Jayden Price fumbled a kickoff return against the Minnesota Vikings, and two days later, the New Orleans Saints let him go. It was a glaring mistake, and the repercussions of that mistake will now serve as a message to the rest of the roster.
Price fumbled the second half kickoff, and at the time, the Saints had a one point lead coming out of halftime. The Vikings got the ball in scoring position and capitalized with their first touchdown of the game.
The way the Saints offense was playing, there's no telling if they would have done anything with the football. However, the fumble put the Vikings in scoring position and stole a possession away from the offense. Things were ugly, but the Saints still had a lead, and this was a deflating mistake.
Kellen Moore sets a tone of accountability for the Saints by releasing Jayden Price
Erik McCoy said the team needed a fire lit underneath them, and that's what Kellen Moore just did.
You never want to see someone lose their job, and Price was a great story of perseverance, fighting his way from a small school and UFL to make it to the league. At the same time, this is a great message that Moore is sending. It's just unfortunate it had to come at the expense of Price's job.
The message is clear. Mistakes won't be tolerated. And it's easier to make an example of a player like Price because he solely plays special teams and isn't the top returner.
The stakes of losing him are a little lower, but the impact of making the call remain the same. It's a tactic you'll see coaches deploy frequently. Use a smaller player to get the point across that there are real consequences on the table, though it isn't always through cutting a player.
Sometimes it's benching a player, temporarily in-game or making a permanent move after the game. A running back having to sit for a series is the most frequent version of that. The Saints don't have enough running backs to pull this move with Kendre Miller, so that's how you get to Price being made an example out of.
The Saints need accountability and urgency. Gayle Benson just put Moore on the hot seat and made it clear changes needed to be made or changes will be made.
McCoy wanted a fire lit underneath them and that's what Moore just did. Now, it's about how do they respond.
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