3 Saints who shouldn't be back after season hits rock bottom

The New Orleans Saints knew a loss was likely when they went into Green Bay to face the Packers on Monday Night Football. But the Saints didn't just lose. They got obliterated and embarrassed.

A 34-0 loss in primetime won't sit well with anyone in New Orleans. Even with a banged up lineup missing a handful of key players shouldn't get beat that badly. There was no fight in them. And even if their was, the roster is so poorly constructed at this point, it wouldn't have mattered.

Things need to change and it starts with the Saints admitting defeat on personnel mistakes from the bottom of the roster to the top of the front office.

Derek Carr

Let's get this out of the way now, the Saints aren't likely to part ways with Derek Carr this offseason. Adam Schefter reported as much before Monday Night Football, tying the quarterback's return to New Orleans' salary cap complications.

The expectation the Saints aren't going to move on from Derek Carr doesn't mean they shouldn't.

The Broncos ate a massive dead cap hit to part ways with Russell Wilson and they're better off for it. The Falcons are expected to take the hit on Kirk Cousins this offseason after replacing him with Michael Penix. Sometimes, you've got to move on.

Carr hasn't gotten it to work with the Saints. At 33 years old, his injury history is starting to become a worry. As always, he's capable of putting up stats, but too much of that is empty calories. It's been clear that he's not the long-term answer for New Orleans.

If the Saints could pull off a trade to get Carr off the books, they should do it in a heartbeat. Of course, the contract they gave Carr makes that extremely unlikely, even if he was willing to waive his no-trade clause.

As it stands, keeping Carr means starting Carr. He's not one to accept being a backup peacefully. The Saints would be better off seeing if they can coax anything out of Spencer Rattler than spending the next two years invested in an aging QB with little upside.

Payton Turner

The Saints drafted Payton Turner in 2021 with the 28th overall pick in the NFL Draft. In four seasons, Turner has yet to earn a start. He's played in just 29 games because of injuries.

It should come as no surprise that New Orleans didn't pick up Turner's fifth-year option. Doing so would have cost them far more than Turner has been worth thus far.

He did manage to produce the best season of his career in 2024, playing in 14 games with 20 total tackles and two sacks. That's not exactly the kind of production you hope to get when you use a first-round pick on a player.

If Turner wants to return to the Saints on an extraordinarily team-friendly deal, then sure, bring him back. Otherwise. there's no reason to continue riding the "what if this is his year?" train. Let him walk and get ready to jump on that same slow-moving rollercoaster with Isaiah Foskey...

Mickey Loomis

Mickey Loomis has been the Saints' general manager since 2002. Bringing a Super Bowl to New Orleans in 2010 has bought him a whole lot of time. That time should finally be up.

Here's a question owner Gayle Benson should ask herself: What is Loomis' record without Sean Payton as his head coach? I can answer: 51-63.

What about with Payton? 152-89.

Could it be that Loomis' success was more a reflection of the head coach than the GM?

There are things that Loomis has done well, but the direction of the franchise in this moment isn't good. The reported idea that Loomis didn't want to fire Dennis Allen says a lot. It says even more than Benson had to make that decision herself.

Loomis has had the Saints in cap hell for years. That's one of the reasons optimism around this team is low. There isn't much flexibility to fix things when a team is projected to be $63.5 million above the cap.

Being that far above the cap while also posting a 5-10 record doesn't speak to good management. It doesn't help that Loomis' draft picks have left a lot to be desired. The last Pro Bowler the Saints selected was Erik McCoy in 2019. That's 29 draft picks ago.