Though the New Orleans Saints weren’t able to swing a trade prior to or during the 2008 draft for Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey, the Saints reportedly remain interested.

Writes Jimmy Smith of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, “Coach Sean Payton believes Shockey is a perfect fit for the Saints’ offense, and he still desperately wants the player to be wearing a black-and-gold uniform this season.”

But while a trade could still happen, the price tag would surely be higher in 2009 picks than it would have been with 2008 selections.  Absent a significant offer of picks from next year’s draft, the Giants could just keep Shockey at a relatively reasonable $1.9 million base salary for the coming season, and then trade him in March or April.

The other problem is that trading Shockey could expose the Giants to a depth issue, if Kevin Boss were to break a leg or tear a tendon or rupture a spleen or puncture his scrotum.  And that’s why the Saints might ultimately have to ship a tight end from their own roster to New York in order to seal the deal, especially since the Giants didn’t draft any tight ends.