New Orleans Saints’ pursuit of Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa ending successfully deemed ‘bold and unlikely’

While Tua Tagovailoa selling his home in Miami was a potential sign that the team may have regrets about its injury-riddled quarterback, it may be a year early on the chance of the trade.

Derek Carr isn’t with the organization anymore, and that’s a good thing. He did the Saints a favor by saving them $30 million on the restructure for next year, making New Orleans’ cap space potentially worth $54.6 million, where Tua’s guaranteed money for 2026 is $54 million, and the Saints could afford it next year.

Although a trade this year was deemed “bold and unlikely” by Patrick McAvoy of SI.com, there is always a chance that the tank train for Arch Manning comes off the rails and someone like Cleveland ends up with the number one pick.

He did ask a question worth touching on:

“Why take Shough with the team's highest draft pick involving a quarterback since Archie Manning to just turn around and do something like this?”

The answer, Tyler Shough, was drafted to be the backup to Carr, who they didn’t know wouldn’t be their guy to start the season. So they’re stuck in this situation where Tyler was the most NFL-ready, but he’s not a starter.

If the Saints had known Carr wasn’t going to start the season due to his shoulder, they would have looked at the NFL draft a different way.

The biggest variable in all of this, between whether the Saints and Miami were to make a deal, is if Tua gets hurt again, which I am expecting him to do this year. And if Arch Manning doesn’t fall into the Saints’ lap.

It’s a very good backup plan if the tank plan doesn’t work out.