The New Orleans Saints are in a weird spot heading into the 2024 season. They don’t seem to be good enough to contend for a Super Bowl, but they aren’t anywhere near bad enough to expect to land near the top of the draft order.
Given the level of competition in the NFC South, the Saints can certainly make a run at a division title. But, how beneficial would that be for the long-term health of the franchise?
Instead of playing the middle, New Orleans has to eventually pick a route to take. While they would love to contend and be one of the best teams in the NFL, that doesn’t look to be in the cards with how they are currently constructed.
As a result, Matt Holder of Bleacher Report has urged the team to rebuild during the 2024 season.
“Over the last several years, the New Orleans Saints have begun the offseason in “cap hell” with a significant amount of negative cap space. While general manager Mickey Loomis has developed a reputation as a cap wizard, consistently digging the club out of the hole, what has that really done for the Saints in the big picture?
The answer is one word: mediocrity,” Holder wrote.
That is the worst place for a franchise to be. The middle ground doesn’t allow for big moves to be made so that a direction can be selected.
The Saints certainly operated as a team that wanted to make strides when they signed Derek Carr as a free agent in the 2023 offseason. It was far from solely his fault, but New Orleans didn’t elevate to that next level with him under center.
Expect him to be on a short leash in the 2024 season. If the Saints get off to a slow start, Dennis Allen could be fired and the beginning of wholesale changes could be underway.
“While players like Cameron Jordan, Damrio Davis and Tyrann Mathieu are still quality defenders, they’re also 35, 35 and 32 years old, respectively. On the other side of the ball, the offense led by 33-year-old quarterback Derek Carr and 29-year-old running back Alvin Kamara,” wrote Holder.
Pulling the plug of a core isn’t easy, but it is what the New Orleans Saints need to strongly consider doing. Giving some playing time to rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler to see what he has would be smart.
If he plays well, that could be one less hole the team needs to fill in the future. Should he struggle, it likely means the losses piled up and the team lands a high draft pick to add an impact player to the roster.
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