NOLA Saints were never going to be able to afford Russell Wilson

It’s official: The NOLA Saints won’t have Russell Wilson quarterbacking their offense in 2022. The nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback is heading to the Broncos after the Seahawks shockingly traded the signal-caller.

It didn’t come cheap for Denver, as they had to surrender five picks and three players to land the 33-year-old quarterback but they got it done and now the Broncos will have a chance to compete.

New Orleans had been linked to Wilson ever since he expressed frustration with the Seahawks this time a year ago and it made sense as to why. The Saints had a good defense, a good run game, a good offensive line, and one of the best coaches in the league.

While Sean Payton is no longer in New Orleans, all of those other things remain the same. Even with that being the case, after looking at what the Broncos gave up to land Wilson, it’s safe to say that NOLA was never realistically going to be in the running.

Trading for Russell Wilson wasn’t realistic for NOLA Saints

To put the trade package into perspective, the Broncos might have only parted with two first-round picks but they sent five picks in total to the Seahawks and also sent their starting tight end, a solid defensive lineman, and… Well, Drew Lock.

Not only that but the Saints would have been forced to pay Wilson $24 million in 2022 and $27 million in 2023, which might have been too steep for them.

With all of that in mind paired with the fact that the Saints and Seahawks are both in the NFC, you have to wonder if New Orleans was ever realistically in the running for Wilson. I’d guess probably not.

So, with all of that said, Russell Wilson is off the board for the New Orleans Saints and they’ll now have even fewer options when it comes to finding their quarterback for 2022 and beyond.