The New Orleans Saints will, along with every other NFL team, take advantage of the “legal tampering window” at noon Eastern to begin negotiating with free agents from around the league. Note: “legal tampering window” is an awful term to use, so for the rest of this post, we’ll simply be calling it the “negotiating window.”
Anyway, here’s six free agents the Saints must check in on:
6. CB Brian Poole, Atlanta Falcons
Wouldn’t it be fun to start free agency by poaching a dirty bird? Poole has been a nice piece in the secondary for Atlanta the last few years, peaking in 2018 with a stat line including three interceptions and six other pass breakups, three sacks and five quarterback hits, and two fumble recoveries. The guy just makes plays. The Saints could use an insurance policy in case Patrick Robinson isn’t ready to resume the starting job in the slot (where Poole did his best work) or if Eli Apple regresses after a strong finish to the 2018 season.
5. DT Malik Jackson, Jacksonville Jaguars
Jackson doesn’t truly count towards the window, having been released from his Jaguars contract, but he’s well worth listing. He’s a productive, experienced presence with Super Bowl champion credentials on his resume. The Saints have too many holes on their defensive line to ignore the position, and Jackson would do a lot to cure what ails them. Sheldon Rankins is sidelined with his Achilles injury, Tyler Davison is a free agent, and David Onyemata could face a league suspension.
4. DE Cameron Wake, Miami Dolphins
It would be great to reunite Wake with the evaluator that brought him into the NFL — Saints assistant general manager Jeff Ireland. Wake has done nothing but produce since stepping on the field as one of the game’s most-disruptive pass rushers, and he still has gas left in the tank. With Marcus Davenport returning from toe surgery and Alex Okafor set to test the market, adding Wake would make plenty of sense for New Orleans.
3. OL Billy Turner, Denver Broncos
The Saints weren’t able to retain experienced backup Senio Kelemete last offseason, and they paid for it to close out the year when lesser options were getting thrown around by opposing defensive lines. But Billy Turner offers them a golden opportunity to bolster their offensive line. He played well in Denver as a swing backup, filling in at guard and tackle and looking solid in a few games as a starter. The Saints can’t offer him a starting job, but they can certainly meet his contract figure.
2. WR Golden Tate, Philadelphia Eages
The Saints badly need a real slot receiver, freeing up Michael Thomas to work all over the formation and give Drew Brees a go-to threat. That’s what Tate has done throughout his NFL career, barring a last-minute stop with the Eagles who just couldn’t figure out how to get him the ball. Tate could smoothly step in to New Orleans and immediately change games with his ability to wreck defenses from the slot and create yards after the catch.
1. TE Jared Cook, Oakland Raiders
The top pass-catching tight end in free agency will be coming from Oakland. Cook finally broke out late in his career, making big catches for the Raiders over the last two years after finally being given an opportunity. He can make all kinds of acrobatic catches for chunks of yardage to help out the Saints. The only question is how much they’re willing to pay a tight end on the wrong side of 30, who’s underachieved for most of his NFL career.
