Saints’ 2024 schedule could lead to a dramatic trade deadline for New Orleans

Every NFL season, the trade deadline rolls around near the midpoint of the season and forces teams to make a decision. Teams must decide if they’re going to be a seller or a buyer. Teams that decide to be sellers are usually the teams throwing in the towel on the season. After a slow start, the realization that they aren’t contenders sets in, so they move players and stock up on picks or younger players that can help them in the future.

Buyers, on the other hand, are teams that are having a good season and believe they are a piece or two away from being a serious contender. There is, of course, the third category of teams that don’t do anything because either they’re happy with where they’re at, or they lost so much hope that they don’t even care to sell. Either way, the trade deadline is all about the buyers and sellers.

For the 2024 season, the trade deadline is November 5, the Tuesday after Week 9. For the New Orleans Saints, it could be a very interesting week. Everyone is already looking at this season as a make-or-break year for the Saints. Another underwhelming season will likely result in the team starting a rebuild next offseason. However, a look at New Orleans’ schedule, and it’s very possible the team could be forced to start that rebuild at the trade deadline.

Will a tough start to the season make the Saints sellers?

The Saints are tied with the Atlanta Falcons for the easiest schedule in the NFL in 2024, however, New Orleans’ schedule doesn’t start easy. In the first five weeks of the season, the Saints will face the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs, and an improved Atlanta Falcons team on the road. The five other games New Orleans plays before the deadline are against the Carolina Panthers twice, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Los Angeles Chargers, and the Denver Broncos.

It’s very possible that the Saints could arrive at the trade deadline with six losses. If that happens, New Orleans could have a fire sale. With so many talented veterans on the roster, contending teams would be more than happy to add them for a Super Bowl run down the stretch of the season. For the Saints, they’ll get a ton of picks that could jumpstart the rebuild. This definitely isn’t the outcome that anyone in New Orleans wants, but it’s a real possibility.

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