New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis has come under fire for some of the contracts he has handed out and a few other inactions that have left this roster relatively threadbare, but choosing to let Alontae Taylor walk to the Tennessee Titans was not one of them.
Taylor signed a three-year, $58 million contract that included $42 million in guaranteed money to be one of the pillars of Robert Saleh's secondary. With the season not even one-third over, Tennessee appears ready to give up on Taylor. Before their Week 6 matchup against the division rival Indianapolis Colts, Taylor was made a healthy scratch, showing the coaches are already fed up with him.
Loomis can be ripped for quite a lot of things, but letting Taylor walk for a contract that is already weight on the Titans like an anchor is not one of them.
Former New Orleans Saints CB Alontae Taylor deactivated after five hames with Titans
Give the total investment in his services, Taylor may be the worst-performing cornerback in football this season. Taylor's Pro Football Focus grade ranks 101st out of 104 qualified corners entering Week 6, and it doesn't take Bill Walsh to understand what a catastrophic miss that has been. What happened to the dynamic playmaker he was in New Orleans?
In hindsight, this was always an odd move for Saleh. While Taylor was disruptive at the point of attack, his gambling style and inability to tackle in open space made him an unusual fit for a defense that asks its cornerbacks to stand out in those areas. Tennessee is learning the hard way that Taylor is a very volatile asset.
Taylor, who has been playing outside in Tennessee despite his past success as a slot, was more down than up during his final year in New Orleans. Resisting the temptation to keep a player who developed from a third-round pick into a robust player, Loomis let the Titans pay top-end money in a free agent group that didn't have many terrific alternatives.
The New Orleans Saints are rebuilding without Alontae Taylor
The Saints by no means have tons of high-end defensive talent, especially in the secondary. However, on a team that is still very much alive in perhaps the most wide-open divisional race in the league, paying Taylor that sort of money would have put them in a very difficult position long-term.
With the Saints in a position to load up with a top pick in the 2027 NFL Draft that could be used on a top defensive back like Notre Dame's Leonard Moore or Georgia's Ellis Robinson IV, Taylor was simply not equipped to be a long-term contributor for this team with his outrageous price point. The Titans found that out the hard way.
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