coach.
New Orleans has roughly -$55 million in 2023 cap space according to Over the Cap, with a lot of money tied up into the team’s cornerstone players. The team doesn’t have any ability to sever ties with any of its bigger contracts, with the only path forward to cap relief a number of costly restructures that would push more money down the road.
To even get close to having even around $34 million in positive cap space next spring, the team would have to rework the deals for 12 of its players on contract for 2023.
The team also has key players set to hit free agency next spring, including pass rusher Marcus Davenport, defensive tackles David Onyemata and Shy Tuttle, cornerbacks Bradley Roby and P.J. Williams, running back Mark Ingram and wideouts Jarvis Landry and Deonte Harty.
That’s a good bit of talent the team isn’t guaranteed to keep, and they also to set some money aside to sign the 2023 draft class. That group will be without a first-round pick, with the Saints trading theirs away to the Philadelphia Eagles last year to facilitate the trade-up for wideout Chris Olave.
Trading for Olave has worked out in the short term, but it’s left the team without the ability to snag a first-round quarterback prospect in the upcoming draft.
The Saints aren’t dead in the water yet, but they’ve got a lot of issues to work through in the offseason. One wonders how long it’ll take them to find themselves above water.
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