The 2024 season was pretty difficult for the New Orleans Saints, with the team only winning five games. However, the franchise has started an even more difficult offseason. The Saints need to hire a head coach, which has proven to be a difficult search, get under the salary cap, and rebuild the roster into a contending team. If the team can adequately navigate those obstacles, New Orleans should be far more competitive in 2025.
One of the challenges the Saints will face this offseason is retaining talent. New Orleans has quite a few guys entering free agency this offseason, including some really good players that other teams will surely be after. Those players were recently highlighted in an ESPN piece naming the top 50 free agents this offseason.
Matt Bowen ranked the best 2025 free agents from one to 50, and three Saints players were included on the list. Chase Young was ranked the highest at No. 39, then Paulson Adebo at No. 44, and Juwan Johnson at No. 48.
Chase Young, Paulson Adebo, and Juwan Johnson named top free agents
All three guys are in interesting spots, where it’s not clear if they’ll return to New Orleans or not. Young, the highest rated of the Saints players, seems like he should be moving on. Proving that he can still rush the passer this season, there will certainly be some contending teams ready to offer him a deal. However, ESPN reporter Jeremy Fowler said Young is open to a return to New Orleans, and that he’d likely sign with the team that gives him a multi-year deal instead of one-year contract like he signed last offseason.
Adebo is another interesting case, because as Bowen pointed out, he’d be a top-20 free agent if he didn’t break his femur this season. However, according to Fowler, multiple teams still consider him a top-three corner in free agency, and since he didn’t have any complications with his surgery, he could still have a competitive market.
It’s especially unclear what will happen with Juwan Johnson. The Saints certainly need him back, but he could believe there’s a better role for him elsewhere. New Orleans also may want to upgrade the position, but the only real option for the team to do that will be in the draft. So fans will just have to sit back and see what the offseason brings the Saints.