Saints: Top 10 NFL free agents for less than $5 million

Jalen Mills, SS, Philadelphia Eagles

Jalen Mills was a tackling machine last year. He led the Eagles’ defensive backs in tackles and almost led the team behind just Alex Singleton. Jalen Mills is up for a contract extension at the end of the year and there is probably a good chance that the Eagles re-sign him.

However, they do have Rodney McLeod and Marcus Epps who are both safeties as well. If the Eagles look at Mills and say that he isn’t worth the extension and decide to start Epps and McLeod then the Saints should make a move before someone else does.

The only way that this would work is if the Saints decided to release Malcolm Jenkins. Then Mills could replace him, and there are plenty of reasons for this happening. The main two are that Jenkins is aging and he is still on an expensive contract at 4-year, $32 million.

At $8 million a year, they could get Mills at roughly $4 million per year. When you are getting up against the cap, any savings could help. It also wouldn’t be the first time they took a safety from the Philadelphia Eagles in the last five years.

Offer: 5-years, $22 million

Saints’ Savings: $3.6 million per year