The New Orleans Saints season has not gone according to plan, but wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling has been one of the few bright spots of an otherwise forgettable campaign. After winning the Super Bowl in 2023, the Kansas City Chiefs cut the wide receiver thanks to his massive cap hit. Effectively replacing him with free agent signee Marquise Brown and first-round pick Xavier Worthy, Valdes-Scantling spent some time on the open market before landing with the Buffalo Bills. However, he failed to make an impact there, lasting just six games while recording two receptions for 26 yards on nine targets.
For a while, this looked like the end of the road for the speedy wide receiver, as he failed to make an impact with elite quarterbacks in Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen. However, a desperate Saints team kicked the tires on Marquez Valdes-Scantling following the Rashid Shaheed injury, and it seems the team found a diamond in the rough that could be a part of the future.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling Thriving With New Orleans Saints
Marquez Valdes-Scantling originally entered the NFL as a fifth-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Selected by the Green Bay Packers, the South Florida product made a name for himself as a one-dimensional deep threat with Aaron Rodgers, recording 690 yards and a league-best 20.9 yards per reception in the 2020 season. He parlayed this into a three-year, $30 million deal with the Chiefs to replace the departed Tyreek Hill. While nobody expected him to match Hill’s production, the Chiefs thought he would record more than 1,002 yards in two seasons.
With his cap hit not justifying his on-field impact, the receiver-needy Chiefs had no choice but to cut the veteran. However, he found new life in New Orleans, recording 237 yards and four touchdowns on eight receptions while learning the offense on the fly. He’ll never be a 100-catch player, but his recent resurgence proves he can be a valuable player in the right role. Signed to a cheap one-year deal, Valdes-Scantling will hit the open market in the coming months, but the Saints could bring him back to serve as a depth piece in this offense.
Should the Saints Bring Him Back?
Despite firing former head coach Dennis Allen, all reports indicate the New Orleans Saints will not embrace a rebuild in 2025. General Manager Mickey Loomis loves to restructure contracts to create cap space and avoid rebuilds, and he will do it again in 2025. This means that Derek Carr should return for another season and the team will have to find cost-effective players to round out the roster. Given his success with the Saints, it’s easy to imagine the team re-signing Marquez Valdes-Scantling to a cheap one-year deal.
While his skillset is a little redundant with Rashid Shaheed on the roster, there is no such thing as too much speed. Additionally, New Orleans could use another wide receiver given Chris Olave’s uncertain future. If the wide receiver’s concussions continue to be an issue, or if the former first-round pick demands a trade, the Saints could insert Valdes-Scantling into the starting offense and force teams to defend two vertical threats throughout the game.
Main Photo: Matthew Hinton – USA Today Sports
The post Saints Are Doing What Chiefs Couldn’t appeared first on Last Word on Pro Football.