Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Signs point to a new era for Saints
NEW ORLEANS — Signs point to new era dawning for the New Orleans Saints, even if an opportunity remains to keep together much of the young core that has powered the club to four consecutive NFC South titles.
The Saints must be ready for Drew Brees to retire after he started at quarterback for 15 years. They also must decide how to approach extension talks with prominent young players such as cornerback Marshon Lattimore, sack leader Trey Hendrickson and right tackle Ryan Ramczyk, among others.
The potential for greater-than-usual roster upheaval this offseason is why Sunday’s 30-20 loss to Tampa Bay in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs was particularly disheartening for a number of Saints players.
When the previous three seasons ended, there was relative certainty about which front-line players were likely to be back. Now, much less so.
“Guys are aware of how contracts and everything like that works and who will be leaving and different things like that,” said defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins, a 2016 first-round draft choice who is scheduled to become a free agent this offseason. “We definitely felt like this was a year, with the talent we have and the guys we could throw at people, that this was a year where we really got to capitalize and be able to make that run”
Center Ryan McCoy said Monday that he hadn’t watched video cut-ups of Sunday’s game as he normally would have because he “couldn’t stomach it.”
“This one hurt,” McCoy said. “This one hurt a lot.”
Still, Rankins sees a strong franchise culture built by Coach Sean Payton, and a core of talented players who are relatively certain to be back — including running back Alvin Kamara, receiver Michael Thomas and linebacker Demario Davis (Arkansas State) — who could help the Saints sustain success going forward.
“The foundation they put in place is beautiful, something that anybody would want to be around,” Rankins said. “I think it bodes well going forward.”
Brees, who turned 42 on Friday, has not made his intentions known publicly. He declined after Sunday’s playoff loss to confirm recent widespread speculation about his plans to retire after this season.
The past two seasons have been tough on him physically. He missed five games in 2019
with a throwing hand injury that required surgery. He missed four more this season with multiple fractured ribs and a collapsed lung.
Rankins said the notion that Brees might be done in the NFL is “crazy to think about.”
“He’s been doing it at such a high level for so long,” Rankins said. “That hasn’t really sunk in with me just because I know he can still go out there and compete and be one of the best in the league.”
The Saints have team options to keep Lattimore and Ramczyk, but going that route could create a salary cap hardship. It could benefit the Saints more to reach longterm extensions with both to spread out the 2021 cap hit over subsequent years.
Like Rankins, 2020 sack leader Trey Hendrickson is due to become a free agent.
After a relatively quiet first few years of his career since being drafted in 2017, he broke out in his fourth season with 131/2 sacks.
Safety Marcus Williams and linebacker Alex Anzalone are other members of the Saints’ 2017 draft class who are scheduled to become free agents.
The Saints are expected to confront some salary cap challenges this offseason, which could mean either renegotiations or the outright release of some productive veterans.
Linebacker Kwon Alexander has a backloaded contract calling for about $25 million in base salary over the next two seasons. Tight end Jared Cook, defensive tackle Malcom Brown and offensive lineman Nick Easton are other veterans who could be cut if they don’t renegotiate more cap-friendly deals.