New Orleans Saints Rumors & News - Pro Football Rumors

Sean Payton Tests Positive For Coronavirus

March 19th, 2020 at 3:19pm CST by Zachary Links

Saints head coach Sean Payton has tested positive for coronavirus (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter). Payton is the first NFL figure, that we know of, to test positive for COVID-19. Unfortunately, given the rapid spread of the virus, he might not be the last.

The longtime coach did not feel well Sunday and took a coronavirus test Monday, Schefter reports. He did not receive the results until Thursday afternoon. Payton said he has no fever or cough, per Schefter, but is resting at home.

Payton says that he is going public with his diagnosis in order to stress the importance of taking proper precautions against the virus. He wants people to stay inside, behave responsibly, and follow government protocols as the world looks to keep a lid on the pandemic.

“This is not just about social distancing,” Payton told ESPN. “It’s shutting down here for a week to two weeks. If people understand the curve, and understand the bump, we can easily work together as a country to reduce it. Take a minute to understand what the experts are saying. It’s not complicated to do what they’re asking of us. Just that type of small investment by every one of us will have a dramatic impact.

“I was fortunate to be in the minority, without the serious side effects that some have. I’m lucky. Younger people feel like they can handle this, but they can be a carrier to someone who can’t handle it. So we all need to do our part. It’s important for every one of us to do our part.”

Payton, 56, is set to enter his 14th season as the Saints’ head coach. A Super Bowl-winning head coach, Payton ranks fifth among active NFL HCs with 131 wins and 27th all time. He has overseen eight of the Saints’ nine playoff victories.

As the NBA, NHL and college basketball halted their seasons — with March Madness being canceled — the NFL opted to proceed with free agency. The league went against several anonymous executives’ wishes on that front. The NFL has, however, nixed pre-draft visits and shut down team facilities. Free agents are not allowed to visit teams. Payton’s positive test may serve as an ominous sign for the league, which has also postponed OTAs.

As of midday Thursday, the United States has seen nearly 12,000 coronavirus cases. That number has multiplied steadily over the past several days. Those days have doubled as some of the strangest in the history of American sports.

Saints To Sign Malcolm Jenkins

March 18th, 2020 at 5:06pm CST by Zachary Links

It didn’t take long for Malcolm Jenkins to find work. The former Eagles safety is on the cusp of a deal with the Saints, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link) hears. Jenkins agreed to terms, and Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets it’s a four-year, $32MM deal with $16.5MM fully guaranteed.

It’s a homecoming for Jenkins, who entered the league as a first-round pick of the Saints back in 2009. Now 32, Jenkins could finish his career with Sean Payton & Co. Last year, Payton expressed regret about letting Jenkins get away in the first place.

“Probably one of the bigger mistakes that we’ve made, and you have to ask yourself how did that happen? Letting him out of the building certainly wasn’t a smart decision,” said Payton (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo).

They replaced Jenkins with Jairus Byrd in 2014, handing him a six-year, $56MM deal with $28MM in guarantees. In 2016, Byrd lost his footing in the starting lineup. In 2017, they released him outright.

Between his first five years in New Orleans and his last six in Philly, Jenkins offers eleven years of high-caliber play on his resume. Along the way, he’s collected three Pro Bowl nods and two Super Bowl rings, one with each team.

This likely means the end of the line for Vonn Bell in New Orleans. The free agent safety who the Saints drafted 61st overall back in 2016 is likely to walk now, and we’ve heard that NFC South rival Carolina is interested in his services. Considering the Panthers just cut loose Eric Reid, that would make a lot of sense.

Jenkins has been a leader of the Eagles’ defense and in the locker room, and he will be a nice veteran presence as the Saints gear up for one more Super Bowl run with Drew Brees. He’s remained reliable even at his somewhat advanced age, starting all 16 games in each of his six seasons with Philly.

Saints Restructure Contracts Of Michael Thomas, Terron Armstead

March 18th, 2020 at 3:35pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Saints are clearing up some cap space. New Orleans has restructured the contracts of receiver Michael Thomas and offensive tackle Terron Armstead, a source told Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football (Twitter link).

Underhill adds that they haven’t restructured Janoris Jenkins‘ deal yet, but that it’s a possibility moving forward. The Saints are clearly going all in on 2020 and one or two last rides with Drew Brees, and they’re trying to maximize this window. We just heard that almost all of the money going to Brees this year is a signing bonus in order to reduce his 2020 cap hit, and now they’re getting even more flexibility.

It’s unclear exactly what financial tweaks were made to Thomas and Armstead’s deals, although it’s likely they just had 2020 salary converted to signing bonus money to spread out the cap hits over the duration of their respective contracts. Thomas signed a massive five-year, $100MM extension last July that made him the highest-paid receiver of all time.

The record-breaking wideout is under contract through the 2024 season, and will be in New Orleans long after Brees finally hangs up his cleats. Armstead signed a five-year, $65MM extension back in 2016, and is signed through the 2021 campaign. He had $10.2MM in salary converted to a signing bonus in November of 2018 to create the cap space to sign Dez Bryant.

The Saints added another veteran player earlier today in safety Malcolm Jenkins, giving them more ammo for their 2020 run. With Tom Brady now in the division, the NFC South is about to get a lot tougher.

Latest On Chris Harris Market

March 18th, 2020 at 2:40pm CST by Sam Robinson

A recent report indicated as many as 10 teams were interested in longtime Broncos cornerback Chris Harris, but not much has emerged on this front since the legal tampering period began. But this market may soon accelerate.

Despite having been mentioned as a Harris suitor before last year’s trade deadline and early this offseason, the Eagles were not included among the teams with reported interest entering free agency. That appears to have changed, with Troy Renck of Denver7 reporting (via Twitter) the Eagles are indeed pursuing the four-time Pro Bowler.

So are the Chargers, Renck adds, and Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets the Jets are in the mix as well. Both were mentioned in the previous group of Harris suitors. The Saints, however, were not. But they are now interested, Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News tweets.

The Eagles were mentioned as a Byron Jones suitor, but they watched him choose the Dolphins and a cornerback-record contract. It almost certainly will not take a $17MM-per-year deal to land Harris, who is entering his age-31 season. But given the elite slot work he has delivered for most of his career and his ability to be a high-end boundary corner as well, Harris will not come cheap.

Philadelphia re-signed Jalen Mills but plans to move him to safety. Ronald Darby is a free agent. The Eagles have struggled to find reliable cornerback play for years. Harris has been one of this era’s most reliable cover men, and with Jones and James Bradberry now off the market, this will be a key domino to fall.

The Bolts and Jets each reside in the top 10 in current cap space, each holding nearly $40MM as the official start of free agency looms in minutes. While the Chargers still have Casey Hayward and Desmond King under contract, the Jets possess a greater need after having also been linked to Jones and Bradberry. Gang Green did, however, re-signed Brian Poole. With Harris’ best work coming in the slot, the Jets’ Poole retention may impede them in a Harris pursuit.

New Orleans has well-paid veteran Janoris Jenkins on its payroll, with Marshon Lattimore now extension-eligible, and is up against the cap. The Saints would seemingly have to pitch their roster talent to Harris, who has voiced a desire to return to a winning situation but also to be paid what he’s worth after he took a Broncos-friendly deal late in 2014.

Contract Details: Bridgewater, Panthers, Vaitai, Lions, Byrd, Patriots, Brees, Saints

March 18th, 2020 at 1:31pm CST by Zachary Links

The latest notes on all of the contracts being handed out around the league:

QB Teddy Bridgewater, Panthers: signed. Bridgewater got a three-year deal worth $63MM and a whopping $40MM of that is guaranteed in the first two years, according to David Newton of ESPN.com. He got a $15MM signing bonus to take over for the start of the Matt Rhule era. Newton’s post has the full breakdown on how it’ll be paid out with various workout and roster bonuses.
OT Halapoulivaati Vaitai, Lions: signed. Vaitai’s five-year, $50MM contract includes $20MM guaranteed which will come in the first two years of the deal, Adam Caplan of Sirius XM NFL Radio tweets. Detroit can get out of the pact after that.
WR Damiere Byrd, Patriots: signed. Byrd’s one-year deal can be worth up to $2.5MM, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network notes in a tweet.
QB Drew Brees, Saints: re-signed. Brees’ two-year, $50MM new deal with New Orleans includes a signing bonus of $23MM and a small base salary of only $2MM in year one, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. That structure as well as two voidable years added on for 2022-2023 help keep his 2020 cap hit very low so the Saints can spend more as they gear up for one more Super Bowl with Brees under center.
LB Sean Lee, Cowboys: re-signed. Lee is back for one more ride on a one-year, $4.5MM deal with $2MM guaranteed. He actually could earn up to $6.5MM if he hits some playing time incentives, according to Todd Archer of ESPN.com, although he writes they’re “not-likely-to-be-earned.”
S Darian Thompson, Cowboys: re-signed. Thompson is getting a two-year deal worth $2.5MM, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets. He’s getting a $200K signing bonus and can earn an extra $250K with playing time escalators.
WR Cody Core, Giants: re-signed. New York locked up the special teams ace who barely plays on offense, and he got paid handsomely. Core will be getting $4MM over a two-year deal, Wilson tweets. Only $1MM of it is guaranteed however.
S Jordan Poyer, Bills: extension. The full details are in on Poyer’s new pact. Poyer had two new years added on and will now make $22.7MM over the next three years with $13MM of that being guaranteed, Wilson tweets. He also got a $3MM signing bonus. In a separate tweet, Wilson notes that Poyer has an annual $500K interception incentive he can earn.

Contract Details: Nassib, Alonso, Jefferson

March 17th, 2020 at 9:52pm CST by Ben Levine

Some more contract details from around the league:

DE Carl Nassib, Raiders: signed. Three-year, $25MM deal with $17MM guaranteed, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter). The deal has a max value of $28MM.
LB Kiko Alonso, Saints: restructured contract. Base salary reduced from $6.4MM to $1.7MM, $4.7MM available in incentives. Already has $1.45MM roster bonus, meaning he can still hit his previous $7.85MM total via playing-time bonuses. All notes via ESPN’s Mike Triplett on Twitter.
DE Quinton Jefferson, Bills: two-year deal. Contract worth $13.5MM total, according to ESPN’s Dan Graziano on Twitter.
FB Derek Watt, Steelers: signed. Three-year deal worth $9.75MM, according to ESPN’s Brooke Pryor on Twitter.
LB Kamu Grugier-Hill, Dolphins: one-year deal. Contract worth $3MM, including $2MM signing bonus, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo on Twitter. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets that there’s up to $500K in playing time incentives.

Saints Rework CB Patrick Robinson’s Contract

March 17th, 2020 at 9:13pm CST by Ben Levine

The Saints are looking to carve out some cap space. The organization reworked the contract of cornerback Patrick Robinson, reports ESPN’s Field Yates (via Twitter).

As Katherine Terrell of The Athletic tweets, this move doesn’t come as much of a surprise, as the Saints weren’t going to dedicate a $6.15MM cap number to a backup. The front office made a somewhat similar move earlier this evening when they restructured Kiko Alonso‘s contract.

Robinson, a 2010 first-rounder, spent the first five seasons of his career with the Saints, but he’s bounced around since leaving in 2014. Between 2015 and 2017, the defensive back had stints with the Chargers, Colts, and Eagles.

He landed back in New Orleans in 2018, but he’s been limited to only 14 games over the past two seasons. His 2018 season was derailed by a broken ankle, and he managed to compile 16 tackles and two passes defended in 11 games this past season.

Saints, Kiko Alonso Restructure Contract

March 17th, 2020 at 7:58pm CST by Marc Delucchi

The Saints have agreed to terms on a new deal to bring linebacker Kiko Alonso back into the fold, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. New Orleans acquired Alonso in September in a trade from the Dolphins and had been set to count $8.7MM next season (assuming he was not released). Rapoport added that Alonso’s new deal will fall below that number. The Saints are currently over the salary cap, according to Over The Cap, so other cap saving measures are to be expected.

In 2019, Alonso ranked as the 19th highest graded linebacker by Pro Football Focus out of the 89 qualified players. For the first time since 2015, Alonso was not a primary linebacker, instead, New Orleans deployed him in more specialized sets to take advantage of the veteran’s skillset. In 13 games (4 starts), Alonso recorded 31 tackles (3 for loss), 2 quarterback hits, and 1 pass defended.

The 29-year old was solidly productive before he tore his ACL in the Saints Wild-Card game, but a far cry from the peak of his numbers. From 2016-18, Alonso averaged over 115 tackles per season and started 46 of 48 possible games with the Dolphins.

Panthers Interested In Saints’ Vonn Bell

March 17th, 2020 at 1:43pm CST by Zachary Links

Vonn Bell could wind up changing teams while staying in the same division. The Panthers have shown interest in the Saints’ free agent safety, according to Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The incumbent Saints are also hoping to keep him, she adds.

Bell, an Ohio State product, has spent his entire career with the Saints since entering the league in 2016. The former second-round pick has 61 appearances and 45 starts to his credit. Last year, he started in all 13 of his games for New Orleans and tallied 89 stops plus 1.5 sacks.

For his work, Pro Football Focus ranked him as the No. 47 safety in the NFL. With the Saints, he’s helped contain the run, resulting in a 43-game streak without allowing any single rusher to hit 100 yards. He’s also displayed his hard-hitting ability with seven career forced fumbles.

The Saints would like to keep Bell, but they do have Chauncey Gardner-Johnson waiting in the wings. The Panthers, meanwhile, could use help in the secondary after losing James Bradberry to the Giants in free agency.

Saints, Drew Brees Agree To Deal

March 17th, 2020 at 9:40am CST by Zachary Links

No surprise here. Drew Brees and the Saints have agreed to a brand new deal, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter).

Brees has re-upped with the team on a two-year, $50MM deal. Long ago, he confirmed that he would not be leaving the Saints, so it was just a matter of years and money.

The 19-year veteran turned down a two-year, $60M fully guaranteed deal from the Cardinals in 2018 to sign with the Saints, and he’s back on the same terms — two years, $50MM — he signed for then. This will almost certainly allow Brees to finish his career in New Orleans.

Brees, 41, is still playing at an extremely high level. The Saints, meanwhile, are also looking ahead. They’ll pass the torch from Brees to Taysom Hill this year – all while moving on from proven vet Teddy Bridgewater.

This is the fifth contract Brees has signed with New Orleans. Arriving in 2006, Brees has become by far the best and most important player in franchise history. He has become the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yards and touchdown passes and moved the Saints’ playoff win total from one to nine.

The future first-ballot Hall of Famer finished second in the 2018 MVP voting and looked sharp upon returning from his thumb injury last season, completing 74% of his throws for a second straight season and throwing 27 touchdown passes in just 11 games. While he may cede more time to Hill this season, the Saints’ best chance at another Super Bowl title will almost certainly involve Brees.

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