Report: Saints Have Had Trade Talks for Malcom Brown
The Saints are working to get under a salary cap figure that we don't know yet, and one of the players being shopped is reportedly Malcom Brown, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. His Tuesday afternoon report stated that the team has had some conversations about a potential trade of the veteran defensive tackle. Brown is in the final year of his 3-year, $15 million contract, and has a $6.44 million cap hit for 2021. Releasing or trading him could give the Saints some $5 million in cap space.
Brown has been a strong staple against the run for New Orleans, being the starter opposite of David Onyemata in the interior line. He's played in 29 of 32 regular season games for the Saints, missing three in 2020 due to injury. The impact of not having him in the lineup was felt during that time too.
The Saints already have Sheldon Rankins set to his the open market when free agency starts, so losing Brown too will leave the team turning to younger players like Shy Tuttle and Malcolm Roach. Both have had some impact in their short time with the team, and the team also signed Ryan Glasgow and Christian Ringo to reserve/future deals in late January.
Regardless of what happens, it sounds like Brown may be out of the picture for the Saints. In case you missed it on Tuesday morning, New Orleans recently signed Noah Spence on a low-risk deal. This could be a common theme for the team as we await the final cap number from the league.
