New Orleans Saints swing and miss on big-time free agent signing once again

The New Orleans Saints' offseason outlook just got a bit tougher. They've made some notable free agent additions along their defense, but one more remained over the past couple of weeks.

Star safety Justin Simmons visited with the Saints last week. Safety remains the team's biggest roster need on the defensive side of the football. Simmons left New Orleans without a deal, and that usually is not a great sign.

In fact, that was the case. To begin this week, Simmons took a visit to the Atlanta Falcons. Clearly, that went well enough to earn him a new deal with the Saints' biggest rival.

Saints lose to Falcons in free agent pursuit of Justin Simmons

The Saints lose out on one of their largest targets of the offseason. To make matters worse, their toughest competition in the NFC South has added two veteran talents in the last 48 hours. Edge rusher Matthew Judon joined Atlanta on Thursday in a trade with the New England Patriots.

Simply put, the miss is unacceptable for New Orleans. Simmons' deal with Atlanta is for one year, worth $8 million.

The Saints easily could have made a deal like that work on their books and even had more cap space than the Falcons to work with in their negotiations with the former Pro Bowl defensive back.

Saints HC Dennis Allen challenged the rostered safeties earlier this week, too. His strong statement pointed to an even bigger need to add talent at the position than some may have believed prior.

Allen's harsh truth points to how badly the Saints may actually need Simmons - rather than just want him. Straightforwardly, New Orleans cannot afford to see Simmons sign elsewhere and feel comfortable about the back end of their defense to begin this year. -- A to Z Sports

Not to mention, the Saints had connections to Simmons on their roster and staff. The positives working in their favor were clear, and yet, they leave empty-handed.

Overall, New Orleans' incapability to finish this deal with Simmons could leave the biggest hole on their roster wide open to begin the 2024 regular season.

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