Free agency gets more and more difficult for the New Orleans Saints every time it rolls around.
Thanks to many years of salary cap mismanagement, the Saints continue to stretch the payroll ever thinner, even as their playoff success has evaporated over the last four seasons. Coming off a 5-12 season, the Saints have less bandwidth to add top-tier players than any other NFL team.
That said, the Saints definitely have to try to make some power moves. They have a first-time head coach, former Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, who will be looking to spark a turnaround in year one.
Perhaps Moore will be able to convince one of his Super Bowl champion Eagles players to make the leap of faith with him to this New Orleans squad.
On Monday, USA Today’s John Sigler named Eagles outside linebacker Josh Sweat as the top free agent target the Saints “should want to sign” this spring.
“Sweat is coming off a strong 8-sack season and he could form a really dangerous pass-rush tandem with Carl Granderson at the outside linebacker spots,” Sigler wrote. “With Cameron Jordan declining and Chase Young headed for free agency… New Orleans needs new talent on the edge. ”
“Getting someone skilled in the defensive scheme (the Saints will) likely be running would be huge. The question, like every year, is whether they could afford him.”
Sweat, 27, has spent his entire seven-year career in Philadelphia to this point, making a Pro Bowl in 2021 and racking up 43 sacks and 97 quarterback hits. He had 2.5 sacks of quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the Eagles’ dominant Super Bowl LIX victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Sweat is currently projected for a three-year, $56 million contract by Spotrac. That won’t be easy for the Saints to afford by any means, but if they make it clear from the jump to Sweat that he’s their top priority, perhaps they can find a way to make the finances work.
