Could the Saints benefit from a Sam Darnold trade?

With the Saints 2021 starting quarterback up in the air, could the team benefit from acquiring Sam Darnold from the New York Jets?

The New Orleans Saints have a strong need for a new quarterback. They are projected to just be taking one quarterback into 2021 — Taysom Hill. Drew Brees is most likely going to retire; Jameis Winston is technically an unrestricted free agent free to sign with anyone.

Taysom Hill is not the quarterback of the future. He showed that this year in four mediocre performances as Brees’ replacement. The biggest problem surrounding the Saints’ quarterback decision is the fact that they don’t have money to sign a massive contract.

As Sean Payton has voiced, his first option would be Jameis Winston, but there is a good chance that another team who needs a quarterback could pay Winston more than the Saints could offer him.

If that’s the case, then New Orleans would have to turn elsewhere.

Sam Darnold, the New York Jets starting quarterback, is on a four-year, $30 million contract. That balances out to roughly $7.5 million per year. Winston could see somewhere near that; meanwhile, Darnold might be willing to take a lower salary to command a winning team.

Darnold wasn’t all that bad as you would think a quarterback the Jets want rid of could be. Darnold still threw for 2,208 yards and nine touchdowns in 12 games. He also did it with an offensive line and a coach who were incredibly bad.

If you put Darnold with a coaching staff like the Saints have, you could see him come back to the Sam Darnold we saw in college. We saw him throw for over 4,000 yards and 26 touchdowns in his last season at the University of Southern California.

If you look at the makeup of Darnold’s game, it is very similar to the way Brees played. That would allow the team to rally around Darnold the same way they did with Brees. If this unlikely acquisition were to happen, it could be great for New Orleans.