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New Orleans a potential “landon” spot for Pro Bowl safety

Eli Apple’s former teammate could too find a home in the Bayou.

NFL: New Orleans Saints at New York Giants Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Giants look prepared to let Pro Bowl safety Landon Collins move on to greener pastures. It’s an interesting move for a team that refuses to embrace the rebuild, but it’s a move that nonetheless will affect the rest of the NFL free agency.

With Collins set to walk, rumors have already begun circulating about where he could wind up. NJ.com just published a piece naming the five most likely destinations for the former Pro Bowler, and New Orleans was one of the five:

New Orleans Saints

Cap Space: $8.8 million

Why the Saints make sense: The Saints would need to overcome some financial hurdles to become legitimate players in the Collins sweepstakes, but he would provide an immediate boost to the secondary. Collins would be a significant upgrade over Kurt Coleman, and join a secondary that includes All-Pro caliber cornerback Marshon Lattimore and Marcus Williams. Collins would push the Saints closer to NFC supremacy.

Now it’s clear they don’t keep up with Saints news. For one, they assume “financial hurdles” are a thing to Saints GM Mickey Loomis.

And two, as we’ve already discussed, it’s not that Collins would “upgrade” Coleman, but replace him all together with the team prepared to part with the veteran after his first year in New Orleans.

With Coleman released, that leaves Vonn Bell and Marcus Williams as the only starting safeties for a team that typically prefers to deploy three. Collins, assuming the money makes sense, could be just the guy to replace Coleman on the team. Free agency is deep at safety this year, though, with other big names like Earl Thomas and Tyrann Mathieu all on the market.

The Saints will surely address the position this free agency. It’s still to be determined how they’ll do it.