Alontae Taylor had already shared what appeared to be a farewell to the Saints earlier in the week, and as of Monday afternoon it became clear why.
The former Saints second-round pick has agreed to terms on a big-money contract with the Tennessee Titans, according to reports. The deal is for 3 years, $60 million, placing him squarely in the top 10 highest-paid players at his position. The deal was made on the first day of the NFL's "legal tampering" period and cannot be finalized until the start of the new league year on March 11.
The Saints and Taylor's camps had talks about an extension throughout the season, but nothing materialized. The sticking point was always going to be positional value, with Taylor serving as the team's slot corner each of the past two seasons, a position that typically draws a significantly lower contract value than outside cornerbacks. Taylor has repeatedly made it clear that he views himself as an outside corner, but that he would do whatever the team needed. Taylor appeared in 64 games for the Saints (53 starts) and rolled up 293 tackles, 52 passes defensed, 7 sacks, 4 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles. He holds the franchise record for the most sacks recorded in a single game by a defensive back (3 in Week 1 of 2024 vs Panthers)
Taylor's deal also means a homecoming for the Tennessee native who also starred at the University of Tennessee.
The Saints have a pair of young starters at the outside corner spots in Kool-Aid McKinstry and Quincy Riley, and will likely add more depth to the position this offseason.
The news was the latest headline on a wildly busy day to kick off free agency, both with signings and departures. Along with Taylor the Saints will bid farewell to team leader Demario Davis, who agreed to his own big-money deal to join the New York Jets.
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The Saints also made three big acquisitions at positions of need, signing former Vikings punter Ryan Wright (4/$12M), former Jaguars RB and Louisiana native Travis Etienne (4/$52M) and former Bills guard David Edwards (4/$61M). All three players were at or near the top of their respective position pools in free agency.
The Saints have several other notable players testing the waters of free agency, including DE Cam Jordan who is without a contract as FA arrives for the first time in his 15 NFL seasons.