New Orleans Saints have to prepare for life without Deshaun Watson
New Orleans Saints fans are growing tired of the Deshaun Watson rumors, especially now that the Texans quarterback reportedly won’t make his decision for another few days.
At this point, the Saints have put themselves in a difficult spot while they wait for Watson to make his decision. If Watson does choose the Saints, they’ll have their franchise quarterback for potentially the next decade.
On the other hand, if he chooses Atlanta, then the Saints have essentially taken the first week of free agency off while they wait for Watson to make a choice. That’s not a great situation to be in, especially for a team that has a new head coach.
Falcons now have pushed back the $7.5 million roster bonus due Friday to QB Matt Ryan to Tuesday, giving Atlanta four extra days to hear the Deshaun Watson decision and be able to trade Ryan if necessary, per league sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 18, 2022
New Orleans Saints can’t let Deshaun Watson string them along
By the time Watson officially makes his decision, New Orleans might not have many options left when it comes to finding a quarterback.
While there have been reports that the Saints spoke with Jameis Winston, it appears that the Colts are also interested in potentially adding the former No. 1 overall pick. NOLA’s actions during this time have indicated that they see better options than Winston and he’s going to remember that when they come crawling back should Watson pick Atlanta.
I just spoke w/ QB Jameis Winston who told me he's had conversations with both the #Colts and the #Saints. Saints already made an offer earlier this offseason. Winston in very good spirits told me, "I still view myself as a starter in this league and that's what I'm looking for."
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) March 17, 2022
If Watson goes elsewhere and Winston is upset with the Saints enough to the point where he signs elsewhere, New Orleans is suddenly left up a creek without a paddle. They could still trade for someone like Jimmy Garoppolo or Baker Mayfield but if they exhaust all options, they might be forced to find a quarterback in a draft that isn’t exactly ripe with quarterback talent.
"3 Saints players that would benefit from Deshaun Watson coming to NOLA"
The Saints put themselves in a position where they can’t really drop out of the Watson race without the Falcons being able to get him for peanuts but they need to make sure they won’t be totally screwed if he doesn’t pick New Orleans.