{"id":196901,"date":"2025-07-10T19:35:15","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T19:35:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/196901\/"},"modified":"2025-07-10T19:35:15","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T19:35:15","slug":"why-espn-gave-saints-their-worst-2025-offseason-grade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/196901\/","title":{"rendered":"Why ESPN gave Saints their worst 2025 offseason grade"},"content":{"rendered":"

The post Why ESPN gave Saints their worst 2025 offseason grade<\/a> appeared first on ClutchPoints<\/a>.<\/p>\n

ESPN didn\u2019t pull any punches when it handed the New Orleans Saints<\/a> the worst offseason grade<\/a> in the NFL, giving the Saints a hard \u201cD\u201d that reflects more than just a few questionable decisions. While the Saints may have stumbled into some positive outcomes<\/a>, the process behind their offseason strategy, or lack thereof, shows a franchise lost in the fog of mediocrity.<\/p>\n

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The most glaring issue was the team\u2019s initial commitment to quarterback Derek Carr<\/a>. Despite being a cap-strapped team in dire need of a rebuild, New Orleans was prepared to pay Carr<\/a> a guaranteed $30 million salary for 2025, a move that made little long-term sense.<\/p>\n

That salary became guaranteed in March unless the Saints cut ties, and while they were already on the hook for a $10 million roster bonus, it came with offset provisions. Had the Saints released Carr and he signed elsewhere, they could have avoided a massive financial burden. Instead, they gambled on him again and only dodged disaster because Carr unexpectedly retired due to a shoulder injury. Luck bailed them out, not logic.<\/p>\n

In that light, ESPN\u2019s grade isn\u2019t based on the fortunate result, but the flawed thinking that led to the near-miss. Paying for mediocrity when a full reset is needed shows misaligned priorities.<\/p>\n

ESPN didn\u2019t think everything Saints did this offseason was terrible\"Vincent<\/p>\n

Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The Saints\u2019 draft offered a sliver of hope. Second-round pick Tyler Shough now has a shot to start, joining a crowded but intriguing quarterback room. First-rounder Kelvin Banks Jr. gives them flexibility on the offensive line, possibly allowing Trevor Penning to shift inside. Paired with Taliese Fuaga, New Orleans might be building a foundation to support a young quarterback, exactly the kind of forward-thinking roster construction they desperately need.<\/p>\n

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But their veteran signings muddled that vision. Chase Young<\/a>\u2019s $17 million per year deal is steep for a player with health concerns on a rebuilding team. Justin Reid at $10.5 million annually is solid in a vacuum, but again, cap space should be sacred for a team with limited financial wiggle room. And giving tight end Juwan Johnson more than $21 million guaranteed only compounds the confusion.<\/p>\n

The Saints had chances to build for the future, but too often chose the path of short-term patches. ESPN\u2019s \u201cD\u201d grade might feel harsh, but when judged by the decisions they intended to make, it may be generous.<\/p>\n

Related: Saints\u2019 insider welcomes \u2018Pope hats\u2019 for helmet reveal<\/a><\/p>\n

Related: 2 sneaky New Orleans Saints trade candidates entering 2025 training camp<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The post Why ESPN gave Saints their worst 2025 offseason grade appeared first on ClutchPoints. ESPN didn\u2019t pull…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":196902,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2076],"tags":[6870,496,12,7,13095,6839,2987,896,55,2572,2571,6,4363,397,1512,494,8581,283],"class_list":{"0":"post-196901","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-orleans-saints","8":"tag-chase-young","9":"tag-derek-carr","10":"tag-espn","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-justin-reid","13":"tag-juwan-johnson","14":"tag-kelvin-banks-jr","15":"tag-new-orleans","16":"tag-new-orleans-saints","17":"tag-neworleans","18":"tag-neworleanssaints","19":"tag-nfl","20":"tag-questionable-decisions","21":"tag-saints","22":"tag-taliese-fuaga","23":"tag-the-saints","24":"tag-trevor-penning","25":"tag-tyler-shough"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114830621101104660","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196901","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=196901"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196901\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/196902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=196901"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=196901"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=196901"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}