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By Mike Triplett | ESPN
METAIRIE, La. -- The New Orleans Saints might have the NFL’s most daunting to-do list over the next month. They need to carve out more than $65 million in salary-cap space, identify Drew Brees’ replacement and decide whether to re-sign pending free agents like Jameis Winston, Marcus Williams, Trey Hendrickson and Sheldon Rankins.
But New Orleans’ most difficult and urgent decisions might actually involve three cornerstones who aren’t scheduled to become free agents until 2022 -- cornerback Marshon Lattimore and offensive tackles Terron Armstead and Ryan Ramczyk. All three could cost nearly $20 million per year in their next contracts.'
The Saints must decide now if they plan to make those kinds of investments. Here’s why:
The long-term budget. If the Saints plan to spend big on Lattimore, Armstead or Ramczyk in the near future, they may need to save room by letting some of those 2021 free agents move on. On the flip side, if they're prepared to move on from any of those three players, they could have huge trade value. That way the Saints could afford to keep other players while also receiving premium draft picks in return (like they did with past stars Jimmy Graham and Brandin Cooks). ...
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