This New Orleans Saints Starter Will Be the First to Lose His Job in 2020

The New Orleans Saints will enter the 2020 season as NFC contenders once again thanks to Drew Brees agreeing to return for at least one more year. The team will also face a new foe in Tom Brady now that he is with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The pressure will be on returning players to hold down their jobs after some key additions around the roster such as Malcolm Jenkins and Emmanuel Sanders. But one player in particular who is in danger of losing his job before anyone else is veteran linebacker Kiko Alonso.

Alonso, a former 2013 second-round pick by the Buffalo Bills, was traded to New Orleans from the Miami Dolphins at the start of last season, but unfortunately suffered the second ACL tear of his career.

In short, the Saints won't know what to expect from an aging veteran coming off another significant knee injury, especially after he registered just 31 tackles in 13 games last year. That came after three straight seasons of at least 115 tackles with the Dolphins.

But what else hurts his stock? The Saints used a third-round pick this year on linebacker Zack Baun.

Baun, who is actually projected to play on the outside, is coming in and fighting for a starting spot right away. However, he's a versatile talent who has proven he can handle the responsibilities in the middle linebacker position.

The Wisconsin product was first-team All-Big Ten in 2019 and has a much higher ceiling than a veteran like Alonso, who could be in the most danger of losing his job out of any of the other Saints' starters.