Wild 'NBA-style' Saints trade idea would land star Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa
The New Orleans Saints already have a current plan in place for the immediate future of the quarterback room, but what would it look like if they took a bigger swing? NFL teams are notoriously risk-averse, and we'll probably never see the likes of this week's seven-team NBA trade that sent Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets.
But somehow, someway, some team is going to kick that door open. The Saints already tried a first-of-its-kind sign-and-trade which was rejected by the league office, but eventually someone will get it done. Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports recently came up with a couple of wild "NBA-style" trade proposals involving multiple teams, and one of them would net the Saints a new franchise quarterback.
Under one proposed deal titled "The Shanahan Shakeup," New Orleans would end up with current Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa for just a third-round and fifth-round pick in 2026 as a part of a four-team deal. That isn't the focus of this big trade -- which would send Brock Purdy (and his big new contract) to the Dolphins and Kirk Cousins, along with a couple of draft picks, to the San Francisco 49ers -- but it would be a big deal for the Saints. They would be sending their 2026 third-round pick to the 49ers with a 2026 fifth rounder going to the Atlanta Falcons.
It's hard to argue that getting Tagovailoa wouldn't make Kellen Moore's job easier in 2025, if he can stay healthy. He completed 72.9% of his passes in the 11 games he played in with 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He could run whatever offense Moore had in mind for this season better than either Spencer Rattler or Tyler Shough, but the question becomes less clear down the road. It's unlucky, but Tagovailoa has a very concerning injury history. He's only played one full season in his first five years, and granted that season was fantastic. Longevity is a question, and of course, one has to wonder how much better he can get.
Rattler has shown some potential early on and even got some in-game experience towards the end of last year. He's just 24 and was a fifth-round selection; it would be foolish to count him as a finished product. He will need that chance to play, though, and Tagovailoa would make that nearly impossible. Shough would have even more of a gripe, given that he was this staff's second-round selection just earlier this year. Moore wouldn't have pushed for him if didn't think he could at least function in the offense this year.
Right now, even though the idea of adding a Pro Bowl quarterback might seem fun, it might be better for the team to just let these young guys develop.
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