For a team that never wanted to rebuild, the New Orleans Saints seem to have embraced it.
Think back to last offseason. The plan to run it back with Derek Carr instantly shifted when the quarterback first suffered a mysterious shoulder injury and then retired. Everything since then has caused the Saints to “recalibrate,” general manager Mickey Loomis acknowledged after this past season.
That recalibration — not to be confused with a rebuild, wink wink — unfolded in stages. The rookie quarterback. The push to get younger. The growing pains under a first-year coach, followed by genuine momentum near the end of the season.