3 former Saints players who failed with their new team in 2023

Shy Tuttle, Carolina Panthers

For the first three years of his career, Tuttle was one of the premier run-stopping defensive linemen in the NFL.

It was even more impressive, considering he was an undrafted free agent for the Saints in 2019. After only starting four games over the first two years in New Orleans, Tuttle started in 29 of the last 34 games he played for the Saints. He had the best season of his career in 2022, setting a career-high in sacks (3), hurries (7) and tackles (33). It was a hell of a year to do that, too: as a free agent, Tuttle signed a three-year, $20 million contract to stay in the division and play for the Panthers.

While Tuttle did appear, and start, in all 17 games for the Panthers, the production wasn't there: according to Pro Football Focus, his overall defensive grade (52.9), run-stopping grade (52.8) and tackling grade (44.9) were all career lows. His missed tackle percentage (8.9) was also the highest it's been since his rookie year.

It was hard for anyone (outside of Adam Thielen) on the Panthers to put up productive numbers considering how everything in Charlotte went, but it looks like the Saints made the right decision to let Tuttle walk.