We saw the New Orleans Saints open their doors for business at last year's NFL trade deadline, having slumped into a 1-8 start to their season. This year they're going to be no better than 3-5 at the deadline, and that's only if they can beat a Cleveland Browns team tied for first place in the AFC North. With just two wins at the bye week and other two-win teams like the Indianapolis Colts starting a fire sale, you have to wonder if the Saints could repeat last year's strategy and start taking calls from around the league.
The problem is that many of the players other teams may covet are already locked in as cornerstones for the Saints' future. Chris Olave is under contract for years to come, Tyler Shough is giving fans hope at quarterback, and
they have two pieces to an effective edge-rush rotation in Chase Young (third-best pass rush win rate this year) and Carl Granderson (tied for 24th, out of 39 qualifiers). Erik McCoy remains a rare bright spot in the middle of the offensive line. Odds are, they wouldn't get fair value back by moving those key pieces. So we're highlighting the players who will be free agents in 2027 and a few situations where it might be wiser to make a deal than to explore an extension.
Players on expiring contracts
Here's the list of 2027 free agents, and the salary cap impact the Saints would feel from trading them right now. The way trades work at this time of the year is acquiring teams pay the rest of the base salary while the Saints would be on the hook for signing bonus payouts and already-paid weekly game checks. That means with the exception of running back Alvin Kamara, everyone in the group would bring some cap relief by being traded:
- EDGE Tyree Wilson: $3,650,953
- S Jordan Howden: Saves $2,041,111
- RB Kendre Miller: Saves $845,023
- DL Davon Godchaux: Saves $772,222
- EDGE Cameron Jordan: Saves $750,000
- DL Nathan Shepherd: Saves $722,222
- K Daniel Carlson: Saves $684,722
- EDGE Anfernee Jennings: Saves $675,000
- CB Martin Emerson Jr.: Saves $675,000
- LB Chris Rumph II: Saves $675,000
- DL Colby Wooden: Saves $636,111
- OT Asim Richards: Saves $636,111
- LB Isaiah Stalbird: Saves $597,222
- OL William Sherman: Saves $558,333
- QB Zach Wilson: Saves $535,000
- RB Alvin Kamara: Costs $1,321,667 extra
With all of that in mind, here are some trade proposals. Would you -- or the Saints -- agree to cut a deal?
OL Cesar Ruiz
- Proposed compensation: 2027 fifth-round pick or 2028 fourth-round pick
- 2026 salary cap impact: Saints save $675,000 in 2026, $565,500 in 2027
- Should the Saints make this trade? While they would be getting out of the $9.5 million base salary he's owed in 2027, the Saints would still take on more than $15.7 million in dead money because of their previous contract restructures with Ruiz, so this isn't a cap-minded move. You only do this if you're confident you can get a good pick back and that you have a competent replacement ready to start in his place. After Quenton Nelson was dealt for a package of third- and fifth-round picks, it's tough to see the Saints getting great value for a guard who doesn't have six All-Pro awards. Jeremiah Wright isn't ready to take his job, so unless the Saints can get another team to overpay, expect them to hold onto Ruiz.
EDGE Chase Young
- Proposed compensation: 2028 second-round pick and 2027 sixth-round pick
- 2026 salary cap impact: Saves $675,000 in 2026, $759,000 in 2027
- Should the Saints make this trade? Young is owed an $18 million base salary next season, but that he should already be in talks with the team about an extension. If New Orleans balks at the price he's deserved ($40 million or more per year), they could trade him and get a premium pick back. But unless another team makes them refuse an offer like what the Dallas Cowboys got for Micah Parsons (two first rounders and a good starter), the Saints should hold onto him. Any rookie they draft will hope to become a player like him. Keep the known quantity, especially when the cap savings are so meager. It feels more likely they would be offered something like what Dallas paid to acquire Joey Porter Jr., another young defender with elite moments but real reservations about his play.
S Jordan Howden
- Proposed compensation: 2027 sixth-round pick
- 2026 salary cap impact: Saves $2,041,111
- Should the Saints make this trade? If the Saints can get another team to offer what the Los Angeles Chargers gave them for Trevor Penning last year, absolutely. Howden has been a steady backup over the years but he's never been able to stay in the starting lineup for long. They could probably get a better pick for trading the starter Howden filled in for against the Steelers, Justin Reid, but they wouldn't save much against the cap after restructuring Reid's contract. Jonas Sanker is an ascending player in the secondary and it would be better to trade Howden now than to wait and play the compensatory pick game (which New Orleans typically loses).
CB Martin Emerson Jr.
- Proposed compensation: 2027 fifth-round pick
- 2026 salary cap impact: Saves $675,000
- Should the Saints make this trade? The thinking here is that Emerson's value has risen after proving he's returned from last year's knee injury, and that you won't be able to re-sign him and extend Kool-Aid McKinstry at the same time. So you move him now to get a better draft pick than you might be compensated for if he leaves in free agency. It's worth asking if he's the right corner to move. He probably wouldn't be as expensive as McKinstry, who hasn't been effective in Brandon Staley's defense. Would you flip McKinstry for a third-round pick in next year's draft? Emerson has at least earned a longer look, especially if the Saints are sticking with Staley's style of defense.
QB Spencer Rattler
- Proposed compensation: 2027 fourth-round pick
- 2026 salary cap impact: Saves $597,222 in 2026, $1.19 million in 2027
- Should the Saints make this trade? Rattler has another year left on his rookie contract and should have some appeal as a quarterback teams can win with, if they give him enough support. Zach Wilson is another trade candidate but it doesn't seem like his stock is as high as Rattler's (the Saints certainly think so, with Wilson idling as the emergency QB3 for seven straight games). With teams like the Philadelphia Eagles and Rattler's hometown Arizona Cardinals fiending for competent QB play, maybe someone finally offers what the Saints have been waiting for: a better pick than they spent to acquire Rattler in the first place. If other teams are still lowballing them, sit and wait.
Who else could be on the trade block?
New Orleans may only expect to get a seventh rounder or some sort of late-round condition pick (or, hey, an always-exciting pick swap) but they should be open to moving useful veterans like tight end Noah Fant, defensive lineman Nathan Shepherd, and maybe linebacker Pete Werner, among others. Kamara's contract structure and loyalty to the team make it extremely unlikely he'll be moved, and Cameron Jordan returned explicitly to finish his career with the team that drafted him. The Saints should consider their options, but they can't just say yes to every offer that hits their table.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Should Saints follow Colts with fire sale before NFL trade deadline?
