The New Orleans Saints enter the NFL 2025 offseason with something less than optimism. Not much went right for the Saints this season. The campaign started with some degree of promise after a 9-8 finish in 2023, as New Orleans opened with back-to-back victories over the Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys. Then the wheels came off. Behind veteran but often-unavailable quarterback Derek Carr and his $37.5 million salary, the Saints proceeded lose seven consecutive games â and then fired coach Dennis Allen.
They seemed to get a boost from special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi, who was elevated to the head coach’s role on an “interim” basis. The Saints quickly put together another mini-streak of back-to-back wins, beating the Atlanta Falcons and Cleveland Browns. But as it turned out, the wheels were not back on just yet. The Saints lost five of their last six, ending the season on a four-game losing streak.
Repeated injuries to the 33-year-old , 11-year veteran Carr did not help matters. Sitting out first with an oblique strain, followed by broken hand and concussion in Week 14 that effectively ended his season, Carr played a career low 10 games. Sixth-round 2024 draft pick Spencer Rattler and 2023 fourth-rounder Jake Haener combined to keep the quarerback seat warm for Carr, with former Oklahoma and South Carolina signal-caller Rattler seeing the bulk of the fill-in duties â and failing to lead the team to a single win.
Saints Ready for a Rebuild, Including at Quarterback
With the Saints in search of a new coach, they appear to be ready to rebuild from the ground up, and that means they will likely cut ties with Carr. The Saints are currently $52.3 million over the NFL salary cap, but by moving on from their quarterback and the two years remaining on his four-year, $150 million contract they could buy themselves some cap relief â and the financial flexibility to rework their roster.
Simply cutting Carr before June 1 would not help much, leaving the franchise with more than $50 million in dead money, but a trade after June 1 would reduce that figure to about $11.5 million. But then, what does New Orleans do for a quarterback?
Maybe Rattler could handle the job, but USA Today Saintswire predicted recently that the New England Patriots rocket-armed backup QB Joe Milton III could be traded to New Orleans.
“Making this move would be just about getting better a year from now. Milton is as raw as a player could get, but is more exciting of a passer than the Saints have had since Drew Brees,” Saintswire columnist Dylan Sanders wrote. “The 24-year-old only saw limited play as a rookie, playing one game, but he looked very good while doing it. In a win over the Buffalo Bills, he completed 75.9 percent of his passes for a touchdown and no interceptions.”
Milton Has a Cannon For an Arm
Milton has been recorded throwing an 80-yard pass at Peyton Manning’s Passing Academy, and when he got the start January 5 against Buffalo, Milton sidearmed one pass into the end zone at 62 mph, the second-fastest ever recorded in the NFL.
In his final year at Tennessee, Milton completed 64.7 percent of his passes, throwing for 20 touchdowns and 2,813 yards. Milton also ran for seven TDs.
He opted out of the Volunteers’ Citrus Bowl appearance, but in 2022 Milton was named MVP of Tennessee’s Orange Bowl victory over Clemson, 31-14.
The 6’5″, 247-pound Milton, whose full name is Joe Milton III, threw for three touchdowns and 251 yards in that game.
“Carr already said he wonât be taking a pay cut and since heâs entering his final year in his contract, (the Saints) might as well settle for the arm that Milton has,” wrote Last Word on Sports football analyst Anthony Palacios. “Rattler had his chance but if Carr doesnât produce, they could run Rattler and Milton for the starting job next.”
Perhaps best of all for the cap-squeezed Saints, they would get the last three years of Milton’s four-year $4.2 million rookie contract, giving them two young, cost-controlled quarterbacks â if Milton is brought on to compete with Rattler â to build their roster around.
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