Rebuild or Reload
We've been doing a quiet rebuild the last few years, particularly when you look at non-QB contracts. Looking at contracts with an AAV of at least $2m/yr from 2021-2024, the Saints signed $70.6m worth of free agents while letting $120.3m of free agents walk out the door.
| Year | Signed by Saints | Signed by Other | Net |
| 2021 | $7.2m | $40.7m | ($33.5m) |
| 2022 | $25.3m | $29.0m | ($3.7m) |
| 2023 | $17.2m | $43.1m | ($25.9m) |
| 2024 | $20.9m | $7.5m | +$12.6m |
Contracts don't always equal performance, but on net we have been losing talent based on market value. We added Carr while letting the rest of the talent around him walk out the door.
We did add on net in 2024, but since we didn't re-sign anyone to a $2m/yr+ contract, it doesn't look like we had much talent left to lose with only $7.5m in new contracts for Saints that had expiring contracts in 2023.