The Saints have a new head coach in 2025 and already have a potential change at quarterback brewing thanks to a Derek Carr shoulder injury and a high draft pick at the position

Scott Smith

The 2024 New Orleans Saints had the franchise's worst record in almost two decades, finishing 5-12 and in fourth place in the NFC South on a tiebreaker with Carolina. They last finished with five or fewer wins in 2005, when they went 3-13, one year before rebounding to a 10-6 mark and a division title. New Orleans failed to reach the postseason for the fourth year in a row after previously winning four straight South crowns from 2017-20.

The result was a regime change in the Big Easy. Dennis Allen was fired at midseason and Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi finished the season as the interim head coach; Allen spent two-and-a-half seasons at the helm but his New Orleans tenure was longer than that, as he was a long-time defensive coordinator under Sean Payton before replacing Payton in 2022. The Saints pivoted to an offensive-minded head coach for 2025, hiring former Philadelphia Eagles Offensive Coordinator Kellen Moore.

Quarterback issues made it hard for the Saints to keep their 2024 season on track. After a blistering start that saw New Orleans beat Carolina and Dallas by a combined 91-29 score, Carr suffered an oblique injury in Week Four. Later, a hand fracture and a concussion kept him out of the last four games. The Saints were 5-5 in his starts, 0-7 in all other games. That included six starts by Spencer Rattler and one by Jake Haener.

The Saints' usually stout defense also slumped in 2024, finishing 30th in league rankings overall, including 31st against the run and 27th against the pass. Longtime franchise icon cornerback Marshon Lattimore was traded to Washington at the deadline for third, fourth and sixth-round picks in the 2025 draft.

The Saints as a franchise have yet to back away from their ultra-aggressive approach to the NFL salary cap, routinely pushing cap hits down the road in order to retain and add players in an effort to compete each season. Can they succeed with this approach in 2025 and snap the team's longest playoff drought since the early 2000s. That remains to be seen, but we can certainly keep an eye on all the developments in New Orleans as we continue our offseason series of "NFC South Check-Ins." This is the third entry in that series, and the previous looks at the Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers will be updated shortly following the conclusion of the NFL's 2025 Draft.

2025 New Orleans Saints

News/Developments Since End of 2024 Season:

As noted above, the Saints have a new coaching staff led by Kellen Moore, who gets his first shot at the corner office after OC stints with the Eagles (2024), Chargers (2023) and Cowboys (2019-22). He'll bring to New Orleans a newly-minted Super Bowl ring after helping the Eagles swamp the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX. Moore tabbed Doug Nussmeier as his offensive coordinator and Brandon Staley as his defensive coordinator; Nussmeier had been the quarterbacks coach under Moore in Moore's previous three stops while Staley was head coach of the Chargers from 2021-23 after a successful stint as the Rams' defensive coordinator.

The Saints are already facing quarterback questions again months before the start of a new season. The revelation that Carr has a potentially serious shoulder injury of an unexplained origin a fact Carr recently confirmed during a speech at a church service came on the heels of the team restructuring his contract for 2025 cap relief. The move resulted in Carr's $40 million salary for 2025 becoming fully guaranteed and pushed his cap hit in 2026 to $69.2 million. The Saints signaled a potential pivot at the position by using a high second-round pick, number 40 overall, on Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough (more on that below).

Prior to the start of free agency, the Saints released running back Jamaal Williams and traded a seventh-round pick to New England to get defensive tackle Davon Godchaux. The Saints also gave new three-year deals to tight end Juwan Johnson and defensive end Chase Young and extended the contract of defensive tackle Nathan Shepherd. Johnson was second on the team with 50 catches last season and Young was tied for second on the defense with 5.5 sacks.

Free Agency:

In addition to the Young and Johnson signings, which went for a combined $82 million, the Saints' biggest deal in free agency was bringing in former Chiefs safety Justin Reide on a three-year, $31.5 million deal. Reid has 102 starts, 10 interceptions and 46 passes defensed over seven seasons with the Texans and Saints. Cornerback Isaac Yiadom could also earn a starting spot after coming over from San Francisco on a modest three-year deal.

Wide receiver Brandin Cooks returned to his original NFL home on a two-year pact. While he missed time with injuries and only had 26 catches in 2024, Cooks provides some cover for a Saints' receiving corps that has dealt with serious injuries to Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed. Dillon Radunz, a former second-round pick in Tennessee, will get a shot at the starting left guard spot after landing a one-year contract in New Orleans. Will Clapp returns to the Saints after three seasons in L.A. and Buffalo and provides depth for the line, as well.

Even with their efforts to create cap space, the Saints couldn't retain all of their free agents, and the most notable defection was that of cornerback Paulson Adebo, who signed a three-year deal with the Giants. The Saints started last season with Lattimore and Adebo as their outside corners but will now apparently turn to 2024 second-round pick Kool-Aid McKinstry and possibly Yiadom or 2025 fourth-rounder Quincy Riley.

Other players from the Saints' 2024 roster who ended up elsewhere in free agency included wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling (Seahawks), safety Will Harris (Commanders), defensive end Payton Turner (Cowboys) and linebacker Willie Gay (Dolphins).

2025 NFL Draft:

Despite the uncertainty surrounding Carr, the Saints did not force a quarterback pick with the ninth-overall selection, instead helping whoever ends up with that job by drafting Texas tackle Kelvin Banks. The Saints are expected to slot Banks in at left tackle and move last year's first-round pick, Taliese Fuaga, to right tackle to replace the disappointing Trevor Penning.

The Saints didn't wait too long at the quarterback spot, though, making Shough the third one off the board after Cam Ward and Jaxson Dart went in the first round. Shough is best known for his extensive college career, as he spent three years at Oregon (2018-20) and three at Texas Tech (2021-23) before his big breakout season at Louisville last year. He will turn 26 in September but he has prototypical size for the position (6-5, 220) and a very strong arm. He also moves around the pocket very well and can make plays with his legs.

The Saints then spent the middle rounds of the draft reloading on every level of defense, getting Texas defensive tackle Vernon Broughton and Virginia safety Jonas Sanker in the third round plus Oklahoma linebacker Danny Stutsman and Riley out of Louisville in the fourth round. Sanker and Stutsman could figure prominently in the future of the Saints defense with such certified greats as Demario Davis and Tyrann Mathieu getting up in age.