There may not be a more stubborn team in the NFL than the New Orleans Saints. Every offseason, the franchise looks at a hard salary cap, and finds ways to manipulate it. That’s just one example of how the organization does things its way.
Another example of that is a rebuild knocking at the Saints’ door for the last few years, and the team refusing to answer. Just about every analyst has criticized New Orleans for delaying an inevitable rebuild and committing to a cycle of medocrity. The Saints have been comfortable hanging in limbo as an average team, even when all signs have been pointing to a rebuild.
However, New Orleans’ recent decision to fire Dennis Allen and trade Marshon Lattimore made it seem like the organization was finally ready to face the music. Those two moves had to be a sign of what’s to come this offseason, right?
Wrong. Turns out, the Saints still aren’t planning to engage in a rebuild. NFL insider Ian Rapoport explained this in a recent piece outlining New Orleans’ plans.
Ian Rapoport reports Saints won’t start a rebuild in 2025
Rapoport detailed that despite being projected to be well over the salary cap, a pending coaching search, and another underwhelming season, New Orleans still isn’t hitting the reset button. According to Rapoport’s sources, “the Saints don’t philosophically believe in blowing it up.”
"For one, the Saints philosophically don't believe in blowing it up. They look at other, painful examples around the league of long rebuilds that took far longer than anticipated, some of which required several regimes (i.e. the Browns). There just isn't enough evidence for them that doing so is the best way. The best, most seamless rebuilds (the Eagles after 2020 is an example) include keeping good players, moving on from those with upside-down value, and getting more good players. "Ian Rapoport
The alternative approach definitely sounds good, but eventually, the team will have to ask if it’s a feasible approach for them. That’s seemingly what New Orleans has been trying to do in the four years since Drew Brees retried, and it hasn’t yielded good results yet.
Rapoport insists that the Saints will make some big decisions this offseason, starting with veteran quarterback Derek Carr. However, those decisions will be case by case; it won’t be a sweeping decision to tear the team down and rebuild it back up.
Whatever decisions the Saints make, it better result in something different next season, because fans are tired of getting the same mediocre product.