3 Saints contracts we were happy to see end, 2 we’re eager to see expire
By Randy Gurzi
New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis is the king of the salary cap. It seems as if every offseason, the Saints are roughly $50 million (or more) in the hole. Loomis usually solves this by restructuring one or two deals, then giving out a massive contract (see Carr, Derek).
Somehow, he makes that math work out to where they have more than enough money to do whatever they want to in free agency.
Even with his skill at manipulating the salary cap, there are still a few contracts fans were happy to see removed from the books and a couple they're ready to see expire.
Saints contract we were happy to see end: Andy Dalton, QB
The Saints were the model of consistency for years with Sean Payton and Drew Brees working together. They ended up with just one title but for more than a decade, they felt they had a shot with those two working together.
Now, they've found themselves trying to replace each of them in back-to-back seasons. First up, it was Brees who was replaced by Jamies Winston — who was at least winning with Payton as the head coach. But then in 2022, fans watched as Payton was replaced by Dennis Allen, and before long, Winston was out and Andy Dalton came in.
Dalton deserves credit for putting together a long career but he's nothing more than a decent backup at this point. That's why Saints fans were happy to see his one-year $6 million contract run out. Now in Carolina, he will provide insurance for whoever is the selection at No. 1 overall.
In New Orleans, they'll now turn to Derek Carr, which gives fans much more hope.