METAIRIE, La. -- The New Orleans Saints are looking to trade cornerback Delvin Breaux, according to a report by the New Orleans Advocate -- which would be a startling development, considering the Saints’ massive need to upgrade their defense and the fact that Breaux is widely considered their best cornerback.
Apparently, though, the team has grown frustrated with Breaux’s string of nagging injuries -- including an unspecified leg issue that has sidelined him for the past two weeks.
Saints coach Sean Payton declined to either confirm or deny the report after Monday’s practice.
“Listen, we would never comment if we were (actively shopping Breaux) to begin with,” Payton said. “And it rarely works that way. It’s very normal throughout training camp for teams to discuss different players and possible trades. We’ve seen a couple already that I think are unique really; I think the three-team trade (with the Rams, Bills and Eagles) the other day was interesting. But I wouldn’t comment on that. That would be club business.”
The report follows a series of vague clues that Breaux’s status is uncertain with the Saints. Last week, he was listed with the second string on the team’s first unofficial depth chart. And earlier in camp, Payton made a point to stress that cornerback is a position where nobody’s job was written in ink.
Plus, the Saints have shown a recent pattern of cutting ties with injury-prone veterans. They released cornerback Keenan Lewis last summer and declared plans to move on from linebacker Dannell Ellerbe this summer -- with Payton citing their “availability” as the prime reason.
“Listen, I think it’s important to be out here. But I wouldn’t want to get into specifics as to each one of these guys,” Payton said when asked how the team views Breaux. “But availability obviously is probably as important as anything else.”
NOLA.com reported Monday that Breaux was spotted on crutches at the team facility on Monday and that he had X-rays that showed something more serious than a contusion (which was the initial diagnosis) -- but still not a long-term injury.
Payton has been high on the Saints’ young group of cornerbacks, including first-round draft pick Marshon Lattimore, third-year pro P.J. Williams, second-year pros Ken Crawley and De'Vante Harris, veteran Sterling Moore and undrafted rookie Arthur Maulet.
“These guys are playing well. I like the competition. And Marshon is back out there today, and he’s close,” Payton said of Lattimore, who was sidelined by a minor knee injury over the past two weeks but returned to participate in individual drills Monday.
Still, despite all of those possible factors listed above, the idea of trading Breaux would be a stunner for a defense that ranked 32nd in passing yards allowed last season.
The 6-foot-1, 210-pound Breaux had a breakout season in 2015, emerging as the Saints’ No. 1 corner and playing at nearly a Pro Bowl level after choosing his hometown team over several other suitors when he migrated from the Canadian Football League.
Breaux, 27, is a physical cornerback who has matched up well against other teams’ top receivers, and he had three interceptions and 19 pass defenses in 2015.
He also won the team’s Ed Block Courage Award that season after completing a remarkable comeback from a broken neck in high school that prevented him from playing college football.
However, Breaux appeared in only six games last season because of a broken fibula suffered in Week 1 and a shoulder injury suffered late in the year. He finished the season with no interceptions and just one pass defense.
Trading Breaux would also be surprising since he is so cheap right now at just $619,000 this season, and he is under team control as a restricted free agent next year, too. Plus, his value couldn’t be much lower than right now, when he is sidelined by an injury.
But where there’s smoke, there is often fire -- and there's a lot of smoke in this situation.