Marcus Mariota has heard his name mentioned amongst several teams including the New York Jets, Washington Redskins and Chicago Bears. With most teams assuming the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be drafting Jameis Winston No. 1 overall in the upcoming NFL Draft, the race is on to land the reigning Heisman winner. With a trade up the most probable option, could the New Orleans Saints actually be a dark horse to land Mariota?
There is no question the New Orleans Saints entering some kind of rebuilding mode after the team entered free agency with extremely limited salary cap space. They traded away Jimmy Graham and Kenny Stills in order to load up on the offensive and defensive line as well as gaining draft picks in the process. That did not exactly thrill quarterback Drew Brees who is wondering where all of his offensive targets went.
According to Yahoo Sports, Brees was shocked when the Saints traded Graham to the Seattle Seahawks just one season after giving him a massive contract. Then he was reportedly even more upset when the Saints traded Stills to the Miami Dolphins. That leaves Brees with limited options in the passing game and a very crowded backfield with Mark Ingram and CJ Spiller splitting the carries. Is Brees' future in flux as well?
According to ESPN.com, there is no doubt Brees will return as the starting quarterback of the New Orleans Saints in 2015. However, what happens after that is anyone's guess. Brees will be an unrestricted free agent in 2017 and there is a lot of belief he could be traded before the 2016 season when his salary cap hit balloons to $27 million. The NFL is a young man's game and most teams are no longer looking to keep high-priced veterans on their pay roll. This season was a perfect example as players like Brandon Marshall, Andre Johnson and Frank Gore were all moved despite still having strong stats to their name.
There is also the question of the draft. Bleacher Report makes the case that the Saints could emerge as contenders for Mariota. The team makes their first selection at No. 13. If they want Mariota, they would likely have to jump up to at least No. 5 past the Washington Redskins. The Saints do not have a backup plan for Brees at the moment. If they feel Mariota can be the guy, it might be worth it. However, limited in their moves this offseason, the Saints might be aiming to make up the difference in the draft. Giving up picks for a quarterback could set them back. No one really knows what the bigger picture is for New Orleans at the moment, but everyone appears to be at risk of getting dealt in the future.
