Week 11 of the NFL season gives the New Orleans Saints a short reprieve from their brutal 2-8 season, as they enter a bye week and take some rest. It has no doubt been a difficult season for everyone involved, but that was somewhat expected in a year where the roster was still transitioning from the veteran talent to the younger prospects. The 2026 offseason will be a similar one, with many key players set to hit the market or void their contracts, which leaves some intriguing decisions behind.

The 2026 class of free agents is set to be quite large for the Saints, and has shifted a bit in the past few weeks. Here is the full group of players, and which type of free agency they will hit.

Exclusive rights free agentsP Kai Kroeger: 29.1% of snapsTE Zaire Mitchell-Paden: 18.0% of snapsLB Isaiah Stalbird: 6.6% of snapsCB Rejzohn Wright: 0.3% of snapsQB Hunter Dekkers: 0.0% of snapsOL Barry Wesley: 0.0% of snapsTE Mason Pline: 0.0% of snaps

This is a pretty simple group to comprehend when it comes to decisions, as the team can either choose to bring them back or let them walk to free agency. Their projected contracts will be between $840,000 and $1,030,000 each, due to the fact that they each have two or fewer accrued seasons, putting them in this category. While no one in particular from this group would be considered a massive decision, Isaiah Stalbird has made some strong contributions on special teams, and Zaire Mitchell-Paden has seen some good reps so far.

Restricted free agentsK Blake Grupe: 31.7% of snaps

Restricted free agents are a bit more open when it comes to decisions to make, as the Saints could look to bring Grupe back on the minimum, or leverage a different option with the RFA tender, which lets him pursue other options, and the Saints would match whatever offer he gets from another team on the market. Considering he has been less than amazing in 2025, his open market value is likely not all that much higher than the minimum, and the Saints wouldn’t likely get any compensation in return if he did leave while on the tender, regardless. The two options available would be $1.1 million for the minimum (2025 valuation) or a right-of-first-refusal tender for $3.26 million (2025 valuation).

Unrestricted free agentsCB Alontae Taylor: 93.5% of snapsEDGE Chris Rumph II: 34.3% of snapsOL Dillon Radunz: 34.1% of snapsC Luke Fortner: 30.9% of snapsDL Jonathan Bullard: 26.6% of snapsTE Jack Stoll: 23.3% of snapsDL Jonah Williams: 22.0% of snapsS Julian Blackmon: 10.2% of snapsS Terrell Burgess: 8.0% of snapsDL John Ridgeway: 2.5% of snapsCB Michael Davis: 0.3% of snapsCB Ugo Amadi: 0.2% of snapsOL Will Clapp: 0.0% of snapsOL Landon Young: 0.0% of snaps

This group has become extremely simplified following the trade deadline, with Rashid Shaheed and Trevor Penning out of the picture. Alontae Taylor now becomes the biggest priority, and despite the team attempting to deal him at the deadline, he could be someone they attempt to keep, given their talent disparity at cornerback. Julian Blackmon may also be worth bringing back on a decently cheap deal to see what he can bring to the table at safety. If any of these players left for a deal of $2.5 million or more a year, it could qualify the Saints for a 2027 compensatory pick.

Voiding contractsLB Demario Davis: 99.4% of snapsEDGE Cameron Jordan: 57.8% of snapsTE Foster Moreau: 19.5% of snapsQB Taysom Hill: 10.7% of snaps

When it comes to voiding contracts, they essentially are in the same boat as unrestricted free agents in most aspects, aside from one key piece. If these four were to leave the Saints, they would end up carrying a dead cap hit due to their previous restructures. The current valuations for each are $14.29 million for Davis, $18.76 million for Jordan, $1.4 million for Moreau, and $13.723 million for Hill. 

If the Saints were to re-sign them, that number could be smaller for 2026 due to restructures. However, with the team sitting at 2-8, it may be worth eating a few of the dead cap numbers now and just dealing with it. Unfortunately, taking all of them at once would lead to a massive $110,771,682 towards the dead cap when added to their current value for next year, which is just not fathomable at this time. Even with a huge salary cap increase, it would cripple the franchise from doing nearly anything for a year.