New Orleans Saints

With only $6.8M in cap room, ranked 29th in the league, and $107.6M in dead money ranking second-worst in the league, the Saints are financially handcuffed this season and must rely on smart cuts before the real spending window opens next year.

28 contracts expiring

Madden Tools Analysis

Six starting spots have weak depth behind the starter.

The roster's top strength is the offensive skill triangle of Etienne, McCoy, and Olave, while the weakest spot is depth across the offensive line, where multiple backup spots are filled by players rated in the high-50s and low-60s.

• LTlow

  Kelvin Banks Jr. is the starter but Barry Wesley is a below-average backup, so upgrading the depth behind Banks is a priority before a starter-level injury becomes a crisis.

• CBlow

  McKinstry and Emerson are serviceable starters, but the depth behind them is thin and unproven, making a quality corner addition worth pursuing.

• RTlow

  Taliese Fuaga holds the starting job but the backups behind him are all below replacement level, leaving the right side vulnerable if Fuaga misses time.

• QBlow

  Tyler Shough is the starter, but the backup options in Rattler and Wilson offer limited insurance, so a more capable backup would reduce risk at the most critical position.

• Run & ShootoffensivePassable

  Chris Olave and Jordyn Tyson give the Saints two credible outside targets to stress coverage, and Travis Etienne is a natural fit as a receiving threat out of the backfield in a spread-spacing system.

• [EA] 46defensivePassable

  Chase Young and Cameron Jordan at the edges, plus a crowded defensive tackle rotation, give the Saints enough size and athleticism up front to generate the pressure that the 46 demands.

• 74Nathan ShepherdDTNathan Shepherd is a backup interior lineman entering the twilight of his career, and cutting him frees $4.8M against only $2.4M in dead money, making it one of the most efficient cap recoveries available.Frees $4.8M · $2.4M dead
• 74Jordan HowdenFSJordan Howden is the second-string free safety behind Justin Reid, and releasing him frees $3.7M with a negligible $80K dead-money charge, making him an easy way to create flexibility.Frees $3.7M · $80.0K dead
• 60Zaire Mitchell-PadenTEZaire Mitchell-Paden is the third tight end and carries a 60 overall, and cutting him frees $1.0M with zero dead money, clearing a roster spot at virtually no cost.Frees $1.0M · $0 dead
• 59Will ShermanRGWill Sherman is a third-string guard rated 59 overall, and releasing him frees $1.0M with no dead-money penalty.Frees $1.0M · $0 dead
• 61Barry WesleyLTBarry Wesley backs up Kelvin Banks Jr. at left tackle with a 61 overall, and cutting him frees $880K with no dead-money penalty, though the team should confirm acceptable depth remains before pulling the trigger.Frees $880.0K · $0 dead

The Saints are a team caught between two realities: they have legitimate star-trait contributors in Etienne, McCoy, Olave, and Reid, and their overall ratings on both sides of the ball are respectable, yet the financial picture is one of the most constrained in the league. Carrying $107.6M in dead money, ranked second in the league in that category, and sitting on just $6.8M of cap room ranked 29th of 32, the team has almost no ability to address its needs through free agency this season. Kaden Elliss is in the twilight of his career at WILL, Cameron Jordan is deep into the final stage of his career at REDGE, and Alvin Kamara is similarly in that final window at halfback, meaning several key contributors cannot be counted on as long-term cornerstones. The good news is that next year's projected cap room jumps to $75.5M, ranked 10th in the league, which is when real roster construction can begin. In the meantime, smart cuts, particularly releasing Davon Godchaux and Nathan Shepherd, can recover meaningful cap space to stabilize the roster this season while the team waits for its financial situation to breathe.

The Saints were awarded to New Orleans on November 1, 1966, All Saints' Day, and began play in 1967 as the NFL's 16th franchise, founded by John W. Mecom Jr., David Dixon, and the city. Rookie John Gilliam returned the opening kickoff of the first regular-season game (Sept. 17, 1967) 94 yards for a touchdown, but the team lost and spent two decades in futility, going 20 consecutive seasons without a winning record. The nadir was the 1-15 campaign of 1980, when disgusted fans began wearing paper bags over their heads and calling the team the 'Aints.' One early bright spot: on November 8, 1970, Tom Dempsey booted a then-record 63-yard field goal to beat Detroit 19-17 on the game's final play. The franchise's first winning season and playoff berth came in 1987 under coach Jim Mora, powered by the 'Dome Patrol' linebacker corps (Rickey Jackson, Sam Mills, Pat Swilling, Vaughan Johnson). The first playoff win did not arrive until January 2001, the team's 34th season. The defining era began in 2006, when the Saints hired coach Sean Payton and signed free-agent QB Drew Brees months after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the Superdome in 2005. The era peaked in the 2009 season: a 13-0 start and a 31-17 win over the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV (Feb. 7, 2010), with Brees named MVP. The title was later shadowed by 'Bountygate,' the 2012 revelation of a pay-for-injury bounty program that drew unprecedented NFL sanctions. Two gut-punch playoff moments bookend the late-Brees years: the 'Minneapolis Miracle' that ended the 2017 divisional playoff, and the 'NOLA No-Call' in the January 2019 NFC Championship Game, when uncalled pass interference helped the Rams win in overtime. Brees retired after the 2020 season, and the franchise has not returned to the playoffs since.