With the recent Sean Payton news and the Saints having negative $74 million in cap space, the Denver Broncos should call to try and swing some trades.
On Tuesday, New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton announced he was stepping away from the team. This comes as the Saints are about to embark on an offseason where they have roughly negative $74 million in cap space and no long-term answer at quarterback. The Denver Broncos should be calling to try and see if the team is willing to part with any veteran players.
Being slightly under the cap is one thing, but being over $70 million over the cap is insane.
In order for the Saints to fix this situation, they’ll need to do a multitude of things, which include trading, releasing, extending, and restructuring players and their contracts.
Being that Sean Payton stepped down, the Saints are likely about to enter a full rebuild. This is further likely given that the Saints have a lot of aging veterans and no long-term answer at quarterback.
The entire NFC South is going through some transition, so the Saints should try and get a rebuild done and over with so they don’t fall too far behind the others.
Below are three players the Denver Broncos should call about trading for from the Saints.
Denver Broncos trade ideas with the New Orleans Saints
1. Ryan Ramczyk, RT
Ryan Ramczyk is an All-Pro tackle. He’s one of the very best right tackles in the NFL, and the Broncos currently have an opening at their position. Bobby Massie played rather well for the team this year, but he isn’t quite on the level that Ramczyk is.
Ramcyzk, who only played in 10 games this year, missed just 1 other game in his 4 prior years in the league.
He’s just 27 and is under contract through 2026. The Broncos can easily afford him, but I’m not a cap expert, so I’m not entirely sure what the precise financials would be.
However, by trading Ramczyk with a post-June 1st designation in 2022, the Saints would incur $3.8 million in dead money and save over $19 million against their cap. I think many teams would be calling about his availability.
There is a shortage of quality offensive linemen in the NFL, and the Broncos, by trading for Ramczyk, the Denver Broncos would employ the best tackle duo in the NFL.
This would be a no-brainer move, and General Manager George Paton said himself the team needs to get better at protection going into 2022.
Denver Broncos trade ideas with the New Orleans Saints
2. Marshon Lattimore, CB
Would the Saints consider trading a premier cornerback? Maybe. Lattimore is one of the very best cornerbacks in the NFL. He’s a four-time Pro Bowler and wrapped up his 5th season in the NFL.
Lattimore had a very good 77.3 PFF grade in 2021 and will be just 26 when the 2022 season starts.
The Denver Broncos could lose both Kyle Fuller and Bryce Callahan to free agency, so adding someone like Lattimore still gives Denver a premier secondary, and makes them much younger.
Adding someone like Lattimore allows the next defensive coordinator to use him and Patrick Surtain II in creative ways as well.
Marshon Lattimore is on a similar contract to Ryan Ramczyk. He’s under contract through 2026, and if the Saints make him a post-June 1st trade in 2022, they save $24 million against the cap and incur a bit over $3 million in dead money.
What’s even more interesting about Lattimore’s contract is if the Saints were to trade him in future years, their cap savings drastically decrease, dipping $10 million beginning in 2023.
It looks like, the way his contract is now, the Saints would be smartest to trade him this offseason instead of holding onto him.
Franchise cornerbacks are extremely valuable, but can they survive a massive rebuild? Maybe not.
Denver Broncos trade ideas with the New Orleans Saints
3. Erik McCoy, C
This one might be a bit of a wild card, as Erik McCoy is a quality center who is still on his rookie contract.
In 2021, he allowed 0 sacks. In 2020, he allowed 1 sack. In 2019, he allowed 1 sack. He’s allowed just 2 sacks in 3 years as a starter and has played close to 3,000 snaps.
Keeping with the theme of getting better up front, McCoy would slide into Lloyd Cushenberry’s spot and give the Broncos a borderline elite player at the position.
I’m not entirely sure what McCoy would demand with a contract, but at just 24 years old, McCoy would give the Denver Broncos a potential long-term solution at the position.
He started 39 games in college, with 37 coming at center, and was named to the PFWA All-Rookie team. The neat thing about offensive linemen is if they have success early in their career, they’re likely to sustain that success their entire career.
The development arc for most linemen is less aggressive than other positions. Many linemen come into the NFL and play at a Pro Bowl level. See Creed Humphrey and Rashawn Slater as examples. They’ve already cemented themselves at their respective positions and are likely to maintain their current success and get even better as their career progresses.
4 teams that could compete with Denver Broncos for Aaron Rodgers trade
The Aaron Rodgers sweepstakes might be underway for the Denver Broncos and a handful of other football teams bringing forth chaos.
McCoy should be no different. He’s a high-end center now and should remain as such for his entire career, so, the Denver Broncos should be interested.