Saints Explain Quiet Deadline And It Actually Makes A Lot Of Sense

The New Orleans Saints opted against a full-scale rebuild and firesale ahead of the 2025 National Football League trade deadline.

With the Saints having a 1-8 record — the worst mark in the NFC as of writing — minimal draft capital, and salary cap issues, the idea of a sell-off in some capacity made sense. New Orleans traded Rashid Shaheed and Trevor Penning, but didn’t fully embrace the deadline.

The Times-Picayune and The Advocate's Matthew Paras spoke with Saints general manager Mickey Loomis about the deadline and he explained why.

"Although the Saints are 1-8, a record that warrants a sell-off for future assets, Loomis indicated the franchise had to be conscious of making deals that would 'hinder' their quarterbacks' growth — or the coaching staff’s chance to fully evaluate them," Paras said.

"So our assessment at the end was, look, the value of what we’re doing is greater than any risk of hurting our chances to improve and develop,” Loomis told The Times-Picayune.

"...If you go back and look at all these quarterbacks, it just takes time,” Loomis said of the quarterback position. “And nobody wants to hear that, right? … All we have to do is look around our league and see Baker Mayfield, Daniel Jones, Sam Darnold. And there’s a bunch of examples of guys that, ‘Hey, if they would have stuck with the development plan, where would those franchises be with those players?' … Very rarely do (quarterbacks) have instant success.”

The Saints weren't as active as expected at the trade deadline

Sep 28, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; New Orleans Saints wide receiver Rashid Shaheed (22) warms up before a game against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

That's a fair idea. The Saints just turned the offense over to Tyler Shough last week. If the season were to end today, though, the Saints would actually have the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. But, would you then take another quarterback? Or, do the Saints already have a long-term option on their roster in Shough?

He didn't start the first eight games of the season. The Saints could surely evaluate him on the practice field, but that isn't the same. Shough is the highest-selected quarterback by New Orleans since Archie Manning in 1971 — stop us if you've heard that before.

What this shows is that it's not common for the Saints to draft a quarterback very high. The rest of the season seemingly will be a way for New Orleans to determine if Shough can be the guy to build around, or if they need to start from scratch again next year. That's a lot of pressure and not a lot of time to evaluate, but that's where New Orleans is.

The Saints could've used some more draft capital. There's an argument that trading someone like Alontae Taylor would've gotten something back, but there's no way to know what happened behind closed doors. Regardless, the trade deadline is now in the past. The rest of the season fully revolves around evaluating Shough.

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