Will Saints Trade Alvin Kamara, Cam Jordan? | New Orleans Facing TOUGH DECISIONS With Aging Veterans

Will Saints Trade Alvin Kamara, Cam Jordan? | New Orleans Facing TOUGH DECISIONS With Aging Veterans

[Music] New Orleans Saints getting ready to head to Chicago to take on the Bears. Uh Bears got a win on Monday Night Football against the Washington Commanders. Walk-off field goal there at the end. Unfortunately, Jaden Daniels fumble cost his team. But the uh the Saints are looking at two different strategies here. The team presently is preparing to go with their their one and five record on the road to Chicago to try to figure out a way to win a game. and the organization is trying to figure out a way for this team to win moving forward. Well, the trade deadline is is fast approaching coming up on November the 4th. So, a little less than a month, you’re about 3 weeks away uh from the NFL trade deadline. And a season ago, New Orleans was very active at the trade deadline. And as we know, they dealt um Marshon Latimore to the Washington Commanders. So my opinion, I think you all know where I stand on this. Uh the Saints are not in any uh position to win now. Very clear at one and five. And if you have a way to purge veteran assets that are not going to be part of your long-term um rebuild and you can get assets that would be both younger and more cost-effective, then you do it. If you can send Marshon Latimore to Washington for a second round pick, absolutely. So you look at, you know, at the roster and who’s available. Well, Adam Shfter has a list that, you know, he that he posted of potential trade candidates. Um, these are potential players that front off executive coaches could be available ahead of the trade deadline. So, there’s there’s some names that are big names that are pretty obvious, like Kirk Cousins is at the top of the list, right? The Falcons have committed to Michael Penn. Um, you know, could they move Cousins if the price is right? Like, quite honestly, I don’t know why Cincinnati hasn’t already made that call. Um, they traded for Flaco. Maybe they did make the call. They didn’t like the price tag, but I mean, if you’re trying to hold this thing together till Burrow comes back, that would have made a ton of sense, but whatever. Russell Wilson’s also on that list. Bree Hall, Alvin Chimera is on the list according to Adam Shfter. But he’s not the only saint. Chris Alave, Rasheed Shahed, Brandon Cooks is on that list as well, as is Cameron Jordan. So, it’s a um it’s a complex conversation to have because you have to weigh several different things. Number one, do these veteran players, most notably Chimera and Cam Jordan, do they want to be traded? Now, for whatever it is worth, uh Ian Rapaort, uh with NFL media has a report out there that New Orleans is getting calls about Chimera, but Chimera has told Mickey Lumis that he wants to remain a saint for the remainder of his franch for he wants to remain with the franchise for the remainder of his career. Remember last year, Chimera signed a 2-year 24.5 million deal, signed it in October. So, he has signed through 2026. It was an extension on last year’s deal. So, he’s got under contract for 25 and 26. So, before next year, Chimera will have a decision to make. Does he want to play beyond 2026? Does he want to play 2026? I I don’t know. But, um, the thing that Mickey Lumis reportedly, according to Raport, did was he was very proactive so as to say, he went to Chimera to say, “Hey, look, we’re getting calls about you. Are you interested in us trying to put a deal together? Do do you want to go? Would you want to go?” and Chimera, according to the report from Rapaore, wants to stay in New Orleans. He’s 30 years old, averaging four yards a carry. Um, and I it would be one of those things where it would gut you to see Alvin Chimera playing in a different uniform, but I also look and I say, man, we saw, you know, saw Johnny Unitas play with the Chargers, man. Tom Brady played for the Bucks. EMTT Smith played for the Cardinals. Jerry Rice was a Seahawk and a Raider and a Bronco. I think it was the Broncos, too, wouldn’t he? He bounced around a bunch at the end of his career. The point is like if some of the greatest players in the history of the sport play for different teams at the end of their career, so too can Alvin Chimera. But if he wants to remain a saint and it’s fiscally reasonable for him to do so, then you keep him. You know, Cam Jordan is an interesting one as well because, you know, he’s one where the contract for Cam Jordan doesn’t really preclude you from moving on after this season. So, and it doesn’t do you much good actually to move on from him right now. you know, next year he’s an unrestricted free agent. Cam Jordan is. And so, you know, he’s got a $9 million cap hit. His dead number is 28. So, yeah, you take a little bit of a ding, but this year, but it doesn’t really matter. You know, you would eat that against your cap this year because you’re not actively trying to win right now anyway. You know, you’ve got $6 million in cap space. Um, no, forgive me. I’m sorry. That’s Cam’s cash this year. But the point being, like, it wouldn’t devastate you if you moved on from CAM and you were able to get an asset. question is, does he want to finish his career in New Orleans or does he want to have an opportunity to go somewhere else to try to win at the end? This happened with JJ Watt. He was a Houston Texan. He’s the greatest defensive player in the history of that organization. Uh he was such a great asset to the city of Houston. But at the end of his career, the Texans said, “Hey, look, do you want to go somewhere where you have a chance to win while we rebuild?” And so he went to Arizona and it didn’t work out. They didn’t win, but he but he took a swing at trying to get a ring at the end of his career. and Cam can, you know, go down on this sinking ship and stay a Saint forever if he wants to. Or there’s the possibility he could go to a contending team as a rotational piece and try to get on a playoff run and win a championship. And there’s a lot of teams that would take a veteran Cam Jordan who could maybe give you 30 really productive snaps a game, 20 to 30 snaps a game. and a a great leader in the locker room, someone with a ton of experience and and who’s been on teams that have gone on playoff runs before, like there there’s value to that for a team trying to win right now. It’s not a long-term commitment. They’re in a similar mode to what the Saints were in for a lot of years, but aren’t anymore. I think the receivers are actually for more far more interesting. If Chimera wants to say and Cam wants to say, they’re going to stay. But the receivers are more interesting because you got Chris Alav, Rasheed Shahid, and Brandon Cooks. Like, you picked up the fifth year option on a lav for next year. And listen, I’ve I’ve spoken my piece on Chris A. That’s a guy that’s not a number one and does not need to be paid like a number one. If that’s what he’s seeking, then you know, you picked up the fifth year option, so he’s here next year, but after that, then he’s leaving in free agency if you’re not going to pay him what what he wants. And the Saints have had this hard and fast rule about not going. It’s so weird for a team that’s so fiscally irresponsible, they end up standing true to their principles when it comes to their free agents. They have a number set, they’re not going to go over it. And so you saw guys like Marcus Williams and Mark Ingram leave the organization over relative pennies on the dollar because the Saints wouldn’t budge over the number they wanted. They were willing to pay. So if you can get real honest with a lav’s representation right now about what he thinks he’s going to command on the open market and if you don’t agree then trade him. And I get that it might sting to to see a former first round pick walk out the door or a day three pick or something along those lines, you know, a four, five, six, whatever it may be. But you would rather get something for him than watch him walk in free agency eventually, which is probably probably going to happen, which I actually hope happens instead of watching New Orleans invest number one wide receiver money into a guy that’s clearly not. Brandon Cooks is old. Someone wants to give you something for him, great. He’s made a an almost non-existent impact on your offense so far through six games. and totally shocking. Who could have seen that coming? We talked about it all off season. He’s the same receiver as Shahid and Lave. He’s the same He’s the same size. He’s older and he’s been less productive in recent in the last two years. But that’s the guy you went and signed. I I I screamed at the top of my lungs about letting Marcos Valdez scantling walk away and instead you went and paid more money for an older receiver who was less productive and the same size as the guys you already got. If someone’s willing to give you anything at all for Brandon Cooks, take it. He’s got 13 catches for 124 yards so far through six games on 13 targets. I mean, I’m sorry, on 17 targets. Yes. Someone’s going to give you something for Cooks, take it. I don’t think it’s going to happen because only the New Orleans Saints would have signed Brandon Cooks at his age and his productivity to a multi-year contract. So, it’s almost impossible to think someone’s going to give you an asset for an aging veteran player that you signed to a multi-year deal. Again, that’s the downside of having awful front office leadership and management when you sign aging, declining players to multi-year deals. Stupid. So, I don’t think you’re going to get anything for Cooks. The real player that might have value is Shahed. You sign Shahid to a one-year deal, and remember, he’s coming off injury, so you sign him to a one-year deal. And that’s a guy that if he keeps playing at the level he is, he’s got 26 catches already for two uh for 316 and two scores, he’s a true deep threat. If Rasheed Shahed and the New Orleans Saints right now are on different planets for what they think he’s going to be worth after the season when he hits free agency, that’s one where I think you have to look at saying, can we trade this guy? Could we trade this guy to a contending team? And then listen, when he hits free agency after the season, maybe you make a run at him or what or the team that might trade for him would probably try to lock him up in a long-term deal. Probably be part of the trade. But Shahed is the one that actually has real value. He’s a home run hitter on offense. He’s tough dude. He’s young. Like Shahed is the guy that I think would actually have some real trade value. You He’s 27. You would just have to decide, do you want Shahed to be a cornerstone piece of what you’re building for the future? Like, are you willing to invest a a four five-year deal into Rasheed Shahed north of, you know, 1520 million per? And if that’s the case, you’re going to give Shed $75 million, then okay. But if not, then he’s probably going to go test free agency. And before you let him do that, get something for him for the investment you’ve made in him. That’s the handful of players you’re keeping an eye on. But the one that would seem to have the most value in a trade situation would be Rasheed Shahid. Again, November 4th is the trade deadline. We’re going to keep an eye on it. Hey, thanks so much for watching. Please leave your comments. 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Matt Moscona breaks down the New Orleans Saints’ strategy heading into the November 4th NFL trade deadline, examining who could be on the move and who the team might keep. From Alvin Kamara’s desire to stay in New Orleans to Cam Jordan’s potential value for contending teams, Matt weighs the options for veteran stars and younger players alike. He dives into the receivers’ situation, including Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, and Brandin Cooks, highlighting who could realistically fetch trade assets and who the Saints may retain. With the team sitting at 1-5, can the Saints rebuild through trades, or will they hold onto their core and hope for improvement on the field?

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