One popular name among New Orleans Saints fans looking for their next quarterback is Tyler Huntley — the Baltimore Ravens backup has shown some moxie in a handful of starts over the last few years, throwing well enough under pressure and showing enough ability to make plays with his legs to suggest he can handle a full-time role. It helps that the Ravens just went 2-2 with him at quarterback to keep them in the thick of a crowded AFC playoff picture.
So you’ll see plenty of Saints trade ideas floating around centering on Huntley. Here’s one such proposal from Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox, who plotted out a course that would send Huntley to New Orleans. Huntley is a restricted free agent this offseason, which gives the Ravens some options in either holding onto him or getting compensation should he leave:
“Baltimore can give Huntley a first- or second-round tender and hope that a team signs him to an offer sheet—thereby getting the matching draft selection back as compensation. Giving Huntley a first-round tender would cost Baltimore $6 million in 2023, according to Over the Cap.
If New Orleans signs Huntley to an offer sheet worth, say, $10 million annually, the Ravens may take the first-round selection rather than paying that amount to their backup quarterback.
Technically, this wouldn’t be a trade in the strictest of senses. However, it would allow the Saints to flip their low-first-round pick for a quarterback who was a Pro Bowler in 2022 and at a lower cost than they might sign a signal-caller in free agency.”
Now, to be fair, Huntley is a Pro Bowler — but he was only selected for the all-star event after Patrick Mahomes went to the Super Bowl, Josh Allen opted out, and the trio of Justin Herbert, Lamar Jackson, and Tua Tagovailoa chose not to play due to injuries. That left Trevor Lawrence, Derek Carr, and Huntley as the last guys standing.
But swapping a first-round pick for a quarterback who has only thrown for 2,040 passing yards in the NFL is kind of rich. Huntley has played sparingly behind Jackson, and he’s been kind of inconsistent with 15 interceptable passes (8 of which were picked off) on just 347 career pass attempts. He also hasn’t really stretched the field vertically with his passing ability while averaging only 5.9 yards per attempt through three years of spot duty.
Huntley is absolutely worth a look at the right price. He’s as far along in his development as some quarterback prospects in the 2023 draft will hope to be a year or two (or three) from now, and he’s only 25 years old. If Baltimore is seeking a first rounder for his services, though, the Saints should be looking elsewhere.
