What might the future hold for the Saints?

Good morning, and welcome to the January 4 edition of the Saints Insider newsletter. New Orleans has at least one more football game to look forward to. Beyond that, it's up to the Football Gods. 

With that in mind, let's take a peek into the some of the variables at play when considering the Saints future. 

Is this goodbye? 

We do this piece every year around this time: With the regular season finale upon us, which members of this current team could be playing their final game in a Saints uniform? 

There are 22 Saints players currently on the final year of their contract (some of whom did not play a down for the team this year because of injuries). We take a look at them all here. 

Draft talk

There are plenty of Saints fans out there who want to see the team have all its chips fall the right way this weekend and have this team make the playoffs. There is also a contingent, though, who want to see the team lose while having a completely different set of chips fall their way. 

Beat writer Matt Paras has his eyes on the 2024 draft, and he's zeroed in on the wide range of possibilities for where the Saints may pick. Simply put: If the Saints lose this weekend and a lot of other things go the right way, they could be picking inside the top 10. 

It's cap time already???

Ah, the new year. A time when hope springs eternal, resolutions are made and the Saints begin their annual assault on their mountain of debts. 

Yes, they have already started to move money around to be salary cap compliant in 2024. Marshon Lattimore was the first to have his contract restructured this year. 

Lagniappe

In good news: Derek Carr is feeling better, and his play is following suit. 

In bad news: Alvin Kamara did not practice Wednesday. 

In best news: We dropped another edition of the Saints Insider podcast yesterday. Check it out at our Youtube page, or find it wherever you get your podcasts. 

Cheers, 

Luke Johnson