3 Saints who must perform in 2022 ahead of contract decisions

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This offseason saw the New Orleans Saints lose two of their biggest players from recent years with Marcus Williams heading to Baltimore and Terron Armstead signing with the Dolphins. Next year, a few of the big names entering the free-agent market consist of C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Deonte Harty, and David Onyemata.

Another way of looking at the pending free agents is to take a look at the players who need to show up this year if they want to remain in New Orleans’ future plans.

3. Bradley Roby
Around this time last year, the Saints traded for Bradley Roby, sending a third-round pick to the Texans in exchange for the cornerback. The plan was for Roby to be the starter opposite Marshon Lattimore but Paulson Adebo played so well as a rookie that Roby didn’t end up seeing the field as much as the fans expected.

It was a disappointing result for New Orleans considering they surrendered a third-round pick to land Roby but it could have been worse. Adebo playing well is better for the team in the long term.

Roby was extended this offseason for one more year to save cap space but he’ll be a free agent this time next year and has a lot to prove during the 2022 season. If he wants to remain in the Saints’ future, he needs to show them that he’s worth keeping around.

2. Mark Ingram
Alvin Kamara missed four games last year due to injury and while he was out, Tony Jones Jr. also went down with an injury. This series of events prompted the Saints to add a running back on the trade market and it was Mark Ingram who they traded for. The then-Texans running back had spent the 2011-2018 seasons in New Orleans.

Ingram was fine during his seven games with the Saints last season but he didn’t make quite the impact the team was hoping for. The 32-year-old is entering his 12th NFL season and this is the final year of his deal with the Saints so he needs to show that he still has what it takes to be an effective running back in the league.

Fortunately for Ingram, he should have a solid chance to prove that this year. Kamara is likely going to be suspended to start the year so if Ingram balls out during that time, it’ll bode well for him down the stretch.

I’m not sure the Saints realistically bring Ingram back even if he has an okay season simply because he’ll be 33 years old next year and they have other options at the position but he’s someone in a contract year who has a lot to prove to this team.

1. Marcus Davenport
This is an important year for Marcus Davenport.

After the Saints surprised some people by picking up his fifth-year option, Davenport rewarded them with the best season of his career. He notched nine sacks and had 16 QB hits on the year. Prior to this, he was looking like a first-round bust.

Now Davenport has to prove that he can be productive again and this time, it’s a contract year for him. If he puts up nine sacks again in 2022, it’s doubtful that the Saints can keep him but maybe he’ll opt to stick with them since they took a chance on him when he wasn’t looking first-round worthy.

Davenport has been injury-prone throughout his career too so he also needs to prove that he can stay healthy this year. Despite his production in 2021, the UTSA product missed six games. Imagine how much better his stats would have looked had he been available for more games.

Now that Davenport has put together a solid season of production, he needs to do it again this year. If he doesn’t, the Saints might be fine moving on from him.