The New Orleans Saints open training camp on July 25 in Metairie, Louisiana. Here’s a closer look at a few storylines:

How much longer will QB Drew Brees keep this up?

For a while there, Brees looked ageless last season. Through the first 11 games, he threw 29 TD passes and just two interceptions. But then he and the Saints’ passing offense fell into a rut (seven TDs, five picks over his final six games, including the playoffs). New Orleans should obviously expect something in the middle of those two extremes going forward. But the 40-year-old is still good enough to lead a Super Bowl-winning offense -- and he probably could for at least two or three more years (see: Brady, Tom). The bigger question is how long Brees wants to keep trying, now that he is basically signing contract extensions on a year-to-year basis -- and whether the Saints can afford to keep paying a premium for backup QB Teddy Bridgewater to wait in the wings.

Will New Orleans ever have a better chance than right now?

Not only is Brees 40, but the bills are starting to come due on one of the NFL’s most loaded rosters. The Saints already signed DE Cameron Jordan to an extension worth about $18 million per year this summer, and soon they’ll be paying WR Michael Thomas somewhere around $20 million per year. Next year, Brees, Bridgewater and G Andrus Peat will be free agents; followed by RB Alvin Kamara, G Larry Warford, DL Sheldon Rankins and LB Demario Davis in 2021 and CB Marshon Lattimore, OT Terron Armstead and OT Ryan Ramczyk in 2022. The Saints missed a golden opportunity last year, thanks in part to the infamous no-call in the NFC title game. They need to bounce back while this core remains intact.

Can TE Jared Cook revive the passing offense?

That’s a lot to put on a 32-year-old tight end who just made his first Pro Bowl in 10 seasons and has only 25 career TD catches. But Cook did just have the best season of his career in a similar offense with the Oakland Raiders. And he sure looked the part as a tall (6-foot-5), long, athletic go-to guy in the middle of the field during OTAs and minicamp. New Orleans needs Cook -- and others -- to emerge after Brees ran out of reliable targets last year. Thomas and Kamara were the only two Saints with more than 35 catches.

Is DE Marcus Davenport ready to step into a leading role?

The Saints didn’t need an instant impact from the developmental edge rusher last year, even though they used two first-round draft picks to get him. He played just under 50 percent of their defensive snaps when healthy -- showing promise with four sacks in the first seven games before a toe injury slowed him down. But now the Saints need Davenport to take a second-year leap in a leading role. Not only did they lose starting DE Alex Okafor in free agency, but Rankins is expected to miss time early in the season while recovering from a torn Achilles.