Trey H (2 Viewers)

[Big_L]

It wasn't a matter of Davenport vs T-Rex.

It was a matter of Marcus Williams vs T-Rex. The Saints could only afford to keep one, they chose Williams, who they then lost in free agency exactly one season later

Hence DA written all over it!

 

[Big_L]

People complain about our drafting and the roster being old. But overall we let a lot of good players leave after their rookie deal.

I know that's how it's been going way back. La"roi Glover and Lorenzo Neal come to mind immediately.

 

[BigOdin504]

I know that's how it's been going way back. La"roi Glover and Lorenzo Neal come to mind immediately.

Went trough my old Jersey tub last Sunday to maybe get a “lucky” one and found my old Glover jersey.
It obviously wasn’t lucky but it was nice to reminisce about old times.
I may wear Sammy knight this week.
We will see.

 

[madsaint1967]

It wasn't a matter of Davenport vs T-Rex.

It was a matter of Marcus Williams vs T-Rex. The Saints could only afford to keep one, they chose Williams, who they then lost in free agency exactly one season later

Makes perfect sense.

 

[Hank]

Couldn’t afford him

It wan't money, it was talent evaluation--we were wrong-we bet on Davenport and lost. Could've signed Trex if we thought he was the future.
ie.. Malcom Jenkins,

 

[Alan12]

It wan't money, it was talent evaluation--we were wrong-we bet on Davenport and lost. Could've signed Trex if we thought he was the future.
ie.. Malcom Jenkins,

It definitely was money, had the Saints been able to match the contract the Bengals offered Hendrickson they simply would’ve outbid us with a higher offer we wouldn’t be able to match.

Davenport still had 2 years on his rookie deal when Hendrickson left. It wasn’t an either/or.

He just played himself out of New Orleans, which honestly is great for him because he’s arguably in a better situation now than he would be here with a sinking ship.

The Malcolm Jenkins situation was entirely different. It’s not like he had a breakout 2013 season (like Hendrickson’s 2020 season) and we still decided to pursue Jairus Byrd in free agency. Apples to oranges.

 

[srcampbell]

Couldn’t afford him

Yes we could’ve. Saints believed Marcus Davenport was better and that Trey was a luxury.

 

[Alan12]

Yes we could’ve. Saints believed Marcus Davenport was better and that Trey was a luxury.

You do remember the insane salary cap gymnastics we had to pull just to get cap compliant that year after the COVID season which resulted in the salary cap dropping far lower than they expected, right?

We released/traded 5 starters, lost 2 more to retirement (Brees and Robinson), and then lost 3 more starters once free agency opened in addition to losing Hendrickson.

If we actually had the cap space don’t you think we would’ve been able to retain at least the ones we lost in free agency? Our “biggest” free agency signings that year from outside the organization were Nick Vannett and Tanoh Kpassagnon making $2.6M/year and $2.25M/year. But yeah, we totally had money to pay Hendrickson $15M/year.

On top of all that, we also had to franchise tag Marcus Williams and extend 2 massive contracts (Ramczyk and Lattimore) at top money for their positions as they would hit free agency the next season if not and also franchise tag Marcus Williams, who we couldn’t afford to retain the following year either. It is what it is.

 

[Dome50]

Saying "we couldn't afford him" is overly simplistic. And yes, while we had major cap issues, we all know the Saints, when they really want a player, can make some cap magic happen. I think they just didn't prioritize Trey. They had Cam, Davenport on a rookie deal, and Payton Turner. They felt comfortable at DE. But that ended up biting us in a big way and stemmed from major talent evaluation problems (as we know now). Probably some hindsight 50/50, but going with Davenport always stuck in my craw...we knew he was an oft injured one trick pony with a limited pass rush toolbox. I'm just not giving the Saints a pass on this one. And it kills me every time I turn on a Bengals game and see Trey do something amazing (while we are last in the league in sacks).

So, instead, we dedicated cap resources elsewhere...like tagging Marcus Williams, who we promptly lost to free agency.

 

[Saint Greg]

Couldn’t afford him

We can afford anyone. We can't afford everyone but we can afford anyone. We make calculated decisions on who we pay. The one to franchise tag Marcus Williams and let Trey Hendrickson walk was based on the fact that Davenport was under contract for a couple more years and the hope that he would pan out. I was on the side of teams don't let pass rushers like that walk. I wanted to keep Trey, let Marcus walk and have PJ/draft pick play FS that year. We definitely could've given Trey an extension that kept his cap number at or below the 10+mil we had Marcus Williams at. We chose MW over Trey. It didn't work out.

 

[Elvis]

People always want to glorify Loomis for his cap gymnastics, but guys like Hendrickson are a prime example of why it's a bad strategy. It leaves the team with no flexibility to make these kinds of choices when you already have 3 years of bonus money on void years for other players that may or may not still be contributing the way you want. This happens every year. The team is so tied up in getting under the cap and making those kinds of restructures while other teams are looking our players with no competition from us. It made sense when we were keeping the window open for Drew and Payton. It makes no sense now.

 

[Saint Greg]

People always want to glorify Loomis for his cap gymnastics, but guys like Hendrickson are a prime example of why it's a bad strategy. It leaves the team with no flexibility to make these kinds of choices when you already have 3 years of bonus money on void years for other players that may or may not still be contributing the way you want. This happens every year. The team is so tied up in getting under the cap and making those kinds of restructures while other teams are looking our players with no competition from us. It made sense when we were keeping the window open for Drew and Payton. It makes no sense now.

I'm with you. I hope we mostly just build through the draft over the next couple years and let that cap situation settle down. The only big free agent this year is Shaheed. He should be exclusive rights so we can make him play for peanuts next year. I bet we give him the extension, but I'd try to put it off a year. 2025 it's Pete Werner and Adebo. 2026 is the big one and when we get our cap space back if we don't go crazy the next two years.

 

[Saint Greg]

Saying "we couldn't afford him" is overly simplistic. And yes, while we had major cap issues, we all know the Saints, when they really want a player, can make some cap magic happen. I think they just didn't prioritize Trey. They had Cam, Davenport on a rookie deal, and Payton Turner. They felt comfortable at DE. But that ended up biting us in a big way and stemmed from major talent evaluation problems (as we know now). Probably some hindsight 50/50, but going with Davenport always stuck in my craw...we knew he was an oft injured one trick pony with a limited pass rush toolbox. I'm just not giving the Saints a pass on this one. And it kills me every time I turn on a Bengals game and see Trey do something amazing (while we are last in the league in sacks).

So, instead, we dedicated cap resources elsewhere...like tagging Marcus Williams, who we promptly lost to free agency.

Actually we didn't have Payton Turner yet. That was the year we drafted him. I would bet had we kept Trey, we wouldn't have wasted that pick on Payton Turner.

 

[Dome50]

Actually we didn't have Payton Turner yet. That was the year we drafted him. I would bet had we kept Trey, we wouldn't have wasted that pick on Payton Turner.

Thanks. Good catch. Amazing how much the Turner/Davenport picks set this team back. Turner has played in 14 games in three seasons (starting none of them!).

 

[Saint Greg]

Thanks. Good catch. Amazing how much the Turner/Davenport picks set this team back. Turner has played in 14 games in three seasons (starting none of them!).

It's a snowball effect. And we spent so many years and so many picks trying to find a pass rusher. Remember just before Hendrickson broke out we tried to trade a 2nd round pick for Clowney and have another team eat his cap money. The NFL didn't allow it. But that's how desperate we were for a pass rusher. Then we finally hit on one and we let him walk.

Payton: NFL nixed Saints' Clowney trade idea

The Saints, in their pursuit of free-agent defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, explored the idea of a unique sign-and-trade deal with an unspecified team to help them fit Clowney's salary under the cap, but the NFL nixed the idea.

www.espn.com