Official 2024 Free Agency Discussion
 

Where do the Saints spend money in FA this season?

Who would you like to see in Black and Gold next year?



https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/

Re: Official 2024 Free Agency Discussion
 

Need to free up some first ... lots of work ahead.

Re: Official 2024 Free Agency Discussion
 

We've got some $34.5 million in roster bonus for simple conversion. Should free up some $28-$29 million.

It looks like we can free up an additional $91 million through simple salary conversions.

We also have $3.6 million in 2023 rollover. All of this can be done with no, or minimal, player or agent intervention so it is readily available.

So, without any negotiated contract restructuring we can cover the annual deficit and have up to around $39-$40 million available for free agency and draft picks (usually around the $5 million range).

That's easily enough for a dozen or more free agent signings with the way Harley structures the deals.

Re: Official 2024 Free Agency Discussion
 

Dorance Armstrong - DE Dallas Cowboys

Very consistent player that gets in the backfield.

Saints need more effective pass rushers badly. Running QBs have killed N.O.

Re: Official 2024 Free Agency Discussion
 

Marcus Davenport and Sheldon Rankins are available.

:D

Re: Official 2024 Free Agency Discussion
 

A TE.

The Saints have been meh at the position ever since Jared Cook left.

Noah Fant

2024 Saints Off-Season General News and Discussion
 

Thought we needed a catch all spot for general news and discussion for the off-season content.

Re: 2024 Saints Off-Season General News and Discussion
 

Re: 2024 Saints Off-Season General News and Discussion
 

Looks like they're already starting the salary cap shell game. Carr is likely to take restructure. So it looks like with that and the 'No Trade' clause, it looks like he's a Saint for the forseeable future.

This is the horse we're riding for good or ill, so strap yourselves in for the ride guys!

https://saintswire.usatoday.com/2024...ary-cap-space/

Re: 2024 Saints Off-Season General News and Discussion
 

If we are smart, which in my experience Mickey Loomis is not, we can realistically move on from Carr in spring 2025. His 2024 $30 millionsalary was guaranteed so we could not save anything much by cutting him, and although the restructure will make the dead cap higher to cut him in 2025 we had to restructure 3/4 of our veterans and it does not matter that much which we choose as long as we cut some of the lousy ones not some of the good ones. It becomes a sunk cost whether the restructure is Carr or Jordan or McCoy etc. Restucturing Carr does guarantee his 2025 $10 million roster bonus but his $30 million 2025 base salary is not guaranteed. $10 million guaranteed is a lot easier to move on from than $30 million guaranteed but the dead cap hit to cut in in 2025 would be big, like $50 million, but at least we save that $30 million to offset. The big thing we need to do to be smart is to get ourselves in a better position with the 2025 cap so we can afford to move on from Carr if needed. To do that we need to use whatever small amount of cap flexibility we can create in 2024 to move on from other aging vets without guaranteed salaries, not to add players to win now as if Hunter Renfrow will be our answer to Patrick Mahomes. If we take some cap hits to offload a few plyers like Thomas, Winston, Kamara, Ram, Lattimore trade, Hill, etc, not all but some, we can free up cap to have options with Carr in 2025. If we go all in, Carr could go 0-17 and curse the popes name to Gayles facr and we will have to restructure him for life.

Re: 2024 Saints Off-Season General News and Discussion
 

There will be pain.

Re: 2024 Saints Off-Season General News and Discussion
 

There was never any chance Carr wouldn't be our QB for the foreseeable future. The deal they signed with him was always structured to have simple restructures of salary and roster bonuses. Carr doesn't have to "take" anything. Our contracts always carry the clause where the team can convert those dollars to signing bonus and prorate without any further player input. It's really no difference to them in most cases. In fact, in some cases they can even get their cash sooner. That's what's nice about having a cash rich owner like Ms. Benson.

Re: 2024 Saints Off-Season General News and Discussion
 

Raiders and Bucs both have their OC positions penciled in.

But alas there are TJ Hooker reruns that Mickey needs to watch.

https://media1.tenor.com/m/g8eXtlVGR...-sarcastic.gif

Re: 2024 Saints Off-Season General News and Discussion
 

NOLA.com’s Luke Johnson reports the Saints plan to restructure Derek Carr’s contract before the start of the new league year.

The league’s new year starts March 13. The restructure essentially means Carr will be with the Saints through the 2025 season. He’ll count as a $35.7 million salary cap hit next season if the Saints don’t scramble to redo the deal and get under the cap. It’s a familiar situation for the perpetually cap-strapped Saints. In his first year as New Orleans’ starter, Carr threw for 3,878 yards and 25 touchdowns along with eight interceptions. He was 17th in adjusted drop back EPA, just ahead of Russell Wilson. Johnson said the Saints “believe [Carr] is the right quarterback to lead the team.”

Source: NOLA.com

Re: 2024 Saints Off-Season General News and Discussion
 

Carr is tough and a competitor. With the injuries he had this season, most would have missed 2 to 6 games. His attitude greatly changed by the end of the season and he was playing well. I would like to see Milton drafted and sit behind Carr for a couple years. Dude has rare arm talent.

Re: 2024 Saints Off-Season General News and Discussion
 

....and as long as fools like to part with their money....Ms Benson will stay rich owning a mediocre team... :beatnik:

Re: 2024 Saints Off-Season General News and Discussion
 

We'll have to keep waiting if our new OC is on the 49er's staff. We're not allowed to sign a coach still active although I have heard that "wink, wink" deals are not unheard of.

Re: Official 2024 Free Agency Discussion
 

Here's one free agent we need to keep. We've let too many go over the past few years and not because we couldn't afford them.

Re: Official 2024 Free Agency Discussion
 

Linebacker and guard.

Re: Official 2024 Free Agency Discussion
 

Keep an eye on KC Chiefs Drue Tranquill.

Big game experience, legit tackler & gets to the QB.

Won't break the bank either.

I'd also move on from Zach Baun.

Re: 2024 Saints Off-Season General News and Discussion
 

The hypnosis runs deep.

Re: Official 2024 Free Agency Discussion
 

Spend on the DLine (especially DE).

Draft the OT, WR and LB.

Re: Official 2024 Free Agency Discussion
 

Anybody good from our farm team.... the J E T S ?

Re: 2024 Saints Off-Season General News and Discussion
 

It's not hypnosis for most of us (well maybe for Guido). It's just an understanding that we're stuck with the status quo. If you ask most folks here if they could swap the owner/GM/HC/QB most would try to upgrade one or more of those positions.

It's just that most of us see this "we have lemons, let's try try to make lemonade" as opposed to you and a few others with "we have lemons, let's complain and starve because it isn't caviar. While looking for that word autocorrect popped up the word caviler which seems to describe you perfectly: a person given to harsh judgments and to finding faults

SFIAH

Re: 2024 Saints Off-Season General News and Discussion
 

The 1st half of the season our O-line was a sieve. Carr was forced to either throw too early, resulting in "hospital" balls or he had to take a sack.

I feel if we fix our O-line then Carr can be that QB that could lead us deep into the playoffs.

But as long as we have a terrible O-line, Carr, as well as any other QB, will fail.

Mission 1 this offseason is O-line.

Re: 2024 Saints Off-Season General News and Discussion
 

Nope. Not hypnosis here. I simply know when something is totally outside of my control I choose to make the best of it. Being a Saints fan gives me enjoyment. I'm not going to ruin that feeling by looking for things of which to complain. So I would fall into that vast majority that make up your lemon example, albeit far more vocal than most. Those much smaller numbers on the other end of the spectrum would rather ***** and moan about those things that they have no ability to change. They are far more vocal, I suppose because there's nothing else they can do, and never accept the reality that there is nothing they can say or do that can change anything.

Re: 2024 Saints Off-Season General News and Discussion
 

Bingo!

I feel the problem was that the offensive line falls under the control of the offensive coordinator and that same person ended up showing certain leadership shortcomings. Yes, as HC Allen was ultimately responsible, but given the fact that he runs the defense he needs an OC that can handle more control on that other side. I'm hoping that Kubiak can be that man and brings in what help he needs.

Re: 2024 Saints Off-Season General News and Discussion
 

As a long time Saints Fan, I am entitled to vent my harsh judgments and fault finding in a Saints Forum. Y’all are entitled to sit with the same basket of lemons, and make as much lemonade as you wish. I prefer to demand caviar from a multimillion dollar enterprise. Or at least, a nice slice of NY Pizza. I’m talking and venting about a professional football team. You’re talking about me.
That’s the only difference between us.

Re: 2024 Saints Off-Season General News and Discussion
 

I would post an image of a cow sh*tting into your smiling mouth, but It would require almost as much effort as our Saints putting a winning team on the field next season, which AINT gonna happen.

Re: 2024 Saints Off-Season General News and Discussion
 

This response is one of those "somethings" "you simply know is totally outside of your control."
Show Us It's True "you accept the REALITY that there is nothing YOU can say or do that can change anything"

Re: 2024 Saints Off-Season General News and Discussion
 

I agree that our biggest problem on the field is offensive line. The problem is that even if we fixed that problem alone I don't think we contend with the top teams, and we are unlikely to fix that problem.

With a good offensive line Carr, is a B-level quarterback but still not a Mahomes type. To win with a B level QB we need a lights out defense.

But our offensive line is likely to be hard to fix. Ramczyk was our best or 2nd best oline last year and has a degenerative knee condition. Peat plays the most important position on our oline at Left Tackle and held up surprisingly well last year but is aging and injury prone overall, although he is our best option there unless we draft Left Tackle in the 1st round. We have limited draft picks and the least salary cap space of any team in the NFL, plus oline is very hard to address in free agency as teams typically only let go players who are aging and injury prone.

Erik McCoy is a solid Center, but its hard to build the entire oline around a center. Plus McCoy played 17 games last year but only managed 12-13 the previous two years, so there is a risk that he reverts to the mean. Cesar Ruiz was sub-mediocre for a couple years, his contract was running out and he tried harder and was a little above average, we got excited and paid him, and he returned to mediocrity once the check cleared. He is not a terrible liability but he is punching a clock out there. And at LG we have nothing, Hurst is a mediocre journeyman, if we get a new LT and move Peat back to LG then Peat is a mediocre injury prone journeyman there. And the worst answer to any of this is Penning, who will be kept in case a spark lights up, but 90% he is worse than anyone on our practice squad at any position.

So even if we go oline in the 1st round or sign a big oline in free agency, we are not one player away from a solid oline, we need to go all in to fix the oline.

But if we go all in to fix the oline and succeed, what do we have? We still have a B-level QB and that means we need a top defense to win. But then Jordan, Davis, and Lattimore are all a year older, and likely our defense regresses. Dennis Allen has put together some very defenses but still could not win it all with Brees and Payton running the offense. So to win it all with Carr, DA would need to put together his best defense ever, a Ray Lewis or Warren Sapp or Von Miller type defense. If he was ever going to do that, I see no way its now with our aging core, broken cap, and all the draft picks and free agency money going to oline. We are just too many players away to fix this without a full rebuild, even if oline is where that rebuild should start.

Re: 2024 Saints Off-Season General News and Discussion
 

Never said that you didn't have a right to it. Just saying that just because most of us don't agree with the depth of your assessment that we are somehow "hypnotized". Do I think the Saints might be better with an innovative offensive minded head coach? Sure. That Loomis gets stuck in a loop with older players that get less productive? That too. But I'm pretty sure that neither are going to change their stripes. So, I see the reality: a 9-10 win football team that could do better with some improvements in the lines, and a bit of luck in terms of health. That's not hypnotism.

SFIAH

Re: 2024 Saints Off-Season General News and Discussion
 

What I call “hypnotism” is whatever makes some of y’all happy with everything you just described.

Re: 2024 Saints Off-Season General News and Discussion
 

If I understand you correctly, you are saying we should all learn to like what we don't have the power to change. That sounds like Stockholm Syndrome. Personally, I prefer to sit back and hope for the swat team to rush in. Or more realistically I hope for Gayle Benson to notice a cooling of the public adulation toward her when she attends various civic and religious functions and galas and to decide to make some popular changes to be the belle of the ball again.

Re: 2024 Saints Off-Season General News and Discussion
 

You seem to think that anything less than winning it all is a failure. I feel like most devoted fans take pleasure in the journey and do not hang their hat upon final destination. There are 32 teams in this league. Not every one will have a Mahomes, or even a Brees. Not every one will have a killer offensive line. What the realistic and devoted fans of all of those teams want more than all is to be able watch and support their teams knowing that they stand a reasonable chance of winning each week. They also understand that chances are they will not win every week. Winning a championship is icing on the cake, but knowing only one team every year reaches that pinnacle these fans take pleasure in that stated journey, win or lose.

As for Gayle Benson, don't you worry, the overwhelmingly vast majority of people out there are not shallow enough to hang their admiration of that wonderful woman based upon anything as trivial as the accounting methodology and the staffing of the team that she has committed to retaining in their city for the foreseeable future, win or lose.

Re: 2024 Saints Off-Season General News and Discussion
 

I think (not SEEM to think) that anything less than winning, is by definition, LOSING. I know (not think) that you seem to enjoy it.

Re: 2024 Saints Off-Season General News and Discussion
 

I have found a deep psychology/pathology in these threads. People who tend to believe themselves powerless to change anything, learn how to accept and enjoy dismal and disappointing situations. The barely mediocre culture that the Saints front office and staff are firmly operating within, is trickling down to the fans who cheer for more of the same, which signals “all the right people in the building” to “just keep doing what they’re doing”.

Re: 2024 Saints Off-Season General News and Discussion
 

Very few are happy. It's just that most of us are not going to wallow in the misery of not seeing any change. It has to be brutal to think that everything here is crap and nothing is going to change. You seem prepared to go the 2, or 3, or 5, or 10 years or more of not seeing the change that you seek. You keep equating acceptance of reality with being happy. They are not the same.

SFIAH

Re: 2024 Saints Off-Season General News and Discussion
 

“2, or 3, or 5, or 10 years or more of not seeing the change that you seek…”

That right there ^^^ is enough to inspire a good bit of wallowing.

Re: 2024 Saints Off-Season General News and Discussion
 

I dont expect us to be in the Super Bowl every year but what I take pleasure in is the process of a realistic plan to get there. If we went 7-10 after cleaning out the cap and came in 2nd place in the division while getting some exciting wins against division rivals with a young up and coming team and lots of cap space I would view that as part of a process toward possibly winning it all a year or two down the road and would be excited. If we went 3-14 during a rebuild and got the #1 overall pick and a new head coach i would not love the 14 losses but i would be excited about a new season with a new head coach. If the next season we went 9-8 with an affordable rookie qb, young core, and cap space I would feel the sky is the limit for the coming seasons. I want a long term plan to win it all, not this year, not every year, but some year, and any year its possible. With Brees I felt we were a threat to win it all every year, if we could make a bad defense into an average one and a a few balls bounced our way.

But what we have now does not excite me. 9-8 with all in maxxed cap trading draft picks and deferring cap dollars to 33-35 year olds into 2028 does not seem like a plan to win it all in 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027, or 2028. It seems like a plan to hope to settle for 9-10 wins and one week of playoffs, best case scenario. I want to strike fear into the Chiefs or 49ers etc, if not now, down the road. I enjoy the a process too, but I enjoy the process of ambition, not contentment with medicirity. The process of ambition can start from the lowest of the low. It could be a 5 win season when you aren’t expected to win 1 because you did everything to clear the cap. But its not a process of settling. It’s not a process of saying 2nd place in the division every year is good enough because in the 1970’s we were last.