It almost goes without saying that the New Orleans Saints have their hands full in the upcoming offseason. They’ve got a long list of 2022 free agents to evaluate, with tough decisions ahead on who to re-sign — and that’s before they have to figure out how to sign them. New Orleans is in the red by more than $60 million, and on its face that looks daunting.
But it’s light work for Saints salary cap navigator Khai Harley and his team. He’s spearheaded New Orleans’ complicated cap maneuvers for years now, and this year’s challenges look more like a molehill compared to the $101 million mountain he climbed last summer (check here for a look at how the Saints can reach cap compliance without touching two of their biggest contracts).
That’s a discussion for another day, though. Here’s a quick look at the top 18 Saints players headed for free agency, along with their various statuses, 2021 earnings, snaps counts, and overall Pro Football Focus grades. It should be a useful resource once the offseason kicks off in earnest:
TE Juwan Johnson
AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton
- 2022 status: Exclusive-rights free agent (Saints can retain on an extension or at minimum salary)
- 2021 average annual salary: $695,000
- 2021 snaps count: 349 (236 on offense, 21.7%; 113 on special teams, 24.1%)
- 2021 Pro Football Focus grade (offense): 66.9
Update: Johnson re-signed with the Saints on a one-year contract extension valued at around $895,000.
DT Jalen Dalton
AP Photo/Derick Hingle
- 2022 status: Exclusive-rights free agent (Saints can retain on an extension or at minimum salary)
- 2021 average annual salary: $555,000
- 2021 snaps count (preseason): 54 (53 on defense, 51.9%; 1 on special teams, 2.7%)
- 2021 Pro Football Focus grade (preseason, defense): 61.9
LT Ethan Greenidge
AP Photo/Derick Hingle
- 2022 status: Restricted free agent (Saints can retain on an extension or various one-year tender offers valued between $2.4 and $5.5 million)
- 2021 average annual salary: $587,500
- 2021 snaps count (preseason): 66 (61 on offense, 69.3%; 5 on special teams, 13.5%)
- 2021 Pro Football Focus grade (preseason, offense): 71.6
TE Garrett Griffin
AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, Pool
- 2022 status: Restricted free agent (Saints can retain on an extension or various one-year tender offers valued between $2.4 and $5.5 million)
- 2021 average annual salary: $850,000
- 2021 snaps count: 349 (235 on offense, 21.6%; 154 on special teams, 32.8%)
- 2021 Pro Football Focus grade (offense): 50.5
DT Shy Tuttle
AP Photo/Derick Hingle
- 2022 status: Restricted free agent (Saints can retain on an extension or various one-year tender offers valued between $2.4 and $5.5 million)
- 2021 average annual salary: $593,333
- 2021 snaps count: 543 (494 on defense, 44.2%; 49 on special teams, 10.5%)
- 2021 Pro Football Focus grade (defense): 72.9
DE Carl Granderson
AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton
- 2022 status: Restricted free agent (Saints can retain on an extension or various one-year tender offers valued between $2.4 and $5.5 million)
- 2021 average annual salary: $590,000
- 2021 snaps count: 589 (448 on defense, 40.8%; 141 on special teams, 30.1%)
- 2021 Pro Football Focus grade (defense): 63.1
WR Deonte Harty
AP Photo/Brynn Anderson
- 2022 status: Restricted free agent (Saints can retain on an extension or various one-year tender offers valued between $2.4 and $5.5 million)
- 2021 average annual salary: $588,333
- 2021 snaps count: 416 (298 on offense, 27.3%; 118 on special teams, 25.2%)
- 2021 Pro Football Focus grade (offense): 87.8
LT Terron Armstead
Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
- 2022 status: Unrestricted free agent (Saints can only retain with extension or franchise/transition tag)
- 2021 average annual salary: $13,000,000
- 2021 snaps count: 467 (467 on offense, 42.8%)
- 2021 Pro Football Focus grade (offense): 63.1
S Marcus Williams
Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
- 2022 status: Unrestricted free agent (Saints can only retain with extension or franchise/transition tag)
- 2021 average annual salary: $10,612,000
- 2021 snaps count: 1,039 (1,036 on defense, 92.8%; 3 on special teams, 0.6%)
- 2021 Pro Football Focus grade (defense): 80.1
QB Jameis Winston
AP Photo/Ted S. Warren
- 2022 status: Unrestricted free agent (Saints can only retain with extension or franchise/transition tag)
- 2021 average annual salary: $5,500,000
- 2021 snaps count: 371 (371 on offense, 34.0%)
- 2021 Pro Football Focus grade (offense): 74.2
DB P.J. Williams
Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
- 2022 status: Unrestricted free agent (Saints can only retain with extension or franchise/transition tag)
- 2021 average annual salary: $2,300,000
- 2021 snaps count: 615 (545 on defense, 48.8%; 70 on special teams, 14.9%)
- 2021 Pro Football Focus grade (defense): 70.0
LB Kwon Alexander
Sean Gardner/Getty Images
- 2022 status: Unrestricted free agent (Saints can only retain with extension or franchise/transition tag)
- 2021 average annual salary: $1,127,500
- 2021 snaps count: 538 (535 on defense, 47.9%; 3 on special teams, 0.6%)
- 2021 Pro Football Focus grade (defense): 52.7
RB Dwayne Washington
Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
- 2022 status: Unrestricted free agent (Saints can only retain with extension or franchise/transition tag)
- 2021 average annual salary: $1,127,500
- 2021 snaps count: 268 (15 on defense, 1.4%; 253 on special teams, 53.9%)
- 2021 Pro Football Focus grade (special teams): 88.7
WR Ty Montgomery
Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
- 2022 status: Unrestricted free agent (Saints can only retain with extension or franchise/transition tag)
- 2021 average annual salary: $1,127,500
- 2021 snaps count: 480 (300 on offense, 27.5%; 180 on special teams, 38.4%)
- 2021 Pro Football Focus grade (offense): 51.4
S Jeff Heath
AP Photo/Matt Rourke
- 2022 status: Unrestricted free agent (Saints can only retain with extension or franchise/transition tag)
- 2021 average annual salary: $1,075,000
- 2021 snaps count: 391 (73 on defense, 6.5%; 318 on special teams, 67.8%)
- 2021 Pro Football Focus grade (special teams): 67.5
QB Trevor Siemian
AP Photo/Derick Hingle
- 2022 status: Unrestricted free agent (Saints can only retain with extension or franchise/transition tag)
- 2021 average annual salary: $990,000
- 2021 snaps count: 359 (359 on offense, 32.9%)
- 2021 Pro Football Focus grade (offense): 64.4
DE Jalyn Holmes
Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
- 2022 status: Unrestricted free agent (Saints can only retain with extension or franchise/transition tag)
- 2021 average annual salary: $920,000
- 2021 snaps count: 202 (189 on defense, 16.9%; 13 on special teams, 2.8%)
- 2021 Pro Football Focus grade (defense): 58.8
WR Tre'Quan Smith
AP Photo/Brynn Anderson
- 2022 status: Unrestricted free agent (Saints can only retain with extension or franchise/transition tag)
- 2021 average annual salary: $855,131
- 2021 snaps count: 521 (520 on offense, 47.7%; 1 on special teams, 0.2%)
- 2021 Pro Football Focus grade (offense): 62.7
Other names to know
Here is a handful of other Saints players who will be free agents in 2022, who didn’t have as prominent a role as their teammates in 2021:
- Exclusive-rights free agent: DT Albert Huggins
- Restricted free agents: WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey, K Brett Maher
- Unrestricted free agents: WR Kenny Stills, LG James Carpenter RT Jordan Mills, CB Ken Crawley, RT Caleb Benenoch, DT Christian Ringo
