5 teams that should acquire Drew Brees in 2017

If the New Orleans Saints part ways with head coach Sean Payton after the season, here are five teams that should look to acquire quarterback Drew Brees.

Speculation about Sean Payton’s future as New Orleans Saints head coach first surfaced a year ago, but a contract extension through the 2020 season but that to rest. But as the Saints finish another non-playoff season, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports has brought the suggestion Payton could be traded after the season and the Saints may not ask for much.

La Canfora points to the team’s ownership situation, and the health of Tom Benson, as the lead reason for parting with Payton in an effort to facilitate a rebuild. The secondary piece of that rebuild could be moving on from quarterback Drew Brees, who has one year left on his contract and has been joined at the hip with Payton since both arrived in New Orleans in 2006.

Brees will turn 38 in January, so he’s surely not a fit for a youth movement and roster rebuild. There are financial implications to cutting or trading Brees, but the Saints have been up against the salary cap in recent years and moving on from him would bring some relief.

If Brees is made available during the offseason, as unlikely as it might be, these five teams should look to acquire him.

5. Los Angeles Rams

The Rams don’t have the 2017 draft capital to make a trade for Payton, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he won’t be a candidate to become their new head coach. Brees could easily follow Payton to Los Angeles if that’s an option, and the duo would automatically bring some much-needed buzz.

Bringing Brees in would obviously immediately help the on-field results for the Rams, and his presence would also help Jared Goff’s development. If Payton does become the Rams’ new head coach, Brees making a play to join him is not out of the question.