The Saints current quarterback room is gross and the team knows it. With only two active quarterbacks on roster in Taysom Hill and Ian Book the team will set out to find themselves someone who they feel will win games. When evaluating what quarterbacks can win games the biggest question to ask is, is this quarterback a guy who can be relied on or someone who relies on others? A guy who the team relies on is obviously Drew Brees or Tom Brady while someone who relies on everyone else/the scheme would be a guy like Jimmy G or Carson Wentz.
Obviously getting a Wentz or Jimmy G wouldn’t be ideal but unfortunately they’ll likely be on the Saints radar due to the fact that they need help at quarterback. That will be the case for the Saints in general, they’ll call about and look into every option possible. Chances are they won’t end up with Aaron Rodgers (shocking) or land Russell Wilson this offseason. They may even call about Baker Mayfield, who knows. But what I do know is that there is still a list of quarterbacks we can see the team pursue and look to inquire. And that starts with their guy from last year, Jameis Winston.
Jameis Winston
Jameis is the safest and most logical answer at quarterback for the team right now. Getting Wilson or Rodgers is out of reach right now and with the quarterback draft class looking the way it is, retaining Jameis will keep the team competitive. He had the team at 5-2 with 14 touchdowns and 3 interceptions without his best wide receiver (could argue best player on the team), and no real wide receiver one or two.
Jameis staying with the Saints allows the team to easily build around him as well by getting some guys in free agency or the draft to provide some extra assistance. And if the team gets that help the scheme doesn’t have to change. Jameis can stretch the field with his arm which gives him the biggest advantage in terms of talent over everyone else on this list. That arm is what the scheme was built around in the 2011 days, the prime Drew Brees era. Jameis has the arm, the scheme is in play, he’s been with the team, the only conflicting issue could be on Jameis’ side. Does he want to come back without Sean Payton? If I’m Jameis I would need to be guaranteed the starting job because I won out last offseason so I shouldn’t have to do it again. Then there’s money, how much can the Saints offer him, cause it better be more than Taysom Hill. No way he comes back and gets paid less than a guy he beat out for the starting quarterback job. So, that puts his price range probably around $15M at least. Now is Jameis a guy who is relied on or relies on others? That’s pretty simple, look at the roster he had for seven weeks, he’s someone who the team can rely on to win games when the scheme doesn’t work or in the final minutes of a game or when the roster is depleted.
When it’s all said and done though and you look at every option the Saints have/could potentially have Jameis makes the most sense for this team going into the 2022 season.
Teddy Bridgewater
Desperate times call for desperate measures and the Saints might go for Teddy Bridgewater. In the scenario where Jameis can’t be retained Teddy is likely the man the Saints turn to. He’s been in the system and around the team. It’s a familiar face, with a game manager upside. Not much else. The team may get into the wildcard but with Teddy at quarterback you won’t win. His time in Denver relied upon the run game which he could probably do in New Orleans, but the team would have to change up the scheme. They’d have to become a team who manages the game like the 49ers, Eagles, and the Dolphins. The RPO offense is something we’ll likely see with the Saints if they don’t keep Jameis. Control the clock and you control the game is what the team will rely on week in and week out.
Everyone on this list is essentially a game manager (outside of Jameis) with some having a higher upside than others but all needing a team to rely upon. Getting Teddy would not improve upon my hopes, I would feel neutral about it, nothing else. I would just hope the team goes big at the skill position to compensate for the lack of confidence at quarterback. Teddy’s projected contract is $10M to $20M but I’ve seen reports and rumors that he might want $25M for two years which is absurd.
Mitchell Trubisky
Trubisky is an interesting prospect for the quarterback of the Saints. Jordan Shultz reported that a lot of NFL executives believe Trubisky is a starting quarterback in the NFL and was held back by Matt Nagy. Trubisky took the year off like Jameis did in 2020 to learn and develop into a better player, and he developed by watching Josh Allen, someone who had a lot of struggles in his early years in the NFL and is now one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Mitch took time to find himself and develop and now is expected to pull a lot of interest from a lot of teams including the Saints. He wasn’t bad in Chicago but it wasn’t anything impressive. Things could’ve changed, nobody has seen him play in over a year except people inside the Bills facility. If he did come to the Saints there would be a mix of two schemes of ground and pound and the original scheme Pete Carmichael is used to calling. We could see a similar scheme to the Giants or Panthers if Trubisky ended up a Saint. Now could the Saints rely on him to win games? I think he’s in the middle, he will win some and he will cost you some games, so it just depends on how the Saints view Trubisky compared to other quarterback candidates. A potential contract would be in the $5M to $10M range.
Jordan Love
With Aaron Rodgers presumably staying in Green Bay it makes no sense for Jordan Love to be there much longer on the bench. Being a backup for two seasons just to backup for two more. Reports have mentioned that Green Bay doesn’t have faith in Jordan Love and that a potential trade could be in the works soon. If the Saints need a quarterback and they can get a good deal on a trade for Love, I see no reason not to if Jameis isn’t a Saint. I’d go the Jordan Love route before I potentially sign Trubisky or Teddy. Love I think has a much higher upside than the majority of guys on this list, but the problem is nobody has seen him play as a consistent starter. He started one game and that was it. I think he has a good arm with decent athleticism while learning under Rodgers for the past two years. With Love, you have to probably give up a second round pick or a position of value to the Packers, and if you trade for him that probably means you’re gonna stick with him for the next two years at least and I’m not sure that’s a commitment the Saints want to make right now in terms of quarterback.
Jimmy G
This is bound to happen, the team will call about Jimmy G. His resume of two championship games in three years looks good on paper, but in those years the defense carried along with the run game and a strong scheme. The Saints have a strong defense, not the best run game and Alvin Kamara’s situation is uncertain, and a Saints scheme that doesn’t fit what Jimmy G is suited up for. His success has been set up by the run game and RPO’s. Jimmy G is also undergoing surgery and won’t throw for 16 weeks, then you have to trade for him, then you have to pay him like $25M or something like that which is not worth it. The team would have to adjust for Jimmy and set up a scheme for him that he can rely on because he won’t have success in the current scheme. He can’t be relied on. I most definitely would stay away, but the team will call about him.
Marcus Mariota
The Saints have been linked as multiple teams interested in Marcus Mariota and it wouldn’t be terrible. He would probably join the Saints in a scenario where the team drafts a quarterback but won’t be ready to start week one. So Mariota becomes the guy to fill in until the rookie is ready to start. Like everyone else, the scheme would have to be adjusted and quirked to set Mariota up for success.
Carson Wentz
Almost certain this won’t happen, but not a definite no. Wentz is expected to be traded and what comes with him is a $15M cap hit. He is someone the team would once again need to change the scheme up to have success. Become a ground and pound team. The last time we saw something like that was 2017 and that’s nowhere near what the offense would look like with Wentz at quarterback.
As you can tell every single one of these quarterbacks aside from Jameis all have similar skill sets and would require more guidance than someone like Jameis. They’re all game managers who would need to rely on everyone else or the scheme. Now am I opposed to that style of offense? No. But what I think the Saints are trying to do with the offense by keeping Carmichael is to build the skill positions around a quarterback who can stretch the field. And of the guys listed above, Jameis is the best option.
Now an argument I have is if the team goes with the game manager route, why not just draft a quarterback? We’ve seen Teddy’s upside and it isn’t great, so why not maybe take a risk on a quarterback in the draft? Teddys upside is essentially the same as everyone else aside from Jameis and possibly Jimmy G. Drafting a quarterback shows that the team wants a rebuild and this team is far from a rebuild. It just needs some adjustments and tweaks and the team will be set for the season.
Written by Kadin Janisch
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