Could Saints Consider Trade Involving $13 Million 3-Time All-Pro?

The Saints have work to do this offseason
Dec 29, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA;  New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu (32) reacts to a play against the Las Vegas Raiders during the second half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
Dec 29, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu (32) reacts to a play against the Las Vegas Raiders during the second half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

It certainly seems like a new era is coming for the New Orleans Saints.

The Saints won just five games in 2024, don't currently have a head coach, and have massive cap issues facing the team this offseason. That's going to lead to obvious changes. The Saints need to find a way to trim down the payroll and get the books in order.

After winning five games, it wouldn't be too shocking to see a rebuild on the way. New Orleans has some talent on the roster but things just didn't work out in 2024. There already has been speculation about the type of moves the Saints could make.

Bleacher Report's Gary Davenport made a hypothetical list of trades to "reshape" the NFL for this upcoming offseason. One move he suggested was a trade between the Saints and Ravens that would send three-time All-Pro Tyrann Mathieu to the Baltimore Ravens.

"Saints Get: 2025 fifth-round pick," Davenport said. "Ravens Get: S Tyrann Mathieu. It's hardly a secret that the Saints could be holding a fire sale this offseason, especially where aging players are concerned. The Saints are years (plural) from being a contender. They need to get what they can for some players and get their salary off the books. There was a time when veteran safety Tyrann Mathieu would have cost potential suitors a lot more than a Day 3 pick...

"The Ravens did a lot of things well in 2024. Playing the pass was not one of them. The Ravens secondary surrendered the second-most passing yards per game in the regular season, and that pass defense was the team's undoing in the postseason. The Ravens don't have the cap space to chase huge names around, but they are in the middle of a Super Bowl window that may not stay open for much longer."

This is just a hypothetical but it does make some sense. Mathieu signed a two-year, $13.75 million deal with the Saints and has a cap hit of over $11 million in 2025. If the Saints want to help fix their cap issues, this could be a way to do so. But, it is just a hypothetical.

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Patrick McAvoy
PATRICK MCAVOY

Patrick McAvoy's experiences include local and national sports coverage at the New England Sports Network with a focus on baseball and basketball. Outside of journalism, Patrick also recieved an MBA at Brandeis University. For all business/marketing inquiries, please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org