What In the World Is Going On With the Saints?
What In the World Is Going On With the Saints? originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
After years of waiting for the New Orleans Saints to finally bite the bullet on their woeful salary cap situation and strip their current, dilapidated iteration to the ground in order to spark a rebirth, some seismic changes finally happened this offseason.
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First-time head coach Kellen Moore replaced Dennis Allen, a holdover from the Sean Payton era as former defensive coordinator, and the Derek Carr experiment finally closed after his injury-induced retirement.
But are those changes big enough to actually get the Saints pointed in the right direction again, and return them to any kind of relevance in the NFC South race anytime soon?
In last week's episode of "Best Podcast Available," I sat down with Fox Sports' Greg Auman to talk about what in the world is going on with the Saints right now, and how it could impact their future.
"The problem with New Orleans is that they didn't do that," Auman said of the Saints blowing it all up and embracing a complete rebuild. "They could have pulled off the band-aid a lot neater than they did. There's definitely a lot of pushing the cap down the road, but it's still gonna be a thing."
Injuries forced Derek Carr into an early retirement.Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images
Carr's retirement was actually a blessing for a team struggling under the weight of salary cap problems years in the making, saving them millions by not having to pay an aging quarterback who had struggled to stay healthy since joining the team as a high-priced offseason addition.
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"They got a huge break with the Derek Carr thing," Auman said. "To basically get a $30 million check back from a quarterback they weren't going to play, is awesome. That's a gift in the right direction."
To replace Carr, the Saints spent a top-40 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft on Louisville's Tyler Shough, who seemed to make a late push up the board despite the fact that many evaluators and media analyst had him pegged as a Day 3 pick. Thanks to multiple season-ending injuries that elongated his college career, Shough will turn 26 years old during his first NFL season, but perhaps by default, he's the likely Week 1 starter in New Orleans.
"Quarterback isn't a position where you can have a lot of half-measures," Auman said, channeling his inner Mike Ehrmentraut. "I feel like they have an unusual tack to the position, which is kinda like putting up 35-footers in basketball. If you take a fourth-round pick, it might work out. Jake Haener might be a star, and if he isn't, you try a year later with Spencer Rattler in the fifth round. Now, you try again with a 26-year-old rookie. Tyler Shough could be great. We don't know that. But there's not a lot of precedent for somebody that old finding success in the NFL as a rookie, or . . . period," Auman said.
Second-round pick Tyler Shough will be a 26-year-old rookie quarterback in the NFL.Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
Brandon Weeden, Chris Weinke and Aidan O'Connell isn't exactly the best company for your hopeful franchise quarterback, but the Saints are banking on Shough being the exception to the rule.
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"If you throw for 15 touchdowns, you're the best ever," Auman said of rookie quarterbacks aged 25 or older.
There are some positive signs for the future when it comes to the Saints' roster construction in recent years, though.
Last year, they spent a first-round pick on a stud offensive tackle in Oregon State's Taliese Fuaga. This year, they used a top-10 selection on another one, grabbing Texas' Kelvin Banks Jr. to plug in immediately at left tackle, which should allow Fuaga to go back to his more natural spot on the right side.
"They now have two offensive tackles they should be able to believe in," Auman said. "And that's them accepting that Trevor Penning isn't an answer. There are lots of other places they could have used those picks, so to spend a top-10 pick on another tackle is trying to anchor and upgrade a foundational part of your team long-term, and that's smart."
First-round pick Kelvin Banks Jr. should solidify the offensive tackle position for years to come.Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
For years, the Saints' defense was a reliable strength and a point of pride, even as they struggled through the post-Drew Brees/Sean Payton era on offense. But that unit has increasingly started to show the signs of age and those pesky cap issues, exposing a group that just keeps getting older while not getting any cheaper.
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"The defense is not a whole lot better," Auman said. "And part of the problem with the Saints' cap hell is that you're essentially married to all the same people, because you literally can't afford to cut them. I think Cam Jordan's last three years have been 2-4-2 in sacks. Just a really bad drop-off. Demario Davis hasn't dropped off as much, but he's also 35 years old. Tyrann Mathieu . . . there are guys they continue to count on far beyond an age at which you expect them to be contributors. And I think this is probably the last year for those three."
The Saints have struggled to find high-quality defenders through the draft, and having those high-priced veterans locked on the books thanks to constant restructuring of contracts has forced them to let other promising players walk in free agency, some of them thriving elsewhere.
"Try to think about an impact draft pick that they've hit on for the defense in the last four years, and it's tough," Auman says. "They don't keep Zack Baun, and he's a first-team All-Pro for the Eagles at $4 million. And that's a situation where you can't afford to keep your depth, and it's hard to get somebody to stay for not a lot of money, on not a great team."
Kellen Moore has his work cut out for him as a first-time head coach.Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
There's understandable hope that Moore can inject life into what had become a stagnant offense, but it'll take time for those new pieces to build chemistry, and they're not likely to resemble the peak of the Brees/Payton days anytime soon.
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"This is a new era for them," Auman said. "Kellen Moore, how will he take, especially with not a lot at quarterback? But it allows you to turn a page offensively. I mean, you think about what they've done with offensive coordinators in recent years, in the post-Brees/post-Payton era, and it hasn't been great. So, this feels like the most comprehensive reset they've had since Payton left, since Brees retired."
It's been a rough ride without those two, and it might be awhile before Moore can dig them out of the NFC South basement, where they're pegged for another last-place finish that might not even reach last year's highs.
"They don't have a lot to show for that four years, in terms of competition," Auman said. "Their record last year, 5-12, it's the worst since 2005, since before Payton got there. And they're gonna do well just to match that, just to get to five wins, with a rookie quarterback and an old defense. I'm not saying it can't happen, but it's a tough spot to be in."
Perhaps the most interesting storyline in New Orleans will be what happens next offseason, when they could be faced with the opportunity to take a true franchise quarterback prospect at the top of the draft, despite having just burned a top-40 pick in 2025 on a passer who will be 27 years old in Week 1 of the 2026 season.
An aging, expensive defense won't help the Saints' rebuild go any faster in 2025.Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
"I think they'll have patience with Kellen Moore," Auman said. "They're not gonna move on from a first-year coach, but this is a team that, even though they took a quarterback in the second round, lines up to be a team that has a top-five pick (next year). That could be Arch Manning, could be Garrett Nussmeier. They've got all kinds of connections there."
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What will success look like for the Saints in 2025?
It's a pretty low bar, and plenty of things will have to go right for a team that's old, expensive, and lacks a difference-maker at the game's most important position.
"It's asking for guys to stay healthy, it's asking Kamara to look like a guy he hasn't been the last couple of years . . . there are a lot of things that have to come together for them," Auman said. "If they take a step forward, if they get to six wins with a first-year coach, that's impressive."
To check out the entire conversation, including deep dives on every team in the NFC South, watch the full episode of BPA:
Related: The Bucs Own the NFC South, and They're Primed to Win it Again in 2025
Related: Can the Falcons Finally Dethrone the Bucs in the NFC South?
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 10, 2025, where it first appeared.
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