According to the players themselves in the new NFLPA survey, the New Orleans Saints have one of the best facilities in the league. This survey reached out to approximately 1,300 players, asking them to rank their respective organizations on categories ranging from treatment of families to team travel. Based on the results, the Saints are one of the best in the league at taking care of their players, but they have one glaring weakness they need to address.
New Orleans Saints player surveys created this report card for the team, ultimately ranking 10th out of the 32 clubs around the league. Pretty cool initiative from the NFLPA. https://t.co/rANwcz3ZQ7 pic.twitter.com/a22fDflOZS
— Cat Swilling (@john_siglerr) March 1, 2023
NFLPA Survey: Saints Are A Top-10 Organization
Per the NFLPA survey, the Saints earned a B+ for treatment of families, an F- in food service, an A- in weight room, an A for their strength coaches, a B for the training room, an A- for the training staff, an A for the locker room, and a league-best A+ for team travel. Needless to say, on the whole, this is a great report, but the F- in food service stands out as a very noticeable blemish.
According to the report, the F- is tied with the Arizona Cardinals and Cincinnati Bengals for the worst mark in the league. A big reason for this ranking appears to stem from the fact that they are one of three organizations that do not provide three meals a day for their players. The report card states that, in place of dinner, New Orleans offers a late lunch at 3:00, even though practice commences at 12:00.
Quite frankly, this doesn’t make much sense. Every other mark heavily implies that the Saints take great care of their players, but the team can’t be bothered to offer them another meal? Even from a financial standpoint, the team has plenty of motivation to give the players the best food possible. NFL players are some of the best athletes in the world, and providing proper nutrition would only make them better at their jobs, and lead to a superior on-field product.
Perhaps this was just an oversight on the part of Gayle Benson and the New Orleans Saints higher-ups. This isn’t like the Cardinals, where an astonishing number of poor grades should force the organization to do some serious soul-searching. Adding another meal to the mix shouldn’t be too cost-prohibitive, and it could be enough to send the Saints to the top of the NFLPA survey next year, which will do wonders for their ability to attract free agents.
How This Affects Free Agency
In case you hadn’t noticed, the New Orleans Saints aren’t exactly flush with cash right now. The team is currently $30.9 million over the salary cap, and they have a little less than two weeks to clear up all that money. No matter what they do, it’s safe to assume they won’t have the financial resources to outbid teams for potential players. When their offer matches another team, they’ll need to make the case that they have the better organization.
The most obvious example here is Derek Carr. Needless to say, the Saints entire offseason hinges on Carr’s decision. As of this posting, Carr appears to be choosing between New Orleans and the New York Jets. While the Jets are probably the better team right now, perhaps the results of this survey can sway his mind. The Jets finished 19th out of the 32 teams, which isn’t bad, but it’s a far cry from New Orleans’ top-10 finish. Could the NFLPA survey, combined with the weak NFC South, be enough to sway Carr to join the Saints? Only time will tell.
This report goes beyond Carr, as the Saints also need to find a cost-effective Alvin Kamara replacement. Free agents are always going to go to the highest bidder, and they should. After all, their careers are notoriously short and they need to make as much as they can while their earning window is open. However, the Saints can probably match an offer for somebody like Alexander Mattison, and this report could convince him to sign with the Saints instead of a team like the Washington Commanders.
Main Photo: Stephen Lew – USA Today Sports
