If you’ve followed closely, you’ve heard some interesting linguistic gymnastics from New Orleans Saints camp this offseason.
Team officials have been careful to characterize the upcoming campaign as a “reset” rather than a “rebuild.” Likewise, they’ve used the word “aspirations” instead of “expectations.”
Maybe the Saints are simply trying to drive ticket sales and maintain positive vibes for first-year head coach Kellen Moore, but the verbal subterfuge has been noticeable to anyone paying attention.
Yet, while team officials say one thing, their actions indicate another. The Saints are in the midst of a full-blown rebuild.
Every offseason move appears to have been executed with the future in mind. It began with the decision not to pursue a veteran quarterback in the wake of Derek Carr’s retirement and extended to this week with the surprise release of All-Pro special teamer J.T. Gray.
Out are veterans Carr, Gray, Khalen Saunders, Dante Pettis, Donovan Peoples-Jones, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Cam Akers, D’Marco Jackson and Nephi Sewell. In are newbies and youngsters Tyler Shough, Khristian Boyd, Devaughn Vele, Mason Tipton, Velus Jones, Devin Neal, Jaylan Ford, Isaiah Stalbird and Danny Stutsman.
The result: The Saints will enter the 2025 season as a decidedly younger, cheaper and less experienced team than those of years past. They have a new head coach, a new quarterback, a new offensive and defensive scheme and new play-callers on both sides of the ball. Nine of the projected 22 starters for the opener are different from the lineup that started Week 1 last season. Twenty-four of the 53 players on the active roster are new. Ten of them are rookies.
With so many new, inexperienced moving parts, growing pains are not just expected. They are inevitable.
Whether the Saints call it a rebuilding season or not, that’s exactly what we’re looking at. It makes sense to play the long game and think big picture, considering the state of the roster, the club’s recent salary cap issues and the relative inexperience of their head coach and quarterback.
In Moore and Spencer Rattler, the Saints will field the youngest head coach-quarterback battery in the league. Moore turned 37 in July. Rattler will turn 25 in Week 3, making him the second youngest starting quarterback in franchise history behind Archie Manning.
Winning with such a young combo isn’t impossible. The Los Angeles Rams went 11-5 in 2017 with 23-year-old Jared Goff at quarterback and Sean McVay as a 31-year-old rookie head coach. And Kevin O’Connell led the Minnesota Vikings to a 13-4 record in his first NFL season at age 37
But more often than not, the merciless NFL eats its young.
“We have the talent, we’ve got the guys, now we got to just go out there and do it,” Rattler said. “We’re excited to get out there and show the world what we got.”
Few outside the 504 area code are as optimistic about the Saints’ chances. ESPN ranks their roster as the least talented in the NFL. The Saints didn’t have a single representative on the NFL’s list of top 100 players. Almost every preseason power ranking lists the Saints last or next-to-last to last in the league. Meanwhile, Vegas oddsmakers have made them underdogs in all but one game this season and assigned them 400-to-1 odds to win the Super Bowl, making them the longest shots in the league.
The last time the Saints entered a season with such low expectations was 2006 — and we all know how that turned out.
Indeed, dramatic turnarounds happen often in the NFL. The Houston Texans went from worst to first in 2023. The Washington Commanders did it last season. The league’s business model is built to ensure parity.
Can Moore, Rattler and the Saints thread the needle in a rebuilding campaign?
It’s possible. But a lot will need to go right.
For starters, the Saints will need to stay healthy, something they haven’t done in recent years. The roster remains shy of experienced depth, largely because of a string of subpar recent drafts. The Saints' starting units are relatively talented and experienced. If they can stay healthy, it will be a big step toward a competitive season.
Because of the inexperience at quarterback, the defense and running game will need to be improved from a year ago. Defensive coordinator Brandon Staley’s complex 3-4 scheme is highly regarded around the NFL, but it’s new to the Saints and will have to incorporate six new starters and others switching to new positions. The unit will need to coalesce quickly to take the pressure off Rattler and the offense.
Meanwhile, the running game will need to carry the load offensively, especially early as Rattler finds his footing. For that to happen, the line, which features multiple high draft picks, needs to play at a high level.
And finally, the Saints could use a little luck. They’re due for things to go their way. A few fortunate breaks and bounces of the ball can instill confidence and create momentum. Exhibit A: the 2024 Commanders.
If Moore can push the right buttons and Rattler can overcome his inexperience, the Saints have a chance to compete in the perennially weak NFC South division. But a lot of things have to fall into place.
More likely, a challenging season awaits.
Patience will need to be a virtue for Saints fans this season. Understandably, that reality might be a bitter pill to swallow, given the club’s string of four consecutive playoff-less seasons. But all signs point to a difficult season.
That’s usually how rebuilds work, even if they’re called something else.