{"id":797810,"date":"2026-03-07T06:22:49","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T06:22:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/797810\/"},"modified":"2026-03-07T06:22:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T06:22:49","slug":"projecting-the-new-orleans-saints-starting-defense-before-free-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/797810\/","title":{"rendered":"Projecting the New Orleans Saints\u2019 starting defense before free agency"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today marks another step closer to the start of free agency, and the New Orleans Saints<\/a> have already begun making financial moves to prepare. The team has entered somewhat unfamiliar territory, opening up more than $20 million in cap space through a handful of simple restructures.<\/p>\n

As previously mentioned, before the Saints begin spending externally, in-house free agents will likely be a priority. Decisions surrounding the futures of veterans Demario Davis and Cameron Jordan could influence both the roster and the team\u2019s financial outlook, especially considering each carries dead money beyond this season.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Futures aside, it\u2019s still important to evaluate the team\u2019s current depth. With that in mind, we\u2019ll now turn our focus to the defensive side of the ball where there could be drastic changes coming in the next week.<\/p>\n

Let’s take a look at where things stand on defense heading into free agency:<\/p>\n

EDGE: Chase Young\"Dec<\/p>\n

Dec 28, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; New Orleans Saints defensive end Chase Young (99) celebrates a tackle for loss against the Tennessee Titans during the second half at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

DE: Bryan Bresee\"Dec<\/p>\n

Dec 8, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Bryan Bresee (90) celebrates after the game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

NT: Davon Godchaux\"NEW<\/p>\n

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – SEPTEMBER 07: Cameron Jordan #94 of the New Orleans Saints celebrates with Davon Godchaux #92 after sacking Kyler Murray #1 of the Arizona Cardinals (not pictured) during the game at Caesars Superdome on September 07, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Ella Hall\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

DE: Nathan Shepherd\"ATLANTA,<\/p>\n

ATLANTA, GEORGIA – SEPTEMBER 29: Nathan Shepherd #93 of the New Orleans Saints reacts against the Atlanta Falcons during the fourth quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on September 29, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

EDGE: Carl Granderson\"ORCHARD<\/p>\n

ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 28: Carl Granderson #96 of the New Orleans Saints react after a sack during the second quarter against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on September 28, 2025 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Bryan M. Bennett\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

LB: Pete Werner\"New<\/p>\n

New Orleans Saints linebacker Pete Werner takes off his gloves as he walks off the field after their win against the New York Giants.<\/p>\n

LB: Danny Stutsman\"NEW<\/p>\n

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – DECEMBER 14: Danny Stutsman #28 of the New Orleans Saints looks on before the game against the Carolina Panthers at Caesars Superdome on December 14, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

CB: Kool-Aid McKinstry\"NEW<\/p>\n

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – OCTOBER 05: Kool-Aid McKinstry #4 of the New Orleans Saints celebrates after an interception during the fourth quarter against the New York Giants in the game at Caesars Superdome on October 05, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

S: Justin Reid\"New<\/p>\n

New Orleans Saints safety Justin Reid) celebrates after the game against the Carolina Panthers.<\/p>\n

S: Jonas Sanker\"Oct<\/p>\n

Oct 5, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints safety Jonas Sanker (33) runs with the ball after a fumble against New York Giants running back Devin Singletary (26) during the first half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

STAR: Julian Blackmon\"Aug<\/p>\n

Aug 23, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Denver Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton (14) makes a touchdown reception against New Orleans Saints safety Julian Blackmon (28) during the first half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

CB: Quincy Riley\"Oct<\/p>\n

Oct 26, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Emeka Egbuka (2) runs for a gain past New Orleans Saints cornerback Quincy Riley (29) during the third quarter at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Projecting the New Orleans Saints\u2019 starting defense before free agency<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Today marks another step closer to the start of free agency, and the New Orleans Saints have already…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":797811,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2076],"tags":[6867,6868,6870,8106,6838,111970,7,4609,13095,14135,896,55,2572,2571,6,13193,1452,397],"class_list":["post-797810","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-orleans-saints","tag-cameron-jordan","tag-carl-granderson","tag-chase-young","tag-davon-godchaux","tag-demario-davis","tag-financial-outlook","tag-football","tag-free-agency","tag-justin-reid","tag-kool-aid-mckinstry","tag-new-orleans","tag-new-orleans-saints","tag-neworleans","tag-neworleanssaints","tag-nfl","tag-pete-werner","tag-quincy-riley","tag-saints"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116186462935119687","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/797810","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=797810"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/797810\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/797811"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=797810"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=797810"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=797810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}