Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
The New Orleans Saints have traded away another veteran starter from their offense. After trading tight end Jimmy Graham and a fourth-round pick to the Seattle Seahawks for center Max Unger and a first-round pick on Tuesday, the Saints have dealt away another expensive player. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, guard Ben Grubbs has been traded to the Kansas City Chiefs for a 2015 fifth-round pick.
Chiefs traded this year’s 5th-round pick to Saints for two-time Pro Bowl guard Ben Grubbs, per league source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 12, 2015
Grubbs started all 16 games the last three seasons for the Saints. Selected in the first round of the 2007 draft, Grubbs played the first five seasons of his career with the Baltimore Ravens before signing a five-year, $36 million contract with New Orleans in 2012.
With their second trade in three days, the Saints are clearly trying to get younger and create cap space. This move saves the Saints $3.6 million in cap room and they acquire yet another pick in this year’s NFL draft. They now have two picks in both the first and fifth rounds, along with the usual picks in the second, third, sixth, and seventh rounds.
After failing to win perhaps the weakest division in NFL history in 2014, New Orleans looks like they might be looking at taking at least one season to rebuild. There’s no doubt dealing Grubbs for just a late-round draft pick makes the team weaker this year, indicating this move was done with an eye on the future.
Quarterback Drew Brees can’t be happy with the moves the Saints have made so far this offseason. At age 36, Brees doesn’t have many seasons left in the league, and you have to think ending his career on a struggling team isn’t how he’d like to go out.
