The Saints are on the lookout for their next franchise QB after Derek Carr announced that he would be hanging up his cleats for good. This opens the avenue for head coach Kellen Moore and Co. to add a seasoned QB to their room to replenish Carr's experience.
However, CBS Sports' Jared Dubin believes it makes little sense for the front office to pursue a high-priced option on the trade market, particularly Kirk Cousins, owing to the team's lack of cap space.
Even if they did, this trade would make the most sense if they made him Tyler Shough's backup, as Dubin alludes to.
"It would make even less sense to pursue this option because the Saints would also be forced to surrender draft capital to acquire him. Cousins' $27.5 million base salary is also prohibitive here, as New Orleans only has $27 million in cap room. Barring a restructure (a very bad idea) or Atlanta eating some of the salary as part of the deal (which could raise the price in terms of draft compensation), the financial realities of this type of trade should make it a nonstarter even before we get to the team-building reasons why it doesn't make that much sense," Dubin explains.
The Saints might even get ready to go through the restructuring chaos only if they find a reliable starter for at least three to four years. Bringing in Cousins would bring back the same problems the franchise had with Carr: an injury-prone vet on the wrong side of 30.
Despite that, the Saints could go down the path of adding Cousins or another veteran to handle things for a year or two until they feel completely confident in handing over the franchise QB reins to Shough.
Shough is the only option that "makes the most sense" to Dubin. Shough QB boasts seven seasons of experience in his collegiate career. That puts him among the most mature rookies.
The only remaining question is whether Shough is ready to take on the QB1 role right away.