Saints are getting worse according to PFF offseason improvement index

The New Orleans Saints’ offseason moves (or lack thereof) have caused the team to fall behind, and they currently rank as one of the least improved teams in the league.

A wild free agency saw NOLA make very few changes, the most significant (and predictable) of which was re-signing Jameis Winston. But the team also suffered tough losses when Marcus Williams signed with the Baltimore Ravens and Terron Armstead left for Miami. Is there any way they can salvage their offseason in 2022?

In the Saints’ defense, the team didn’t have much cap space to work with — up until they cleared enough room to potentially sign Deshaun Watson. Watson went to Cleveland instead, so the Saints have roughly $26 million in available cap according to Spotrac.

While several NFL teams saw huge improvements to their roster based on free agent moves and trades, New Orleans suffered a small but sizeable setback.

New Orleans Saints must take action to revive disappointing offseason so far

The only silver lining may be that the rest of the NFC South didn’t experience much improvement, either. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers sit solidly in the middle of the pack with the Carolina Panthers close behind, while the Atlanta Falcons worsened by about 12 percent and ranks only above the Seattle Seahawks.

PFF’s metric for how much a team has “improved” seems subjective, and just because a team spent big in free agency (the Jaguars) doesn’t mean they spent their money well. We personally don’t think the Indianapolis Colts won the lottery by trading for Matt Ryan, but others may think so.

After allocating most of their resources to improving the defense last season, the Saints need to prioritize the offense in 2022, specifically at wide receiver and tight end. The free agent tight end market has since dried up with many top TEs getting franchise tagged or re-signing with their teams. As for the wideout market, the Saints could still throw their hat in for a reliable receiver like Jarvis Landry, and it’s been rumored that Super Bowl winner Odell Beckham Jr. is looking for a new team as well.

Whatever the Saints choose to do, we hope they at least choose to do something.

Otherwise, their offseason will be sadly characterized by this meme.