Another NFL trade deadline has come and gone, and despite a handful of high-profile defensive linemen changing teams, the Saints were not involved in any of those deals.
On WWL radio hours after the deadline, Saints GM Mickey Loomis said the Saints had conversations, but nothing got particularly close.
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“We talked to a couple of teams about a couple of things, more in the acquisition area as opposed to trading somebody," Loomis told WWL's Mike Hoss. "We didn’t really talk about trading anyone from our team. We did talk to a couple teams about an acquisition, but I wouldn’t say it ever got really serious.”
Like most seasons, the deadline was subdued with only a handful of mid-level deals. Two of those will directly impact the Saints, with the Vikings acquiring Cardinals QB Josh Dobbs, who could be in line to start at QB when the teams meet in Week 10. There was a lot of talk about the potential trade of backup Jameis Winston to a QB-needy team, but Loomis' answer indicates that was never really on the table.
For the Saints there was buzz around the potential addition of a pass-rusher to a team with the second-fewest sacks in the NFL. The Giants moved DT Leonard Williams to the Seahawks, while the Commanders traded DE Chase Young to the 49ers and Montez Sweat to the Bears, whom the Saints face in Week 9.
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“A lot of it is determined by how you see the season playing out, and then you look at your roster and the guys that are coming up as free agents and what your opportunity is to re-sign them," Loomis said. "There are a lot of factors that go into making a decision on trading a player. And then on the other side of that it’s, hey, who can help us now accomplish our short-term goals or in some cases you want an opportunity to have a player in your system and make the decision about having them for the long-term.”
The NFL trade deadline has always been on the quiet side compared to other pro leagues. Loomis points to the hard cap as a major factor in what can make moves difficult. Major League Baseball has no salary cap, and the NBA has more flexibility if teams are willing to swallow tax charges.
"Typically a lot of teams, including us, are up against the cap and so you have to maneuver in order to add somebody," Loomis said. "You generally don’t want to take away salary cap from a future year, so it’s just a little more difficult logistically.”
The Saints sit at 4-4 and tied with the Falcons atop the NFC South, a team that made a move for a pass-rusher of its won in former Saints DT Kentavius Street from the Eagles. The Saints next host the Bears before traveling to face the Vikings in Week 10. From there they'll get a bye week before the first of two important showdowns with Atlanta.
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MORE FROM LOOMIS
Why no practice squad elevations in Week 8
“We have limitations on activations. We did talk about activating a player and yet it ultimately came down to, yea, let’s save the activation for a time that’s a little more critical. And you’re right. We’ve been a team that almost every week we’re going to have an elevation, if not two. And I think most teams are in that category, particuarly once you get past the first four weeks of the season because you’ve got a lot of players that are banged up. In our case we’ve had a bit of a virus go through our team, we have a lot of guys that are ailing, and yet a lot of guys that had the bug found a way to suit up and play on Sunday.”
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On Khalen Saunders at fullback
“Yea, he’ll probably be asking for running back money here soon enough. But, yea, it’s fun. Look, it gives our guys some energy, too. You see someone fill a role that isn’t part of the ordinary course of the game and Khalen is such a great kid. He’s a great guy, not kid. He’s a great man. He’s fun to be around, very positive. He has a lot of energy and to see him be excited, be on the football field in that role. I think it gives energy to our whole team.”
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On Rashid Shaheed
“That’s a credit to the area scouts and the guys that are out there looking at every player at every school and finding some characteristics that they like. He was a good player and was identified early on. We talked about drafting him late in the draft and luckily we had some scouts that had a good relationship with the player and with his agent and Darren Rizzi and the special teams coaches were involved in that as well. We really saw him first as a returner, a receiver second. And so we’ve been, I would say we’ve been pleasantly surprised how quickly he’s developed as a receiver, and that’s a credit to our coaches and to Rashid himself.”