Saints Free Agency Update

With the NFL franchise tag deadline up, here is the updated free agency information for the New Orleans Saints.

The deadline for NFL teams to franchise pending free agents is Tuesday, March 7, at 4pm Eastern Time. As expected, the New Orleans Saints will not be applying a traditional franchise tag or either of the other two tenders to their free agent class.

The Saints have only used the franchise tag on five players since it's inception in 1993.

DE - Darren Howard (2004 and 2005)

DE - Charles Grant (2007)

QB - Drew Brees (2012)

TE - Jimmy Graham (2014)

S - Marcus Williams (2021)

The three options that NFL teams have on unrestricted free agents are:

1. Non-Exclusive Franchise Tag

This is the most commonly used of the three available tags. It is a one-year tender that is either the average of the top five salaries at a player's position or 120% of the player's previous salary, whichever is greater. 

A player under a non-exclusive franchise tag may still negotiate with other teams. If an offer is made, the original team has the right to match the offer or receive two first-round draft picks as compensation. 

2. Exclusive Franchise Tag 

This option carries most of the same parameters as the non-exclusive tag, with two notable exceptions. A player under an exclusive tag is NOT permitted to negotiate with other teams. As a result, the financial figure for the one-year tender is slightly higher. 

3. Transition Tag

A transition tag is a one-year offer that is a top ten salary average at a player's position. The player may negotiate with other clubs, with a team having one week to match any offer made. However, they do NOT receive any compensation if they elect not to match the offer to their player.

The New Orleans Saints have used the franchise tag just six times in franchise history, so it's no surprise they didn't use it this year.

With no tag in play, here is the updated list of pending unrestricted free agents for the Saints. 

(New Orleans signed G Calvin Throckmorton to a one-year contract extension last month)

Offense 

Sep 11, 2022; New Orleans Saints receiver Jarvis Landry (5) makes a catch against the Atlanta Falcons. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY

• Andy Dalton, QB

• Mark Ingram, RB

• David Johnson, RB

• Jarvis Landry, WR

• Deonte Harty, WR

*(TE Juwan Johnson and WR Marquez Callaway are RESTRICTED free agents)

Defense 

Dec 24, 2022; New Orleans Saints linebacker Kaden Elliss (55) tackles Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb (24). Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-USA TODAY

• Marcus Davenport, DE

• David Onyemata, DT

• Shy Tuttle, DT

• Kentavius Street, DT

• Kaden Elliss, LB

• Bradley Roby, CB

• P.J. Williams, S/CB

• Justin Evans, S

• J.T. Gray, S

• Daniel Sorensen, S

*(DT Albert Huggins and P Blake Gillikin are RESTRICTED free agents)

NFL free agency officially begins on March 15. Teams may begin negotiating with free agents from other teams on March 13.

New Orleans has already made a big splash before free agency.  On Monday, the Saints announced that they had signed QB Derek Carr to a four-year deal worth a reported $150 million. The Saints were permitted to immediately negotiate with Carr because he had been released by the Las Vegas Raiders.