The New Orleans Saints don't find themselves in the most enviable financial position heading into this offseason. They are currently last in the NFL in available cap space and are over $69 million in red, meaning that they'll need to slash that total down to get the club under the salary cap prior to the start of the new league year in mid-March. In what will be likely the first of a number of steps to eventually get to that point, New Orleans has had discussions about a potential trade that would send defensive tackle Malcom Brown out of town, according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network.
If the Saints were to trade or release Brown, they would clear around $5 million off of their salary cap. Naturally, the first attempt to attain that cap relief would be to shop him around the league to see if the 27-year-old can fetch New Orleans any assets (draft capital) in return. If no deal can be made, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Brown's tenure with the club come to a close regardless by the team simply releasing him to ensure that space will be opened.
Brown inked a three-year, $15 million contract with the club in 2019 and is currently primed to enter the final year of that deal in 2021. He originally entered the league as a member of the New England Patriots, who selected him with the No. 32 overall pick in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft out of Texas. With the Pats, Brown was a part of two Super Bowl-winning seasons (LI, LIII).
Over the past two seasons in New Orleans, Brown has started every game he's played. In the 29 regular-season games, Brown tallied 61 tackles, three sacks, and seven pressures. In three playoff starts, he added five tackles and contributed to a sack.
Again, this is likely just one of the first steps in what could be a flurry of trades and/or cuts coming out of New Orleans to get cap compliant by the time the new league year begins.
