1 YEAR LATER: Grading the Saints 2015 Trades

Nov 24, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints tight end Jimmy Graham (80) celebrates his 10-yard touchdown catch with wide receiver Kenny Stills (84) against the Baltimore Ravens in the first quarter of their game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

As you may remember, a year ago going into the offseason the Saints’ biggest concern was fixing a locker room they considered “cancerous”.

Sean Payton and Mickey Loomis felt they had players on the roster that were hurting the locker room, and even though they may have been performing on the field, they just didn’t think it was worth the trouble.

They started 2015 NFL Free Agency by conducting a blockbuster trade that sent their All-Pro tight end Jimmy Graham to Seattle. Many were surprised that the Saints would even consider trading a player of Graham’s caliber.

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They then went on to trade young up-and-coming 2nd year wide receiver Kenny Stills and starting left guard Ben Grubbs.

At the time, there was a lot of criticism coming the Saints way, in regard to why they were shipping off starting players. But the fact of the matter was, the Saints were a below average team with the worst defense in the NFL — and something had to change.

So the Saints hit the phones and called around, seeing what they could get for some of their better players. There were rumors that the Saints were having a “fire sale”; and everybody on their roster was available except Drew Brees and Brandin Cooks.

Now, a year after these trades were completed; we can look back in hindsight and see who were the “winners” and “losers” of these trades.

Starting with….

Next: Mr. Unstoppable