Dec 18, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Saints defeated the Cardinals 48-41. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Despite being tens of millions of dollars over the salary cap as the NFL free agency negotiating window began, the Saints were once again big spenders both in free agency and in moves to extend high-priced veterans years into the future, to spread out the cap hits and financial ramifications of their deals.
Whether it was reworking quarterback Derek Carr’s contract, or restructuring Cam Jordan’s deals, the Saints seem averse to spending a season trimming expensive contracts, even if it means not competing, for a season, in order to have the resources to rebuild from the ground up.
Dec 15, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints defensive end Chase Young (99) reacts to a score against the Washington Commanders during the second half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
ESPN NFL analyst Ben Solak offered a biting criticism of the Saints’ offseason, and philosophy, after New Orleans’ latest offseason spending spree.
“General manager Mickey Loomis never says die,” Solak writes for ESPN. “The Saints signed a couple of internal extensions — edge rusher Chase Young and tight end Juwan Johnson — in an understandable and shrewd effort to keep void-year money stuck in future years. Were Young or Johnson to leave in free agency, the void money on those contracts would accelerate onto the 2025 cap. With deals in place, the void money instead stays in future years, and they retain good young players. That’s fine business.
“But then the Saints signed free agent safety Justin Reid to a three-year, $37.5 million deal. That is decisively not stopping the spending and taking your salary cap medicine. It is spending 2025, 2026 and 2027 money — money the Saints do not have — in an effort to field a more competitive roster in the short term. We don’t have full details on the structure of Reid’s deal yet, but it will almost certainly be backloaded into 2027 and even borrow from 2028 and beyond. Why do this, when contention is surely not in the immediate future? Why do this, when cap health is circling the drain? I simply cannot tell you.”
Whether the Saints’ latest big spending spree winds up working out, and closes the gap on the likes of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons in the division remains to be seen, but on the surface it simply feels like another year of kicking financial consequences further down the road while getting locked into high priced contracts rather than embracing a youthful rebuild.
New Orleans Saints general manager and executive vice president Mickey Loomis Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
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Matt Lombardo is a seasoned NFL reporter, with over 12 years of experience covering the league.
In addition to his work at Gridiron Heroics, Lombardo covers the NFL for Heavy.com, is an on air sports contributor for FOX29 Philadelphia, and writes an NFL Substack "Between The Hashmarks."
Lombardo is the former Senior NFL Insider of FanBuzz, and prior to taking that role was a national NFL reporter at FanSided where he hosted a weekly podcast "The Matt Lombardo Show."
A former beat reporter for NJ Advance Media (Parent company of NJ.com and the Newark Star Ledger), Lombardo covered the Philadelphia Eagles from 2011 through the 2017 season before moving to cover the New York Giants for the Star Ledger for two seasons from 2018 through 2020.
During his career to date, Lombardo has covered five Super Bowls, four NFL Drafts, multiple NFL Combines, and has had his work frequently featured in publications such as Pro Football Talk, CBS Sports, and more.
In addition to his journalism work, Lombardo is a strong on air presence and is a former sports talk radio host on 97.5 FM The Fanatic, Philadelphia's first FM Sports Station and the radio home of the Philadelphia 76ers and Philadelphia Flyers.
