The New Orleans Saints had a glut of interior defensive linemen.
The Jacksonville Jaguars had one too many interior offensive linemen.
So the teams made a trade.
Sunday’s swap of defensive tackle Khalen Saunders for center Luke Fortner boiled down to the simple premise that both players were on the outside looking in for their former teams ahead of cutdown day, and both the Saints and the Jaguars had needs where their new acquisition could help. It just happened to be a nice coincidence that the two teams played each other in Sunday’s 17-17 preseason tie.
The Saints wanted a veteran center after Will Clapp went down with a season-ending foot injury. The Jaguars sought a veteran defensive lineman as Arik Armstead and Maason Smith were nursing injuries. The deal made sense for each s