The New Orleans Saints have made some major changes over the past week, but that does not mean they view themselves as being in the early stages of a rebuild.
Dennis Allen was fired as head coach of the Saints following the team’s Week 9 loss to the Carolina Panthers. New Orleans then parted with one of their best players when they traded Pro Bowl cornerback Marshon Lattimore.
The Saints also have huge salary cap issues, as they are projected to be roughly $60 million over the cap in 2025. Despite all that, Ian Rapoport reported on Sunday that the Saints as an organization do not believe in blowing their team up and starting from scratch. They would rather try to restructure the contracts of key veterans like Derek Carr, Cameron Jordan and Tyrann Mathieu than trading away players to stockpile draft picks.
After New Orleans fired Allen, general manager Mickey Loomis noted how an “avalanche of injuries” has taken its toll on the team. Carr missed several games with an oblique injury, and star wide receiver Chris Olave has now suffered multiple concussions. Some of that contributed to the Saints falling off a cliff after their offensive looked explosive amid a 2-0 start.
If the Saints want to avoid a rebuild, they will have to get very creative this offseason. They seem determined to do that, even if they do not appear to be all that close to contention.
