The New Orleans Saints were unable to find a trade partner before releasing right guard Larry Warford, but he’s already receiving interest as a free agent. Warford was called up to the Pro Bowl as an alternate in each of his three seasons with the Saints, but a step back in performance before a contract year in 2020 prompted the team to draft Michigan interior lineman Cesar Ruiz in the first round of this year’s NFL draft.
John McClain of the Houston Chronicle reported Friday evening that the Houston Texans were a team looking to get in on Warford’s sweepstakes, potentially reuniting him with former teammate Senio Kelemete (who started 14 games at left guard in 2018 before his 2019 campaign ended with a Week 1 wrist injury). The Texans have struggled to field a consistent five-man lineup in front of franchise quarterback Deshaun Watson, so Warford’s streak of 101 starts (plus six playoff appearances) would be appealing.
Another team to watch on Warford might be the Chicago Bears. The Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs reported that the Bears would consider a run at Warford, whose only hurdle at starting in the Windy City would be Seattle Seahawks draft bust Germain Ifedi (signed by the Bears as a free agent earlier this year). Longtime Saints personnel director Ryan Pace is now the Bears general manager, so he may have a good idea of what Warford offers.
What’s frustrating about this immediate interest from teams around the league is that the Saints apparently couldn’t cut a deal with any of these teams before releasing Warford. That’s probably due to his salary — any team trading for the 29-year-old would be on the hook for his $7.65 million base salary, but now that he’s a free agent they can negotiate a contract much more favorable against the salary cap. It’ll be interesting to see where he lands up.
