Super dealing could send ‘Saints Super Bowling’ again

Ed Daniels
SPORTS
 

Maybe the Saints aren’t that far away from being Super Bowl contenders again.

In Super Bowl XLVI, the Cincinnati Bengals, who won one more regular-season game than the New Orleans Saints, led inside the final two minutes against the eventual champions, the Los Angeles Rams.

So, what should the Saints do? Simple. Do everything they can to acquire a franchise quarterback, via trade, just like the Los Angeles Rams, did.

When the Rams traded for Matt Stafford with Detroit, they sent to the Lions a third-round pick this year and a pair of first-round picks in 2022 and 2023.

The Rams also sent Detroit quarterback Jared Goff.

How did that work out?

This season, for a third-round pick and a quarterback in Goff who had a hefty contract and no future in Los Angeles, the Rams won the Super Bowl.

The 2022 first-round pick the Detroit Lions received is now the last pick of the first round, No. 32. The Stafford deal for the Rams was a steal.

For the Rams, there was no winning Super Bowl XLVI without Stafford. On the final drive, Stafford completed seven passes. That, despite the Bengals knowing Stafford had only one big-play option, wide receiver Cooper Kupp, and little semblance of a running game.

On a key fourth-and-1 play on the drive, at the Rams’ 30-yardline, Los Angeles dared not try the middle of the line. They sent Kupp on the speed sweep around the right end for seven yards and a first down.

It won’t be easy trading for a franchise quarterback. The other 29 clubs not in the Super Bowl saw what it means to have a franchise signal caller under center. They know, without that player, it is extremely difficult to win a championship.

The Bengals changed the trajectory of their franchise for the next dozen seasons when they drafted Joe Burrow. All they have to do now is build an offensive line that can protect him.

All the Saints have to do now is find “that guy” at quarterback.

The Saints have a talented core of young players, a group 27 years old or younger who are entering the prime of their careers.

That core won nine games, despite starting four different quarterbacks, and losing the Miami game to a COVID outbreak, a game that cost the Saints a playoff spot.

The Saints are a lot closer to returning to the big game than you might think.

They are a quarterback away. And, if a franchise signal caller is available, New Orleans should pull the trigger on a mega deal.

Just the like the Super Bowl champion Rams did.

Ed Daniels is sports director at ABC26 WGNO. He can be reached at ed@nextstar.tv.