By Ross Jackson
When an NFL quarterback room has zero combined career wins, it’s reasonable for the team that has assembled that group to look for a veteran addition in order to add experience to the position.
The New Orleans Saints, however, look to be taking a different approach.
With a staff that includes former NFL quarterbacks at each head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, the Saints believe that coaching can make up for the young group’s lack of playing experience.
General manager Mickey Loomis’s comments on the matter were far from unclear during the Saints Annual Celebrity Golf Classic.
“It’s a young group, enthusiastic. There’s talent there,” he said. “And I think we got a great coaching staff. We’ve got three former quarterbacks with (head coach Kellen Moore), (offensive coordinator) Doug Nussmeier and (quarterback coach Scott Tolzien) in the room with them. So I think that’s a good mix.”
New Orleans is poised to move forward with its young room because of the comfort it has in its coaching staff. Which is why it’s a shock that the Saints are among the teams favored to land Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Per SportsBetting.ag, the Saints (+175) are behind only the Pittsburgh Steelers (+150) to be the 13-year veteran quarterback’s next team.
Bear in mind that the Saints were also the far-and-away favorites to draft now-Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
There are a few reasons why the Saints shouldn’t be interested in Cousins.
Obtaining Him Would Be A Larger Investment Than Some Think
Trading for Cousins is a non-starter. He’s currently rostered by a division rival with the Falcons, making the asking price far too challenging. Sure, the Falcons have their young passer that they hope to be the future in Michael Penix Jr. However, that won’t make the chance to overcharge for trading a quarterback to a division rival any less appealing.
Were he to be cut, the Saints could look to sign him on a veteran minimum deal as a veteran mentor, but there are issues there as well. Financially, teams like the Indianapolis Colts and potentially Pittsburgh Steelers would be looking to offer him much more lucrative contracts to be a potential starter on their rosters, making the Saints’ offer obsolete before it’s even on the table.
It Doesn’t Make Sense With Their Plans
The Saints are interested in learning what they have in their young passers. Second-year quarterback Spencer Rattler and rookie signal caller Tyler Shough are both getting the bulk of snaps throughout offseason programs while third-year passer Jake Haener manages an oblique injury.
Throwing an aging veteran into the mix will detract from what the Saints are trying to do: build for their future.
Quarterback Style Too Different To Mentor
From the perspective of adding Cousins as a mentor, his play style is far too statuesque to be reflective of the young talent on the roster. Cousins has very little mobility left in his game, that much was on full display soon after his arrival in Atlanta where he took many of his snaps from the shotgun on three-step drops..
every Kirk Cousins dropback end zone view
what do you notice pic.twitter.com/RllUesBU7F
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) September 9, 2024
If New Orleans ends up wanting a mentor for their young passers, pursuing one that can lead them through not just preparing for a game, but preparing to take hits, how to keep themselves safe while using their legs and for running an offense like Moore’s would be far more valuable.
Adding Him As A Starter Would Be A Fool’s Errand
The Saints just went through this. Adding a quarterback that will be 37-years-old this season to be the team’s starter would be a laughable decision.
New Orleans invested $150 million in former quarterback Derek Carr just two years ago at the age of 32. That quickly fell apart as Carr’s injuries began to pile up almost immediately and would eventually lead to surprising retirement.
Going that route again instead of giving Moore a young passer with which to plan the future would leave many at a loss for words, and understandably so.
Trading for or signing Cousins makes little to no sense for the Saints based on the part of the NFL life cycle they are currently in, the plans they have to build for their future and the value they should be putting in their young quarterbacks.
