Many New Orleans Saints players are set to enter unrestricted free agency, giving them the opportunity to negotiate with new teams and potentially land a big payday. However, five of their teammates are going into March’s signing period with restricted free agency status. Here’s what that means.
Restricted free agents can negotiate with other teams, but their current squad can claim the right of first refusal through exercising one of several different one-year contract tenders. But the ability to match contract offers comes with a price.
The latest projections from Over The Cap suggest tender values in the range of $4,667,000 (for first-round pick compensation) to $3,278,000 (second-round pick compensation), and $2,144,000 (for original-round draft pick compensation). Those totals are fully-guaranteed against the salary cap.
New Orleans doesn’t have a good history with restricted free agency. They have only used the lowest tender level in recent memory, and rarely matched opposing contract offers. They let wide receiver Willie Snead leave uncontested when the Baltimore Ravens signed him to a two-year, $7 million deal in 2018. Backup tight end Josh Hill signed a three-year, $7.5 million offer sheet with the Chicago Bears in 2016, but the Saints matched it and extended him again in 2018.
They didn’t even tender defensive tackle Tyrunn Walker back in 2015, despite it only costing about $1.54 million at the time and Walker having shown some rare bright spots in a historically-bad defense (the Detroit Lions signed him to a one-year, $1.75 million deal, and re-upped him the next season). He’s an example of a player the Saints hoped they could keep on a veteran’s minimum salary, which is obviously a riskier option.
But things are projecting differently in 2020. There’s a good chance the Saints exercise one of the more-valuable tender options; in fact, they may have to. They could also work out long-term contract extensions if they so choose; Saints kicker Wil Lutz did just that last year, when he was a restricted free agent. Here are the five Saints players that qualify, and what the team should do with each of them.
Justin Hardee, cornerback
Hardee’s had an interesting career path, and now he’s one of the Saints’ central special teams aces. He plays often on the punt and kickoff units, and led the team in snaps played in the game’s third phase (362) last season, outpacing even Craig Robertson (324) and Taysom Hill (286). He’s someone the Saints coaches have invested years of development in, and should definitely try to keep around for the future.
The question they have to ask now is how much Hardee’s contributions are worth. He doesn’t play defense (just 37 snaps logged last season) and is still learning the position’s finer points after entering the NFL as a wide receiver. He can’t be counted on just yet to be a top backup behind Marshon Lattimore and Janoris Jenkins. But his presence on special teams speaks for itself, and the Saints might do well to sign him to the lowest contract tender, then wait and see whether the market can set a price on his long-term contract value.
Verdict: Sign him to a right-to-match tender.
Cameron Tom, guard/center
Tom’s year ended prematurely on injured reserve, but he was the team’s second-string center by the time training camp wrapped up. The Saints held a three-way competition to start at center between rookie draft pick Erik McCoy (who won), veteran free agent Nick Easton (who started six games at left guard instead), and Tom (who was Max Unger’s understudy the last few years). If he hadn’t been injured late in preseason, Tom would have gone into the season as the top backup at both center and guard.
So keeping him around is the obvious choice. It’s just unclear how the Saints should approach that. Tom was first promoted to the 53-man roster to keep him from being poached by other teams off the Saints practice squad back in 2017, so he’s probably still on other teams’ radar. Using either of the top two tenders may not be necessary, but the lowest-level tender could get him snatched up by another team (and because he went undrafted out of Southern Mississippi, the Saints would not get compensated). The best solution would be a low-cost contract extension similar to what Senio Kelemete once signed with the Saints (two years, $2.7 million).
Verdict: Sign him to a long-term extension.
Zach Wood, long snapper
Long snappers are harder to find in the NFL than you’d think. Back in 2017, the Saints tried out three different candidates including an NFL journeyman, a priority-signing free agent out of college, and a backup tight end, but none of them satisfied the coaching staff. They then traded for Philadelphia Eagles folk hero Jon Dorenbos, whose physical revealed a career-ending heart condition. The Saints signed Wood during roster cuts just before the 2017 season started, and he’s stuck around ever since.
So that makes the choice to keep him easy. Entertaining as a training camp competition between long snappers may be, it’s important for the Saints to maintain continuity in the special teams units now that they’ve found their answers at punter (Thomas Morstead), kicker (Wil Lutz), and returner (Deonte Harris). Long snapper salaries are so low (the highest-paid barely crack $1.2 million) that there’s no reason the Saints can’t get this situation hammered out quickly.
Verdict: Sign him to a long-term extension.
Austin Carr, wide receiver
Carr averaged more than 30 snaps per game in his early-season appearances before landing on injured reserve, but he was targeted just twice for all that playing-time (catching one pass for nine yards). He might be a capable blocker in the slot, but the Saints need receivers who can make plays. They can’t afford to have guys like Carr running for nothing out there anymore.
Maybe Carr returns on a veteran’s minimum salary. He probably won’t draw much attention on the free agent market, but at this point it feels like the team should have a good idea of what his NFL role is, and what he can or can’t do. If he’s still on the roster come October, it will be because they failed to make the upgrades Drew Brees needs to compete for another Super Bowl title. It’s time to move on and find upgrades.
Verdict: Let him walk in free agency.
Taysom Hill, quarterback
How confident are the Saints in Hill’s future with the team? Do they really see him starting at quarterback, or is he better suited to lining up everywhere else? Hill showed impressive progress at navigating the pocket and throwing with anticipation during last year’s preseason, but the players he made look foolish are in the XFL right now. His few pass attempts in the regular season and playoffs were underthrown, and often required adjustments by his receivers. Hill turns 30 this year, and it’s fair to wonder how much longer his athleticism will give him an edge.
If the Saints are fully invested in Hill’s further development as a passer, then they should use the first-round tender. If he’s really going to be the answer post-Brees, then keeping him around has to be their top priority. But if the Saints see him as more of an offensive weapon and special teams asset, the second-round tender makes more sense. He’d almost certainly draw offers from other teams at the lowest level, and having not been drafted, the Saints would get no compensation should he leave town. Considering the difference between possibly getting back a second-rounder or nothing at all is only about $1 million, the Saints would be negligent to go that route.
Verdict: Sign him to a second-round tender.
