The New Orleans Saints have a busy summer ahead of them, and one of the team’s most improved players may need to make a huge choice shortly.
Paulson Adebo’s growth as a cornerback was one of the nicest things that happened to the New Orleans Saints in 2023. Fans have witnessed Adebo develop into a reliable cornerback since he was selected by the team in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft and since he moved to New Orleans. Even though he has been starting since joining the league, his play from the previous season was clearly his greatest to date.
Paulson Adebo of the Saints was singled out as the team’s most improved player in a recent PFF article by Zoltán Buday. Adebo’s PFF grade increased from 49.1 in 2022 to 78.7 in 2023, as Buday noted. Additionally, during Weeks 8–10, Adebo earned three consecutive weeks with grades above 90.0. Aside from his grades, Adebo received recognition for forcing 19 incompletions, which tied him for the highest among cornerbacks.
Adebo, who participated in 15 games, finished with 76 tackles, 4 interceptions, and 2 forced fumbles. Now that he’s raised his profile, there will be more expectations going into the upcoming season. It’s unclear, though, if Adebo will remain with New Orleans for the upcoming campaign.
Paulson Adebo should be traded by the Saints.
Adebo still has one year left on his rookie deal after this incredible season. Bleacher Report believes he could be traded this offseason in part because of this. In a recent article examining potential offseason trades, Bleacher Report noted that New Orleans usually loses talented players in free agency due of the team’s unfavorable salary cap position. BR believes it would be wiser for the Saints to move Adebo now and receive something in exchange rather than risk losing him for nothing in the offseason.
While that’s not a terrible concept, New Orleans shouldn’t act on it right now. Never should a team quit up and trade away a promising talent. The Saints would effectively be declaring they can’t re-sign Paulson Adebo if they choose to move him. Trading him would make sense if that’s the real situation and the Saints don’t think they can contend next season.
But New Orleans has often demonstrated that it is capable of doing cap space magic. The Saints ought to investigate any options for clearing space so they may re-sign Paulson Adebo rather than simply shipping him away.