Breer: Alexander, Sanders, Murray Linked to Trade Circles

A lot of veteran players could be on the move soon, and three Saints have been linked to appealing trade rumors.

The Saints have done some impressive work chipping away at their large salary cap deficit so far, but still have a good bit to go. You can keep up with that action here. With the start of the new league year right around the corner, this will be an important week for New Orleans to make some moves. Also, the NFL's legal tampering period starts next Monday. We still don't even have a final cap number yet, however.

Many veterans across each team may find themselves on the market soon, and there's also a lot of trade rumors out there. One thing that grabbed interest on Monday came from Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer. According to his MMQB column, Breer said three Saints have been floating around in trade circles over the past couple of weeks: Latavius Murray, Kwon Alexander, and Emmanuel Sanders. Here's what he had to say on them.

Saints LB Kwon Alexander: New Orleans got the hyper-athletic linebacker at the deadline last year, and he was fantastic before a torn Achilles ended his 2020 season. With a $13.4 million price tag, he’s more likely to be cut than traded.

Saints RB Latavius Murray: New Orleans’s cap is a well-established nightmare right now, so Murray absolutely can be had and may be cut otherwise. But if anyone wants a reliable veteran back, Murray is under contract at $6.8 million the next two years.

Saints WR Emmanuel Sanders: Sanders turns 34 in March, and is still probably worth the $8 million he’s slated to make this year. But at this point, he’s a luxury the Saints can’t afford to have.

Malcom Brown was another player rumored to be on the move, with him likely being released if a trade partner can not be found. New Orleans can get under the cap with more restructures and relief from locking up Marshon Lattimore and Ryan Ramczyk to long-term deals to alleviate their fifth-year options, but some fallout is expected on the roster. Hopefully, the Saints can make these losses minimal, but perhaps the long wait from the salary cap announcement may pay off.