Saints TE requested a trade and got the ultimate karma for doing so

Saints tight end Adam Trautman was traded after requesting a deal, a move that he could end up regretting based on where he ended up.

They say you get what you wish for. That could not be more true for tight end Adam Trautman, who was granted his request to land on a new team before the 2023 season by the New Orleans Saints by way of a trade that has him ending up with the Denver Broncos.

Trautman, speaking to local media in Denver, said he requested a trade away from New Orleans because he felt like he was being put inside a box with the Saints.

Here’s what he said to the Denver NBC affiliate:

“I feel like I was placed somewhat in a box,’’ he said. “They put a limit on what I could contribute and I felt like I could contribute a lot more. I was primarily used as a blocker. I thought I could do more and I didn’t want to get to the end of my career and think I could have done it, caught the ball a little more.

Well, Trautman may have escaped New Orleans, but he’s not escaping entirely. His new coach is none other than Sean Payton, who Trautman played underneath in his rookie and sophomore seasons. The path Trautman took to end up in that box started with Payton.

Adam Trautman back with Sean Payton and won’t get the receiving opportunities he desires

Trautman, for what it’s worth, sounds really excited to play for Payton again.

“Sean is obviously one of the best coaches in modern-era football,’’ Trautman said. “What always impressed me most about Sean was attention to detail. He leaves absolutely zero stones unturned related to game day. It is so impressive. He knows how to tap into his players. Players respect the hell out of him. He takes care of the guys with recovery and everything like that. But we also get after it. Sean’s that mix of old school-new school.”

But that doesn’t mean he’s going to get exactly what he wanted out of this trade. Trautman was hurt that the Saints used him more as a blocking tight end, with Juwan Johnson getting the opportunities as the receiving tight end last season with Dennis Allen as head coach. Mike Klis at NBC is reporting that Trautman will, again, be a mix of a receiving and blocking tight end in Denver.

His role sounds like it’ll be extremely similar to the trajectory Payton put him on in New Orleans in the first place which made him feel “boxed in.”

Trautman gets a chance of scenery, and maybe at this stage in his career, that’s enough. But it’s hard to see him becoming a transcendent tight end after this move. If anything, it could box him in even more.

If anyone knows how to get the most out of every player on the roster, though, it’s Payton. Being put in a box in a Sean Payton system is a lot different from being put in a box in a Dennis Allen system. We all know, though, that Payton isn’t going to let any one player’s career wishes go above the team’s. We’ve already seen him shut down such a philosophy with the team’s biggest star, Russell Wilson. 

There is certainly an opportunity here, though, for any player in Denver. The Broncos are coming off one of the most disappointing seasons in recent history relative to expectations, and Payton will be looking for anyone who can give the scheme some sort of dynamism to turn this thing around. Could it be Trautman? Payton has now gone out and gotten him twice, once in the draft and once in the trade market.