There has to be another shoe about to drop on Malcolm Jenkins’ decision to retire from the NFL. Right now, the New Orleans Saints are running thin at safety; players under contract for 2022 include C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Marcus Maye, and special teamers J.T. Gray and Daniel Sorensen. It’s rough, and it should push the Saints to look again to free agency — starting with Tyrann Mathieu, the best safety available.
Gardner-Johnson has almost exclusively played over the slot for New Orleans, and while Sorensen has started before he’s playing on a minimum salary and shouldn’t be expected to get many minutes on defense. Maye is still recovering from Achilles surgery and could be suspended early in the season stemming from a DUI arrest last year. They need at least one more player.
Mathieu feels like an easy fit in New Orleans. Beyond his hometown hero status, he’s a three-time All-Pro who can fill many of the same play responsibilities that Jenkins has done. The Saints like to run two safeties together, and while Marcus Williams gave them enough range to patrol the top on his own Dennis Allen has expressed a preference for having two players with interchangeable skills sets. Mathieu and Maye could accomplish that as safeties with experience playing all over the field.
