New Orleans Saints got involved in the trade market once again as they hope new additions will fuel their Super Bowl aspirations. The team announced on Monday that they have made a deal with the San Francisco 49ers that landed them linebacker Kwon Alexander.
In order to get Alexander, the Saints gave up a conditional fifth-round pick in 2021 and veteran Kiko Alonso.
In Alexander, the Saints get a talented player whose only concern is availability. In the past two seasons, the 26-year-old linebacker missed 18 games while also being unavailable for the past three weeks.
Still, when healthy, Alexander can be a difference-maker on the field, and this is exactly why the Saints went out and got him.
“We’ve had a chance obviously to see this player in our division,” said New Orleans’ head coach Payton alluding to the fact that Alexander previously played with Tampa Bay Buccaneers. “It’s adding another player that we think fits what we’re doing. It also gives us another athletic player at that position that can run.”
San Francisco had high hopes for Kwon Alexander when they signed him to a four-year, $54 million contract in 2018. Still, his frequent injuries influenced the emergence of some younger players, which made the 49ers comfortable with dealing him and getting some salary relief alongside draft assets.
Alonso might also be a valuable pickup depth-wise and could provide coverage if San Francisco gets into an unfortunate injury-riddled stretch again.
