3 Players Who Won't Be on Saints Roster Next Season

The New Orleans Saints suffered a heartbreaking loss at the hands of the Minnesota Vikings in the Wild Card playoffs. Drew Brees struggled, and the team will need to improve in 2020 to try to reach the Super Bowl. There will be some changes, however, and several free agents may have new homes next season.

3. CB Eli Apple

Eli Apple missed the end of the season with an injury. / Brett Carlsen/Getty Images

Eli Apple was traded to New Orleans in 2018, and the team decided to decline his fifth-year option before the start of the 2019 season. That now makes him a free agent, and though he did play in 15 games in 2019, he did not show enough to warrant a major extension (and wasn't on the field much on Sunday). That will cause him to land elsewhere on a team seeking to draw that first-round talent out of him.

2. QB Teddy Bridgewater

Teddy Bridgewater had success in limited action. / David Banks/Getty Images

In one last gamble on himself, Teddy Bridgewater was given a $7.25 million contract with the Saints for 2019. He went on to go 5-0 as a starter when Drew Brees was out, and he saw his stock rise through the roof. Teams in need of an upgrade at quarterback, like the Chicago Bears or Indianapolis Colts, could look to Bridgewater as a potential addition. He has starter potential and is only 27 years old.

1. OT Andrus Peat

Andrus Peat could be let go in 2020. / Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images

Andrus Peat is about to receive his second NFL contract, and is too expensive for a Saints team that has to pay Brees and manage to stay under the salary cap. There is just no money to retain the 2018 Pro Bowler unless he takes a huge pay cut, which would not be right. He will end up on a team that can afford a top young guard.