The Saints appear to be gearing up for the end of an era based on recent veteran contracts.
The New Orleans Saints needed to work some contract magic with some of their highest-paid veterans in order to come in under the salary cap. The contracts of players like Erik McCoy, Derek Carr, Cam Jordan, and others were renegotiated. The Saints chose to add other veterans to new contracts in order to achieve the sa jective: a reduced cap hit in 2024.
With linebacker Damirio Davis (who inked a two-year contract worth $17.25 million) and safety Tyrann Mathieu (who inked a two-year contract worth $13 million), New Orleans adopted that strategy. These transactions clearly signaled the creation of cap space for the 2024 season, but they also suggest something more. The Saints are getting ready for an official era’s conclusion.The Saints will probably see significant changes throughout the next few seasons.
Following Sean Payton’s departure and Drew Brees’ retirement, New Orleans declined to start over. Rather, the Saints made every effort to hold onto the past, which was a prosperous time for the team. Regretfully, clinging to the past has resulted in three subpar seasons and an unavoidably dire cap scenario. It’s becoming obvious that the Saints will eventually have to make the decision to let go of many of its key veterans.
It appears that New Orleans is preparing for this day through the design of veteran contracts. After signing a two-year extension back in August, veteransJordan will also become a free agent in 2026, following the terms of his new contracts with Davis and Mathieu. Taysom Hill, an offensive weapon, and running back Alvin Kamara are similarly affected.
It isn’t by accident. All of these deals were probably put up in this manner by the Saints so they could start a new era in their franchise’s history. This implies that New Orleans will need to win big in these next two seasons, especially in 2024. The Saints will aim to achieve two goals. Clearly, the first is winning. Winning a Super Bowl is the primary goal, but there is a lot of money invested in outstanding veterans who are nearing the conclusion of their careers.
Developing a youthful core of talented players is something else that New Orleans needs to do. The only way to ensure a seamless transition is to establish this core before all of these veterans go. In order to avoid having to spend years struggling through a reconstruction, the Saints will want to have young players in position and ready to take over.It will be crucial to treasure the final years of the franchise’s essential players while the squad looks for this young talent.
