Several free agent DTs are poised for strong paydays, including #Eagles Fletcher Cox #Vikings Dalvin Tomlinson #Jets Sheldon Rankins #Saints David Onyemata #Seahawks Poona Ford, per league sources
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) March 12, 2023
Here’s some New Orleans Saints free agency buzz. A new report lists Saints free agent David Onyemata as one of several defensive tackles “poised for strong paydays” in the opening wave of signings this week, per KPRC2 Houston’s Aaron Wilson. He’s a well-connected NFL insider with a feel for the free agent market, so it sounds like Onyemata’s agent likes the offers their client will be seeing soon.
Onyemata, 30, regressed in 2022 after serving a PEDs suspension during the 2021 season, but he’s still been New Orleans’ top option at defensive tackle. If he’s going to earn top dollar on the open market, the Saints might be better served rebuilding the unit now that they’ve hired a new position coach in Todd Grantham. At the same time, all of the defensive tackles who played for them last year are free agents — Onyemata, Shy Tuttle, Kentavius Street, and Malcolm Roach. Depending on how you look at it, they’re either precariously thin at the position or ready to rebuild it from the ground up.
As for Onyemata: he last signed a three-year, $26 million extension with the Saints back in 2020, averaging $8.6 million per year. He’s older now and his best days are behind him, but contract projections for him suggest payouts as high as $9.6 million per year (at Spotrac) and $8.5 million per year (at Pro Football Focus). From the sound of things, it won’t take long for his next deal to materialize, whether with New Orleans or someone else.
