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MOBILE, Ala. –General Mickey Loomis has admitted it would be an “intimidating” offseason for the New Orleans Saints, who will likely have to replace Drew Brees at quarterback and could be nearly $ 100 million above the salary cap .
But Loomis has made it clear that the Saints are not going into rebuild mode after winning the last four NFC South titles.
“Look, we’ve got a great roster. And I can’t foresee a circumstance where we’re not going to say, ‘Dude, we’re going to do whatever we can to win – win now and compete for a championship,” said Loomis on a video conference with the media while attending the Senior Bowl.
He didn’t go into much detail, saying there are still “more unknowns than known” at this point in the schedule, including:
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No official word at this time on whether Brees will actually retire as he takes time to unwind with his family after his 20th season.
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No official word on how much the salary cap will drop after loss of earnings due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The cap could drop as low as $ 175 million per team after it was $ 198.2 million. dollars in 2020, although it may be higher.
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The Saints have yet to complete their internal player reviews.
So it’s too early to say if the Saints will attempt to re-sign pending free agents such as quarterback Jameis Winston, goalie Marcus Williams, defensive end Trey Hendrickson, defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins and winger. tight Jared Cook – or if they could enter the market for an expensive QB like Matthew Stafford or whatever becomes commercially available.
“This whole assessment and what happens with it remains to be seen,” Loomis said. “We like [quarterback Taysom Hill]. We love Jameis. We liked what they did for us. But like any post, we’re going to have a lot of talking over the next couple of weeks. “
The Saints are currently expected to have $ 277.8 million in payroll expenses for 2021 with just 43 salaries on the roster, according to ESPN’s roster management system. However, they could save at least $ 13.5 million in cap space – and possibly more – if Brees retires. And they’ve been one of the most aggressive teams in the NFL for years when it comes to pushing cost caps in future seasons. So they could continue to do so if they want to keep the current list as much as possible.
For years, it looked like the Saints would “catch up” to the salary cap and possibly go into rebuilding mode every time Brees retired. But then they reloaded a championship caliber roster around him with formidable draft classes in 2016 and 2017 that included stars such as wide receiver Michael Thomas, running back Alvin Kamara, cornerback Marshon Lattimore, offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk, Williams, Hendrickson and Rankins.
A major decision the Saints must make is whether they want to extend pending 2022 free agents such as Lattimore, Hill and offensive tackles Ramczyk and Terron Armstead. Another would be whether they would consider successful trades to free up ceiling space and add draft picks like they’ve done with stars Jimmy Graham and Brandin Cooks in the past.
“Look, it’s gonna be tough for sure,” Loomis said of the salary cap. “And yet, I don’t want to speculate on the challenge that will be until we have a better understanding of what will be available – not just for this year, but even for the following year. So I can’t. really answering that question other than saying, yes, it’s going to be intimidating. I think it’s going to be intimidating for the majority of teams in our league. “
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