HEADLINES

New Orleans Saints News & Rumors

Latest On Drew Brees’ Future

January 16th, 2021 at 12:51pm CST by Ben Levine

While Drew Brees has been quiet about his future, those close to him believe he’ll hang up his cleats following the season. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport relays that “everybody believes that [Brees] will retire at the end of this season” (Twitter link). The 42-year-old is “hoping for one last run through the playoffs…hoping to end his career on the podium holding a big trophy.”

While we’ve yet to hear anything definitive about the future Hall of Fame’s status going forward, the writing has been on the wall for a while. Brees inked a deal with NBC Sports last April, signaling his post-playing career. The organization also agreed to an extension with Taysom Hill this offseason, keeping their backup QB under club control through 2021. Predictably, GM Mickey Loomis recently said that Brees would be welcomed back if he wanted to continue playing beyond this season, but the executive also revealed that no final decision has been made.

The Saints got a glimpse of what a post-Brees team could look like in 2020. The veteran missed four games, with Hill going 3-1 in his stead. While Hill is better known for his versatile skill set (he finished the season with 555 yards from scrimmage and nine rushing and receiving touchdowns), he showed that he’s capable under center. The 30-year-old finished the season having completed 72.7-percent of his passes for 928 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions.

It sounds like the Saints are also interested in retaining the third quarterback on their roster. Rapoport reports that the organization would like to re-sign Jameis Winston, noting that the Saints “love what they’ve seen in practice.” While the team has touted Winston’s arm strength and work ethic, they’re still (predictably) wary of his tendency of interception. The former first-overall pick got into four games this season, completing seven of his 11 pass attempts for 75 yards.

2021 NFL Head Coaching Search Tracker

January 15th, 2021 at 1:24pm CST by Sam Robinson

Exiting the regular season, six teams are searching for new head coaches. That number is up from last season but not quite as high as 2019, though there may well be more vacancies that emerge during the playoffs.

Listed below are the head coaching candidates that have been linked to each of the teams with vacancies, along with their current status. If and when other teams decide to make head coaching changes, they’ll be added to this list. Here is the current breakdown:

Updated 1-27-21 (7:05pm CT)

Atlanta Falcons

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Falcons To Hire Terry Fontenot?

January 14th, 2021 at 9:47am CST by Zachary Links

The Falcons have identified Terry Fontenot as their top choice to be their next GM, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). New Orleans’ assistant GM for pro personnel could be anointed as soon as the Saints’ season ends. For Fontenot, that could be as soon as Monday, though he’ll be rooting for a February signing.

[RELATED: Falcons Have Second Interview With Arthur Smith]

Fontenot was said to be a finalist for the job, along with Rams college scouting director Brad Holmes. Colts college scouting director Morocco Brown, Bills exec Joe Schoen, and former Texans GM Rick Smith were considered, along with internal candidate Anthony Robinson.

To date, Fontenot has spent his entire 18-year career with the Saints. After seven seasons as a pro scout, seven seasons as director of pro scouting, and four years in his current role, he’ll run his own front office in the same division.

Saints WR Tre’Quan Smith Returns To Practice

January 13th, 2021 at 5:39pm CST by Ben Levine

The Saints’ receiving corps could be at full health this weekend against the Buccaneers. The team designated wideout Tre’Quan Smith to return to practice, per the league’s transactions report.

Smith had spent the past three weeks on the injured reserve as he nursed an ankle injury. When he last appeared in Week 15, the Saints were welcoming back quarterback Drew Brees, although they were missing wideouts Michael Thomas, Marquez Callaway, and Deonte Harris. Assuming Smith is good to go for this weekend, New Orleans should have their full arsenal of wideouts (a grouping that also includes Emmanuel Sanders) on Sunday against Tampa Bay.

Smith, a former third-round pick, was having a career year before he was sidelined by his injury. In 14 games (10 starts), the 25-year-old hauled in 34 receptions for 448 yards and four scores.

While the Saints seem to be getting healthy at receiver, they may be dealing with some issues at running back. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets that running back Latavius Murray is considered day-to-day with a quad injury. While the veteran is hoping to play this weekend, Rapoport describes his status as “up in the air.” If the 30-year-old can’t go this weekend, the team will likely turn to Dwayne Washington or Ty Montgomery as Alvin Kamara‘s backups.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 1/13/21

January 13th, 2021 at 2:02pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are the latest practice squad moves from around the league:

Baltimore Ravens

Cleveland Browns

Kansas City Chiefs

New Orleans Saints

2021 NFL General Manager Search Tracker

January 12th, 2021 at 8:02pm CST by Zachary Links

This year’s NFL GM carousel figures to be more active than usual. The Falcons, Lions, Panthers, Texans, and Jaguars are all on the hunt for a new front office leader. And that’s only the official list. The real tally shows six clubs looking for a GM, since the Washington Football Team is expected to install a GM to work alongside head coach Ron Rivera. By mid-January, we could easily see a couple more jobs opening up — that’d put ~25% of the NFL on the market.

We’ll keep track of the GM candidates for each club here, along with their current status. If and when other teams decide to make general manager changes, they’ll be added to this list. Here’s the current breakdown:

Updated 1-19-21 (7:02pm CT)

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers 

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Washington Football Team

George Paton, Terry Fontenot Get Second Broncos Interviews

January 12th, 2021 at 9:30am CST by Zachary Links

Vikings’ Assistant GM/VP of Player Personnel George Paton will have a second meeting with the Broncos on Tuesday, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). Ditto for Saints assistant GM Terry Fontenot, per Mike Klis of KUSA (Twitter link).

Bears exec Champ Kelly and Patriots assistant director of player personnel Dave Ziegler are among the other external candidates for the position. Ziegler has since backed out, opting to stay in New England. The Broncos also interviewed their own college scouting director, Brian Stark, though it’s not clear if he’s still in the running.

Fontenot has also been considered by the Lions, Jaguars, and Panthers in this cycle. The 40-year-old has been with New Orleans for 16 years. Paton, meanwhile, has been a hot GM candidate for some time. But, in years past, he rebuffed a number of opportunities.

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/11/21

January 11th, 2021 at 4:36pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor transactions:

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

New Orleans Saints

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Football Team

Saints Sign K Blair Walsh To Practice Squad

January 11th, 2021 at 2:25pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Blair Walsh back in the playoffs? The Saints are signing the veteran kicker to their practice squad as insurance, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network tweets.

While the move ostensibly makes sense just as extra insurance in case COVID-19 impacts New Orleans’ kicking situation with too little time to find an outside replacement, it’s possible it’s a bit deeper than that. Saints kicker Will Lutz was shaky down the stretch, going just 5/9 on field goals in his final seven games while also missing an extra point. Then in Sunday’s wild card win over the Bears, he missed a 50-yarder.

Head coach Sean Payton expressed confidence in Lutz after the game, but it’s fair to wonder why if it was entirely about COVID, the Saints didn’t make this move before the playoffs. Whatever the case, Walsh hasn’t attempted a meaningful kick since the 2017 season with the Seahawks. He was with the Falcons briefly during 2019 training camp, but that’s it.

The last time Walsh kicked in the postseason, he infamously shanked a 27-yarder at the end of a game that would’ve given the Vikings a win over the Seahawks. Walsh started his career in Minnesota in 2012, and made the Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro as a rookie. After that playoff disaster his career quickly went downhill, and he was released midway through the following 2016 season. He was Seattle’s kicker for all of 2017, but wasn’t re-signed.

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