New Orleans Saints might have to wave goodbye to these 3 cap casualties

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - DECEMBER 25: Kwon Alexander #58 of the New Orleans Saints is carted off the field following an injury during the third quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at Mercedes-Benz Superdome on December 25, 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /

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ATLANTA, GEORGIA – DECEMBER 06: Kwon Alexander #58 of the New Orleans Saints breaks up a pass to Jaeden Graham #87 of the Atlanta Falcons during the fourth quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 06, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

1. Kwon Alexander

Cutting Alexander should be one of New Orleans’ easiest offseason decisions. The Achilles injury that ended his 2020 season means he may not be ready for the start of the 2021 campaign. Even if he is, there’s no guarantee he’ll be the same player he was before getting hurt.

For the record, that player wasn’t overly productive for the Saints last season after coming over from San Francisco in a midseason trade. He couldn’t beat out Alex Anzalone for the starting spot at weakside linebacker. The prospect of paying over $13 million to a backup linebacker should make officials in New Orleans’ front office shudder.

Even if the Saints want to bring Alexander back they should cut him and take their chances of re-signing him sometime during the season. Betting big on a player dependent on speed to bounce back from an Achilles injury is a poor use of resources. Don’t expect New Orleans to make that mistake.

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Instead, look for Payton and his staff to redeploy Alexander’s salary towards bringing Anzalone or another outside linebacker in during the free agency period. His days in New Orleans are numbered.

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