The Saints will have a new and inexperienced quarterback in 2025, plus a new head coach in Kellen Moore, but still features such established stars as Alvin Kamara, Chris Olave, Demario Davis and Tyran Mathieu

Scott Smith

As the Tampa Bay Buccaneers enjoy one last extended break before training camp, we're taking a look at each team the Buccaneers are going to face during the 2025 season. From how those teams fared last year, to what they've done with the roster since, to some as-yet-unanswered questions we want to get a better feel for what the Bucs will be up against this fall. Today's focus is on a Saints team that posted its lowest win total in 19 years last season but still boasts a lot of offensive talent to back up whichever young quarterback succeeds the retired Derek Carr.

2024 Results

The Saints' 2024 season was a roaring success through two weeks, but that did not prove to be a harbinger of things to come. New Orleans won its first two games, at home against Carolina and in Dallas, by a combined score of 91-19, with Derek Carr throwing five touchdown passes and the defense racking up seven sacks. In a 44-19 demolition of the Cowboys, Alvin Kamara posted 180 yards from scrimmage and scored four times.

That explosive offensive attack then deserted the Saints for the next two months, as they lost seven straight, scoring an average of 16.6 points per game in that span. Saquon Barkley ran for 147 yards and two scores, the second one with a minute left in regulation, to give the Eagles a 15-12 win in the Superdome in Week Three. Two weeks later, the Buccaneers visited New Orleans and scored 27 unanswered points in the second half to win 51-27, in the process setting a franchise single-game record with 594 yards of offense.

The losing streak was capped by another late-game loss, as Chuba Hubbard's 16-yard touchdown run gave the Panthers a 23-22 win in Charlotte in Week Nine. Carr missed three games due to an oblique injury during the losing streak but returned for the Panthers game. After the loss, the team fired Head Coach Dennis Allen and promoted Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi to interim head coach for the rest of the season. In Carr's second game back, he threw for 269 yards and two touchdowns in a 20-17 win over Atlanta, then put up 248 yards and two scores the following week to beat Cleveland, 33-14. The Saints won three times in a four-week span, but in a 14-11 victory over the Giants in the Meadowlands Carr suffered a fractured left hand and a concussion while trying to leap for a first down. That would prove to be his final game in the NFL.

The Saints finished the season on a four-game losing streak to end up at 5-12 and in last place in the NFC South, the team's first stop in the divisional basement since 2008. New Orleans went 5-5 in Carr's five starts but lost all six with rookie Spencer Rattler under center plus one with Jake Haener at the helm. After desultory losses of 34-0 to the Packers in Green Bay and 25-10 against the Raiders at home, the Saints had a chance to play spoiler in Tampa in Week 18. The Buccaneers needed a win in Week 18 or a Falcons loss and the Saints built a 16-6 lead by halftime, with Rattler completing 21 of 28 passes in the half. But the Bucs rallied behind two Baker Mayfield touchdown passes and an 11-yard scoring run from Bucky Irving to take the game, 27-19.

The Saints' total of five wins was their worst since 2005 and the team's usually stout defense cratered. New Orleans had finished in the top half of the league rankings in each of the previous six seasons, including three top-seven rankings, but fell to 30th in 2024, allowing 379.9 yards per game. The run defense suffered in particular, surrendering 141.4 yards per game and 4.92 per carry, figures only exceeded by Carolina's defense. Second-year defensive tackle Bryan Bresee did post a team-leading 7.5 sacks and both Chase Young and Carl Granderson added 5.5 off the edges, while ageless safety Tyrann Mathieu picked off three passes and forced a pair of fumbles.

Bolstered by those two early blowouts, the Saints' offense finished 21st in the NFL in yards and 24th in points. Kamara remained the focal point of the attack, with 1,493 yards from scrimmage and eight total touchdowns. The Saints' receiving corps was hit hard by injuries, with Chris Olave missing nine games, Rashid Shaheed 11 and Bub Means nine. Carr finished with a 15-5 TD-INT ratio and a 101.0 passer rating but Rattler and Haener combined to throw just five touchdown passes in seven starts.

2025 Arrivals

Despite heading into free agency with one of the tightest cap situations in the NFL, the Saints were able to make a couple of key additions on multi-year contracts. On defense, the team filled an open spot at safety by giving former Chief Justin Reid a three-year $31.5 million deal. In addition, after trading Marshon Lattimore during the 2024 season and later losing Paulson Adebo in free agency, the Saints bolstered that spot by bringing back Isaac Yiadom on a three-year deal. Yiadom had started eight games for New Orleans in 2023 before spending last season with the 49ers.

In an effort to improve a run defense that struggled in 2024, the Saints traded with the Patriots for veteran defensive tackle Davon Godchaux, and excellent run-stuffer, and it only cost them a seventh-round pick in the 2026 draft. The third and fourth rounds of the draft brought four defensive players who will likely be reserves in 2024 but could all develop into future starters: defensive tackle Vernon Broughton, safety Jonas Sanker, linebacker Danny Stutsman and cornerback Quincy Riley.

The main free agency addition on offense was wide receiver Brandin Cooks, who returned to the team that drafted him 20th overall in 2014 and later traded him to New England in 2017. Cooks played the last two seasons in Dallas and had a total of 916 receiving yards in 26 games. New Orleans also signed tight end Jack Stoll, who finished last season in Miami but had been in Philadelphia for three-and-a-half seasons, building a reputation as a strong blocker.

The Saints, as they often do, used their first-round draft pick to shore up the offensive line, taking Texas tackle Kelvin Banks ninth overall. Banks is expected to start at left tackle, which would move 2024 first-round pick Taliese Fuaga to his more natural position at right tackle, thereby also kicking 2022 first-round pick Trevor Penning in to guard. With Erik McCoy at center and Cesar Ruiz at right guard, the Saints are expected to start an offensive line made of entirely first or second-round draft picks since 2019.

Early in the second round, the Saints made another huge acquisition for their offense, making Louisville's Tyler Shough the third quarterback off the board after first-rounders Cam Ward and Jaxson Dart. Though Carr had not yet made a decision on retirement by the time the draft was conducted, it was clear that at least his 2025 season was in doubt. Shough is now the front-runner in an open competition with Rattler and Haener.

The Saints added some depth behind Kamara by drafting Kansas running back Devin Neal in the sixth round and later adding Cam Akers as a free agent. Akers played for the Texans and Vikings last year and ran for 444 yards and two touchdowns on 104 carries. The Saints also sought to acquire some veteran depth for their offensive line after it dealt with multiple injuries last year, signing former Tennessee guard/tackle Dillon Radunz and bringing back center Will Clapp for a second stint in New Orleans.

2025 Departures

Carr, of course, eventually did elect to retire due to his shoulder injury, making his announcement on May 10. Carr's shoulder troubles were a surprise revelation during the offseason, and after his retirement the Saints described the injury as a torn labrum and degeneration to his rotator cuff. It would have required surgery to repair and would have sidelined him for the entire 2025 season.

Wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling made his stay in New Orleans a brief one, taking a one-year deal to join the Seahawks. The Saints also have not attempted to re-sign free agent running back Jamaal Williams.

As noted above, Adebo, a former third-round pick who started 51 games over four seasons with the Saints, departed in free agency, taking a three-year $54 million deal with the Giants. Safety Will Harris, another valued starter, also moved to the NFC East, landing a two-year deal with Washington. The Saints also lost a bit of secondary depth with cornerback Shemar Jean-Charles going to Seattle.

Defensive end Payton Turner, who failed to live up to first-round expectations, took a one-year deal in Dallas after starting zero games and recording 5.0 sacks over four seasons with the Saints. Linebacker Willie Gay, who started eight games in New Orleans last season, also left for a one-year contract with the Dolphins.

Other Noteworthy Developments

The Saints have a new head coach after letting Allen go at midseason, and they poached the Eagles' championship staff to take their one-year offensive coordinator, Kellen Moore. Moore has spent the last six seasons as an NFL coordinator with the Cowboys, Chargers and Eagles and he led a Philadelphia attack that finished seventh in points scored in 2024.

Moore brought in a pair of new coordinators, with Doug Nussmeier taking over the offense and Brandon Staley leading the defense. Nussmeier followed Moore over from the Eagles, where he tutored the quarterbacks, the same position he held under Moore in Los Angeles and Dallas. He is a former coordinator on the college level with such powerful programs as Michigan, Florida, Alabama and Washington. Staley got a stint as the Chargers head coach based on his work as a defensive coordinator for the Rams on Sean McVay's staff. This will be the first time since 2014 that Allen is not involved in running the Saints' defense.

Carr's decision to retire rather than have surgery and go on injured reserve also bought the Saints some significant salary cap relief in 2025, as he was due to be paid $30 million. He chose to forego that rather than spend a year on the sideline.

In addition to landing Reid and Cooks, the Saints also were able to fit in a couple big-time contract extensions, re-upping edge rusher Chase Young for three years and $51 million and retaining tight end Juwan Johnson for three years and $30.8 million. To get in salary compliance, the Saints also went through their annual exercise of restructuring veteran contracts, reworking the deals of Carr (later rendered moot besides a $10 million signing bonus), McCoy, Ruiz, Mathieu linebackers Demario Davis and Pete Werner, defensive ends Carl Granderson and Cameron Jordan and defensive tackle Khalen Saunders.

The Saints also elected to exercise their fifth-year option on 2022 first-round pick Chris Olave for the 2026 season. The former Ohio State pass-catcher has been very good when on the field, opening his career with 1,000-yard seasons in 2022 and 2023, but he has sustained a worrisome series of concussions and only played in eight games last year.

Pressing Questions

How will the quarterback depth chart shake out after Derek Carr's sudden retirement?

There was always a good chance that the Saints would move on from Carr and his large salary in 2026, but the manner of his restructure earlier this offseason made it very likely he would still have the job in 2025. That plan had to be scrapped after his retirement, and the Saints will be sorting through a very green depth chart in training camp this summer.

Though he will turn 26 early in his rookie season and has started a lot of games on the collegiate level, Shough still has to adjust to the NFL. Rattler only arrived last year as a fifth-round pick, while Haener is a 2023 fourth-round selection who has played one regular-season game so far. The Saints also added former Iowa State and Iowa Western quarterback Hunter Dekkers as an undrafted rookie.

Shough likely has the pole position to start but Moore said immediately after Carr's retirement announcement that the team would have an open competition and that they would "let all three of these guys roll." Shough played seven years of college football at Oregon, Texas Tech and Louisville, but last year marked the first time he started more than five games in a season. He threw for 3,195 yards, 23 touchdowns and six interceptions and displayed a big arm plus above-average mobility to extend plays.

Can Brandon Staley return the Saints' defense to its usual spot in the top half of league rankings?

Staley spent nearly three seasons (2021-23) as the Chargers' head coach but produced a .500 record and was fired with three games left in the 2023 campaign. He had previously emerged as an innovative mind as the Rams' defensive coordinator, where he directed the number-one unit in the league in 2020. The Chargers, however, never ranked higher than 20th in defense under his tutelage. He spent last season as the 49ers' assistant head coach under Kyle Shanahan.

The Saints still possess some of the pieces that helped the defense land in the league's top seven each season from 2020-22, with only a slight dip to 13th in 2023 before last year's fall. That includes safety Tyrann Mathieu, linebacker Demario Davis and defensive end Cameron Jordan. New Orleans has the potential for a strong defensive front with the continued development of Carl Granderson along with Jordan, Chase Young, Bryan Bresee and Davon Godchaux. Pete Werner has developed into a good complement to Davis in the middle of the defense. The secondary is a bit of a question mark without Marshon Lattimore or Paulson Adebo in the mix anymore, and with Mathieu going into his 13th season but there are some recent high draft picks involved with cornerbacks Kool-Aid McKinstry and Alontae Taylor.