3 Saints Players Who Won't Survive in New Orleans Beyond This Season
By Nick Porr
The New Orleans Saints had a tough ending to their otherwise exemplary 2019 NFL season. Drew Brees missed five games with an injury in his throwing hand, and even with Brees back, the Saints fell 26-20 to the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Wild Card Round.
The Saints may be running this current roster back for the last time in 2020. Salary cap, age, and more will likely mean that this will be the last season in New Orleans for these players.
3. OLB Alex Anzalone
Outside linebacker Alex Anzalone missed most of last season with a shoulder injury, not playing a game after Week 2. Anzalone will be an unrestricted free agent next season, and his job is in danger after the Saints drafted OLB Zack Baun with the No. 74 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. If Baun succeeds, Anzalone could easily end up the odd man out of the Saints' defense.
2. QB Jameis Winston
Jameis Winston signed a one year, $1.1 million contract with the Saints in late April. He comes in behind a future Hall of Famer in Brees, and in front of highly-touted prospect Taysom Hill. Winston will likely get opportunities as a backup this season like Teddy Bridgewater did in 2019. Either Winston underperforms and the Saints turn to Hill as a backup for 2021, or he overperforms and plays himself out of New Orleans, like Bridgewater did. All the buzz lately makes it seem as if Hill is firmly still in the Saints' future.
1. RB Alvin Kamara
Alvin Kamara is someone the Saints would love to lock up, but he will likely be asking for more money than New Orleans can afford as an unrestricted free agent after this season. The price for running backs is going up after Christian McCaffrey signed a four-year, $64 million contract this offseason. Kamara will likely be looking for similar money, and the Saints just don't have the cap space to afford it, without a QB of the future locked down. They won't want to pay Kamara while they backslide.