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New Orleans Saints News & Rumors

Alvin Kamara, Saints Far Apart In Talks

August 24th, 2020 at 5:35pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Saints are currently without one of their starting offensive linemen. That may be the case for a bit. Andrus Peat suffered a broken thumb, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Recently re-signed to a lucrative deal, Peat is set to be out up to three weeks, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com notes. While the sixth-year guard could be ready for Week 1, the Saints have an experienced interior-line swing man ready to fill in. Former Vikings starter Nick Easton is now working in Peat’s place at left guard. Easton replaced an injured Peat as a starter in six games last season.

  • Alvin Kamara and the Saints began extension talks last week, but the sides may be far apart on terms. A deal is not particularly close at this juncture, Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.football tweets. Kamara is going into the final year of his third-round rookie contract. The three-time Pro Bowler will make just $2.13MM this season. Kamara joins Dalvin Cook, Aaron Jones and Joe Mixon among 2017 running back draftees in negotiations. This group will battle a few hurdles — short running back primes, the position’s low value, poor returns on a few recent high-end running back deals and a likely 2021 cap reduction — as they attempt to secure long-term deals.
  • Jameis Winston has hired a new agent. The new Saints QB2 has selected Reggie Johnson of Stellar Group to represent him, Greg Auman of The Athletic tweets. Johnson will be Winston’s third agent since 2018. The former Buccaneers starter may be a long-term option for the Saints, but unlike Drew Brees and Taysom Hill, Winston is signed only through 2020. He could also be set to test the market again next year.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/24/20

August 24th, 2020 at 3:01pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Waived: CB Duke Thomas

Buffalo Bills

  • Placed on reserve/retired list: CB Ike Brown

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Saints Cut LB Nigel Bradham

August 24th, 2020 at 8:57am CST by Zachary Links

The Saints will release linebacker Nigel Bradham, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The longtime Eagles linebacker joined the team just one month ago. 

Bradham, 31 in September, played at least 900 defensive snaps from 2016-18 but logged just 717 last year as he battled an ankle injury. The veteran graded as a top-35 linebacker, per Pro Football Focus, in three of his four seasons in Philly, including the Eagles’ 2017 Super Bowl slate.

Instead of a reunion with former Eagles teammate Malcolm Jenkins, Bradham finds himself on the job hunt all over again with just a few weeks to go before the start of the season. The Saints, meanwhile, seem poised to move ahead with their current linebacker group, led by Demario Davis, Kiko Alonso, and Alex Anzalone. New Orleans lost A.J. Klein in free agency but used a third-round pick on Wisconsin’s Zack Baun, who worked as both an off-ball defender and a pass rusher for the Big Ten program.

All in all, Bradham appeared in 58 regular season games for the Eagles – all starts. He’s been first-string throughout his career, pretty much, save for his 2013 season with the Bills. He finished out 2019 with 61 total stops, one interception, and five passes defensed.

Saints, Alvin Kamara Begin Negotiations

August 20th, 2020 at 5:54pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Saints and Alvin Kamara have begun work on a longer-term partnership. The sides are now negotiating an extension to keep the dynamic running back in New Orleans beyond 2020, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports (video link).

Nothing is yet imminent, but the Saints have made an offer, Fowler adds. Kamara’s rookie contract has one season remaining, putting him in a similar boat with other talented running backs from the 2017 draft class.

As several 2017 running back draftees either cash in (Christian McCaffrey) or began contract talks earlier (Dalvin Cook, Aaron Jones, Joe Mixon), not much has transpired on the Kamara front this offseason. But the three-down back said earlier this year he wants to stay with the Saints.

Kamara’s timeline parallels Michael Thomas‘ from 2019. The former second-round pick-turned-star was going into his walk year but reached an agreement on a then-record wide receiver deal during Saints training camp last year. Kamara’s situation is a bit more complicated. Recent monster running back contracts have not exactly benefited teams, and the salary cap is expected to drop for just the second time ever. But it’s clear the Saints would prefer Kamara not play this season on his third-round rookie deal.

Beginning his career in the Reggie Bush/Darren Sproles role in Sean Payton‘s offense, Kamara quickly became more than a complementary piece. He and Mark Ingram became the first running back teammates to each surpass 1,500 yards from scrimmage in a season in 2017, and Kamara eclipsed 1,500 scrimmage yards again in 2018 — when he scored 18 touchdowns. Since 2017, Kamara’s 4,476 scrimmage yards rank fifth in the NFL.

While Kamara probably will not top McCaffrey’s $16MM-AAV deal and may not get to the Ezekiel Elliott price point ($15MM per year), the Saints will certainly have to make him one of the league’s highest-paid backs to retain him. How the Kamara, Cook, Mixon and Jones talks proceed will bring more clarity to how teams view running backs as the 2020s begin.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/20/20

August 20th, 2020 at 5:05pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Thursday’s minor moves, with the list being updated throughout the afternoon:

Carolina Panthers

  • Claimed (from Bills): K/P Kaare Vedvik
  • Waived: TE Andrew Vollert

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Jacksonville Jaguars

New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Washington Football Team

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/19/20

August 19th, 2020 at 4:47pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Wednesday’s minor moves, with the list being updated throughout the afternoon.

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Kansas City Chiefs

New Orleans Saints

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

Emmanuel Sanders Sought Out Saints

August 7th, 2020 at 4:49pm CST by Sam Robinson
  • Emmanuel Sanders made the initial contact between he and the Saints in free agency, the 11th-year wide receiver said, per The Athletic’s Katherine Terrell (on Twitter). The former Steelers, Broncos and 49ers wideout wanted to play with Drew Brees in New Orleans, and that helped lead to the two-year, $16MM deal he signed in March. Sanders also assisted the Saints with another free agent receiver, with a Brees-Sanders-Bennie Fowler workout in Denver leading to the latter’s signing this week (Twitter link via Terrell).
  • Given Brees’ year-to-year status, the Saints are obviously not eyeing a contract-year trade of Alvin Kamara. But no known extension talks have taken place between the Saints and their standout back. However, a deal that pays the three-down back just less than what Christian McCaffrey and Ezekiel Elliott make ($16MM and $15MM AAV, respectively) is a solution The Athletic’s Larry Holder envisions (subscription required). Kamara, one of several running back starters in contract years, has said he wants to stay in New Orleans.

2020 NFL Cap Space, By Team

August 7th, 2020 at 10:20am CST by Zachary Links

A total of 67 NFL players opted out of the 2020 season, leaving teams with major roster holes and newly-found cap space. Here’s the rundown of every team’s official cap figure, via ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter):

  1. Cleveland Browns – $40.5MM
  2. New England Patriots – $33.4MM
  3. Washington Football Team – $30.6MM
  4. Denver Broncos – $29.5MM
  5. New York Jets – $29.3MM
  6. Tennessee Titans – $25.2MM
  7. Miami Dolphins – $24.7MM
  8. Buffalo Bills – $24.2MM
  9. Philadelphia Eagles – $23.7MM
  10. Detroit Lions – $22.9MM
  11. Indianapolis Colts – $22.3MM
  12. New York Giants – $21.4MM
  13. Houston Texans – $21.1MM
  14. Cincinnati Bengals – $18.6MM
  15. Chicago Bears – $17.2MM
  16. Jacksonville Jaguars – $17MM
  17. Seattle Seahawks – $14.5MM
  18. Los Angeles Chargers – $13.7MM
  19. Green Bay Packers – $12.3MM
  20. Carolina Panthers – $13.2MM
  21. Kansas City Chiefs – $13MM
  22. San Francisco 49ers – $12.5MM
  23. Minnesota Vikings – $12.4MM
  24. Dallas Cowboys – $9.9MM
  25. New Orleans Saints – $7.8MM
  26. Atlanta Falcons – $7.4MM
  27. Baltimore Ravens – $7MM
  28. Arizona Cardinals – $5.6MM
  29. Pittsburgh Steelers – $4.5MM
  30. Los Angeles Rams – $3.9MM
  31. Las Vegas Raiders – $3.3MM
  32. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – $1.4MM

2020 NFL Opt Out Tracker

August 5th, 2020 at 3:55pm CST by Zachary Links

Per an agreement between the NFL and the NFLPA, players with COVID-19 health concerns can opt out of the 2020 season. Initially, the deadline was believed to be Tuesday, August 4. Talks between the league and the union have pushed it to August 6.

Chiefs guard and medical school graduate Laurent Duvernay-Tardif was the first player to officially opt out. Scores of players followed.

Here’s the rundown, so far:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • T Brad Seaton

Tennessee Titans

  • OL Anthony McKinney

Washington Football Team

Free agents

Saints Sign WR Bennie Fowler

August 3rd, 2020 at 6:36pm CST by Ben Levine

Bennie Fowler has found a new home. SiriusXM’s Adam Caplan reports (via Twitter) that the veteran wideout has signed with the Saints.

The Michigan State product spent the first four seasons of his career with the Broncos, and while he averaged 15 games per season between 2015 and 2017, he didn’t put up big numbers. His best season came in 2017, when he hauled in 29 receptions for 350 receiving yards and three scores.

The 29-year-old has bounced around the NFL a bit since that time. He signed with the Bears prior to the 2018 campaign, but he was cut at the end of the preseason. His subsequent stint with the Patriots lasted less than a week, but Fowler eventually found a new home with the Giants. In two-ish seasons with New York, the wideout averaged 19.5 receptions and 196 receiving yards per years.

Fowler is now joining one of the NFL’s top offenses in New Orleans. While the top of the Saints depth chart is highlighted by Michael Thomas and newcomer Emmanuel Sanders, Fowler could emerge from a grouping that includes the likes of Tre’Quan Smith, Deonte Harris, Austin Carr, and Lil’Jordan Humphrey.

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