The Week 6 bye felt early for the New Orleans Saints when it was first announced, but the break may have come at just the right time. Eight different starters are working to return from injuries or suspensions over the next few weeks, which will bring enough salary cap relief for the Saints to be active buyers at the NFL trade deadline if they so choose.
And the schedule sets up well for the Saints moving forwards. Just half of their 12 remaining games are against teams with a winning record right now, including a pair of divisional matchups with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They’ve only played one of their six games with NFC South rivals so far. They’ll kick off half of those games at home in the Caesars Superdome, too.
So here’s how the Saints’ schedule shapes up for the rest of 2021:
