Saints free agent signings under Sean Payton
The New Orleans Saints have had a long and documented history of being players in free agency. Some of their moves have panned out and were absolute home runs, while some of them have totally flopped and left the team on the hook for the dead money to prove it. As we anticipate the start of the new league year on March 18, we take a look back at the free agents New Orleans has brought in under the Sean Payton era.
- 2019: Jared Cook, Nick Easton, Marcus Sherels, Mario Edwards Jr., Malcom Brown, Latavius Murray
- 2018: Benjamin Watson, Jermon Bushrod, Tom Savage, Demario Davis, Patrick Robinson, George Johnson, Kurt Coleman
- 2017: A.J. Klein, Larry Warford, Manti Te’o, Ted Ginn Jr., Adrian Peterson, Chase Daniel, Alex Okafor
- 2016: James Laurinaitis, Nick Fairley, Craig Robertson, Nathan Stupar, Erik Harris, Josh Scobee, Coby Fleener
- 2015: C.J. Spiller, Brandon Browner, Kyle Wilson, Anthony Spencer, Joe Morgan
- 2014: Marcus Ball, Jairus Byrd, Jonathan Goodwin, Champ Bailey, Erik Lorig
- 2013: Keenan Lewis, Benjamin Watson, Victor Butler, Jim Leonhard
- 2012: Curtis Lofton, Ben Grubbs, Chris Chamberlain, David Hawthorne, Brodrick Bunkley, Rafael Bush, Elbert Mack
- 2011: Darren Sproles, Shaun Rogers, Aubrayo Franklin, Will Herring, Olin Kreutz, John Kasay, Korey Hall, John Gilmore, Turk McBride
- 2010: Clint Ingram, Alex Brown, Jimmy Wilkerson
- 2009: Darren Sharper, Jabari Greer, Heath Evans, Dan Campbell, Anthony Hargrove, Paul Spicer, Pierson Prioleau, Darnell Dinkins
- 2008: Randall Gay, Aaron Glenn, Mark Brunell, Dan Morgan, Bobby McCray
- 2007: Jason David, Troy Evans, David Patten, Dhani Jones, Kendrick Clancy, Eric Johnson, Kevin Kaesviharn, Brian Simmons
- 2006: Drew Brees, Scott Fujita, Mark Campbell, Omar Stoutmire, Terrance Copper, Curtis Deloatch, Danny Clark, Billy Miller, Anthony Simmons, Rob Petitti, Chris Horn, Tommy Polley, Jay Foreman
Naturally, the biggest signing the Saints have had in the Payton era was Drew Brees, a tremendous pairing and story that has gotten better with age. In just a couple of seasons, Demario Davis has distanced himself as arguably the next best pickup for New Orleans. When the Saints won the Super Bowl in the 2009 season, you would have to regularly credit the pickups of Jabari Greer and Darren Sharper. Those are just some of the many examples of quality pickups the Saints have had in the past.
However, while New Orleans has certainly had their share of good hits, their misses tend to overshadow the successes. You can't mention free agency without talking about the ugliness and frustration that has come from it for the Saints. Players like Brandon Browner, Jairus Byrd, and Jason David are synonymous with being among the most despised by fans. Then there's a whole other category for players like Victor Butler, Anthony Spencer, C.J. Spiller, who were known for their unavailability to the Saints.
Free agency, like the draft, is yet another reminder that there's no sure thing to help improve a team. For every Drew Brees story, there's at least three to four Champ Bailey ones in waiting. Mickey Loomis and Sean Payton have had a pretty stellar run recently, and that's what ultimately matters. They'll need to have another nearly perfect run in less than a few weeks, as they face their most important offseason yet.
