The NFL offseason is relentless. Free agency’s biggest moves are behind us. So is the 2023 NFL draft. A new wave of veteran signings and tryouts at minicamps is spreading around the league, and it’s a safe bet that more changes are in store for the New Orleans Saints. Normally buyers, could they instead be sellers as the trade market begins to develop? Which players could be on the move for greener pastures before Week 1 in September?
It’s not as easy as saying the Saints should trade (insert underperforming player of the moment here); fans may be unhappy with someone like, say, Tre’Quan Smith or Payton Turner, but there needs to be a reason for another team to have interest in acquiring the player. If a guy is a regular source of negative plays in New Orleans, why would a competitor want to trade for him?
Something else to consider is that the trade value for veteran players (especially those without a lot of strong game tape) tends to be weak. Take that with the minimal salary cap savings involved and the Saints are probably better off holding onto any trade candidates other teams are sniffing around.
With that in mind, here are four names we’ll be watching closely over the summer as position battles take shape:
LB Zack Baun
Salary cap hit if traded before June 1: $264,762 (saving $1,242,000)
Salary cap hit if traded after June 1: $264,762 (saving $1,242,000)
The experiment in converting Baun to an off-ball role from his college job as an on-the-line edge rusher hasn’t worked out, and the Saints aren’t any deeper at linebacker for having traded up to get him back in 2020. He’s a fine special teams player but Baun is still looking for his first season with 200-plus snaps on defense going into the final year of his contract. Maybe he flips the switch and excels in much the same way Kaden Elliss did last year, but the Saints could look to move him somewhere he could shine in a different system.
Potential trade compensation: 2025 seventh-round pick
CB Paulson Adebo
Salary cap hit if traded before June 1: $515,548 (saving $861,364)
Salary cap hit if traded after June 1: $257,274 (saving $1,118,638)
Teams don’t often trade productive young cornerbacks, and we probably shouldn’t expect the Saints to move Adebo of their own volition. If he’s healthy and locked in he can still become a very good player. The issue is that he was outplayed by rookie draft pick Alontae Taylor last season and he may have lost a big supporter with longtime defensive backs coach Kris Richard moving on this spring. If Adebo falls out of favor it shouldn’t be a surprise to see another team swoop in and try to acquire him.
Potential trade compensation: 2024 sixth-round pick
LT James Hurst
Salary cap hit if traded before June 1: $2,044,000 (saving $4,717,000)
Salary cap hit if traded after June 1: $1,261,000 (saving $5,500,000)
This is unlikely to happen given Trevor Penning’s health issues, which necessitate a quality alternative if he continues to miss time — even if it means Hurst is a little expensive for a backup. But if the Saints played a game today, Hurst would be starting at left tackle, and his $6,761,000 salary cap hit is a very good value (it ranks 20th among left tackles around the league). It should take a stronger offer than teams are likely to make to pry him away, even if he’s 31 years old and a hypothetical backup.
Potential trade compensation: 2024 fifth-round pick
CB Bradley Roby
Salary cap hit if traded before June 1: $2,412,426 (saving $1,615,402)
Salary cap hit if traded after June 1: $645,475 (saving $3,382,353)
Roby is another case where the Saints would be better served waiting until training camp to make a decision. Not only will they save more money by moving him, they’ll know what they have on the depth chart around him — which would give him an idea of where he could maybe find a better situation around the league. At the same time, injuries happen, and New Orleans benefited from having Roby as a quality backup once the secondary was thinned out last season. They shouldn’t trade him just for the sake of getting younger.
Potential trade compensation: 2024 fifth-round pick
Other names to watch
- DE Payton Turner: The 2021 first-round pick hasn’t been a factor through two years, and the Saints may have just picked his replacement in second-round rookie Isaiah Foskey. Turner still has time to make a positive impact in New Orleans but the clock is ticking.
- RG Cesar Ruiz: Likewise, it’s taken some time for Ruiz to get up to speed, and if the Saints don’t plan on signing him to an extension after declining his option for 2024, it could make sense to move him. Drafting Nick Saldiveri with Calvin Throckmorton and Lewis Kidd returning does give the Saints some depth to lean on at guard.
- DE Carl Granderson: The coaching staff is very high on him so don’t expect it, but maybe things go sideways for the Saints and another team makes an offer they can’t refuse. The veteran defensive end may be their most valuable bargaining chip in a fire sale situation.
- QB Jameis Winston: It’s not the craziest thing that could happen. If a Super Bowl contender’s quarterback goes down with an injury and they aren’t confident the backups are up to snuff, maybe another team gets desperate and brings Winston in to try and save their season.
