New Orleans Saints Rumors & News - Pro Football Rumors

Saints To Re-Sign DT David Onyemata

March 16th, 2020 at 4:11pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Saints reached an agreement to keep one of their top free agents off the market. They will retain defensive tackle David Onyemata, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. It’s a three-year, $27MM deal for Onyematta, Garafolo reported in a separate tweet.

Onyemata has recorded 7.5 sacks and 17 quarterback hits over the past two seasons. He moved into the Saints’ starting lineup on a full-time basis last season.

Added in the fourth round in 2016, Onyemata graded well in the opinion of Pro Football Focus in 2017 and ’18. However, PFF viewed him as a lower-level performer upon moving into the starting lineup last season. That said, the 27-year-old defender was viewed as a player who could draw interest on the market. The Saints now have him locked down hours into the tampering period.

New Orleans entered Monday with less than $5MM in cap space. The team has still yet to re-sign Drew Brees, so some maneuvering must still commence to facilitate that. But the team moved forward with Onyemata nonetheless, which appears to be a clear sign the Saints view him as a key player going forward.

Bears Interested In Teddy Bridgewater

March 16th, 2020 at 12:48pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bears have been in talks with Teddy Bridgewater during the legal tampering period, Mike Florio of PFT hears. The Saints don’t have the cap room to keep the quarterback, but the Bears are among the clubs interested in him and, potentially, among the teams willing to give him a starting job.

The Bears plan on sticking with Mitchell Trubisky, though they’ve signaled a desire to bring in competition. Bridgewater would fit the bill.

Florio hears that Bridgewater is in line for a deal that would pay him roughly $21MM/year. At that salary, Bridgewater would probably be anointed as the Bears’ Week 1 starter.

Bridgewater has started in only six games since January of 2016, but he’s also made a complete recovery from his devastating injury. Many believe that Bridgewater can thrive if given the opportunity to start.

Last year, Bridgewater went 5-0 as the Saints’ starter, filling in for Drew Brees while he was sidelined. Trubisky, the No. 2 overall pick of the 2017 draft, went 8-7. He had just 17 touchdowns against ten interceptions, casting doubt on his future prospects with the Bears.

Sean Payton Expects Delayed Start To Offseason

March 14th, 2020 at 9:50pm CST by Marc Delucchi

In an interview with Britney Eurton at Oaklawn Park (a horseracing track), Saints head coach Sean Payton expressed skepticism that the new league year would begin as scheduled given the current status of COVID-19. “Most immediately the start of our league year… that’s going to be, I think, pushed back.” Payton currently serves on the NFL’s competition committee and is one of the most highly respected coaches in the league.

ESPN’s Dianna Russini asked Payton to clarify his comments and reported that Payton reiterated “‘he is not sure, but thinks it will be delayed.'” While that is obviously far from any official word from the league, the fact that one of the top decision makers in one of the league’s most successful organizations is publically expecting a delay does not bode well for the calendar to continue following business as usual.

Payton’s comments do conflict with some earlier reports that suggested the league still planned to start free agency as planned while delaying other offseason events that involved more travel and in-person interaction (like the draft).

A delay would move everyone into unprecedented territory and it’s unclear how any delays would impact free agents, players currently under contract, and draft prospects, but the league is clearly bracing (much like the rest of the world) for circumstances we have never seen before.

Drew Brees Not Expected To Demand “Top Dollar”

March 12th, 2020 at 7:06pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Drew Brees has already announced that not only will he play in 2020, but he won’t suit up for any team other than the Saints. Additionally, while Brees could certainly push for a hefty contract (even without interest from competing teams), he’s not expected to demand “top dollar” from New Orleans, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.

Now 41 years old, Brees earned $25MM annually under the terms of his most recent two-year deal with the Saints. Per Rapoport, Brees is expected to target that same level of salary on his new pact, despite the fact that he could almost surely command $30MM+ from New Orleans.

As of late February, Brees hadn’t discussed a fresh deal with the Saints, but he had been expected to re-sign before the start of the new league year. That would be beneficial to New Orleans, who used void years — which could be tacked on the Saints’ salary cap as dead money — on Brees’ latest pact.

However, that timeline could get complicated. Brees won’t sign a new deal until a new CBA has been ratified, which could come as early as Saturday. Free agency had been set to open next Wednesday, but that may be postponed due to the outbreak of COVID-19.

Regardless, Brees is fully expected back in New Orleans for the 2020 campaign. And by accepting less money than he’s worth on the open market, Brees could help the perpetually cap-strapped Saints add more talent around him.

Saints To Place First-Round Tender On Taysom Hill

March 6th, 2020 at 4:54pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Saints clearly don’t intend on letting Taysom Hill go anywhere. New Orleans is planning to place a first-round tender on the restricted free agent, a source told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Hill can still sign an offer sheet with another team, but the Saints will have the opportunity to match it. If they declined to do so, the offering team would have to give the Saints their first-round pick. It’s extremely rare for a team to be willing to give up a first-round pick for a restricted free agent, but Saints coach Sean Payton said recently he thought a team would still make an offer for Hill even if they put the first-round tender on him.

To that end, it sounds like the Saints are going to move quickly to extend him so that it doesn’t get to that point, as Schefter reports they “plan to re-sign him soon anyway.” Assuming they agree to an extension before free agency opens, it’ll be very interesting to see what that deal looks like. The reporting all offseason has indicated that the team views Hill as Drew Brees‘ eventual successor, and this move further confirms that.

The former gadget player has taken on an increasingly large role on offense, and that figures to only get larger in 2020. Hill threw only 14 passes last season, but Payton seems to have all the confidence in the world in him. In a separate tweet, Schefter notes that the first-round tender for quarterbacks is expected to be worth around $5MM in 2020, but that the team is confident they’ll have a deal done soon. Given how they’ve talked about him, he’ll likely blow past that number with any extension.

Draft Notes: Lawrence, Saints, LBs

March 6th, 2020 at 3:05pm CST by Sam Robinson

Carolina may end up losing Luke Kuechly, Greg Olsen, Trai Turner, Dontari Poe, James Bradberry, Mario Addison and perhaps Cam Newton this offseason. Rebuild vibes are certainly coming out of Panthers headquarters, and many around the league expect this to be the team that times its rebuild/tanks for Trevor Lawrence, Matt Miller of Bleacher Report notes. The Clemson phenom has been on NFL radars pretty much since he debuted as a true freshman in 2018, and the much-hyped quarterback will be eligible for the 2021 draft. The Panthers are already believed to be high on Lawrence and Ohio State’s Justin Fields — passers who could go Nos. 1-2 next year — and have Matt Rhule signed to a seven-year contract. This would add up to a rebuild commencing, which will make Carolina’s decision at No. 7 this year overall more interesting.

Here is the latest from the draft world, shifting first to the Saints:

Since Michael Thomas has emerged as an All-Pro talent, the Saints have been unable to generate much consistency from any of his supporting-cast receivers. A “strong campaign” has emerged within the organization to find a complementary wideout to pair with Thomas, Miller adds. Considering the Saints’ cap situation — barely $9MM in space before the latest Drew Brees re-up — said addition would likely come in the early rounds of this loaded receiver draft. Miller’s latest mock has the Saints taking Clemson deep threat Tee Higgins, but a number of wideouts could be in play for New Orleans at No. 24.
A shaky Combine showing has defensive end A.J. Epenesa‘s stock declining, Vic Tafur of The Athletic tweets. Some teams have expressed concern about the Iowa product’s showing, which included a 5.04-second 40-yard dash — at 275 pounds — and limited athleticism during the drills. Epenesa declared for the draft after his junior year with the Hawkeyes, and he recorded double-digit sacks in back-to-back seasons. ESPN’s Todd McShay still has Epenesa as a late-first-round pick, citing his run-defending ability and potential as a power rusher.
Linebackers Kenneth Murray and Patrick Queen suffered injuries at the Combine, but both appear on track to recover fairly soon. Both ‘backers sustained the setbacks during their respective second 40 attempts. Queen suffered merely a tweaked hamstring, while Murray also appears to have dodged a serious hamstring injury (Twitter links via Miller and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). Queen and Murray are expected to be first- or second-round selections.

FA Notes: Clowney, Harris, Hooper, Saints

March 2nd, 2020 at 4:24pm CST by Sam Robinson

Jadeveon Clowney has drawn interest from other teams — the Colts and Giants among them — but the Seahawks remain interested in bringing him back. However, they may not be ready to pay top dollar for the former No. 1 overall pick. The Seahawks are trying to extend Clowney before he hits free agency March 18, but Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano of ESPN.com report the franchise is unlikely to compete with a true top-market price (ESPN+ link). If the bidding goes into the $18-$20MM-per-year range, which it almost certainly will given other teams’ franchise tags keeping edge players off the market, the Seahawks are not expected to go there. This would mean the Seahawks will have lost two standout edge rushers in two years, after trading Frank Clark to the Chiefs. Seattle, which did not see much from first-round defensive end L.J. Collier last season, is set to carry more than $44MM in cap space.

Both the Colts and Titans are interested and are not afraid of Clowney’s asking price, per Fowler and Graziano. A new entry in the Clowney sweepstakes, Tennessee could use edge help but seemingly has key issues to sort out involving Ryan Tannehill (or a replacement) and Derrick Henry first.

Here is the latest from the free agency market, shifting to one of this era’s top cornerbacks:

Chris Harris appears set to have a busy legal tampering period. The four-time Pro Bowl cornerback has drawn interest from the Cowboys, Jets, Lions, Raiders and Texans, Troy Renck of Denver7 tweets. The final holdover from the Broncos’ dominant Super Bowl-winning secondary, Harris both expressed a desire to finish his career in Denver and hit the market for the first time. While the Broncos have not ruled out another extension for the 30-year-old cornerback, Harris expects to be elsewhere in 2020. Harris met with at least 24 teams at the Combine, including the Cowboys, per Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News (on Twitter). A Cowboys fit would be interesting, with the team set to lose Byron Jones. The Broncos are one of the teams targeting Jones.
In Demario Davis, the Saints already have a 30-something entrenched as a starting linebacker. However, New Orleans is interested in Patriots free agent Jamie Collins, Larry Holder of The Athletic notes (subscription required). Collins, 30, enjoyed a bounce-back season back in New England, after he did not justify his then-off-ball-‘backer-record deal in Cleveland. The Saints have A.J. Klein as a free agent-to-be and can save $8MM by releasing Kiko Alonso.
While the Saints were willing to let Kenny Vaccaro walk two years ago, they want to retain Vonn Bell, Holder adds. It would be at a price, however. Considering the Saints added promising safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson in the fourth round last year and have Marcus Williams as an extension candidate, their Bell price point may be low.
The tight end landscape could look strange by the time George Kittle‘s negotiations ramp up. Austin Hooper is expected to become the league’s highest-paid tight end — by a considerable margin — in free agency, Graziano and Fowler note. A 2016 third-round pick, Hooper has made the Pro Bowl twice but has only one 700-yard season on his resume. However, the Falcons tight end was on pace for nearly 1,000 yards before a midseason hamstring injury. The Falcons will let Hooper test the market, and with this draft not deep at tight end, the market will likely be robust. The Bears, Packers and Redskins are interested.
Phillip Lindsay has exploded out of the blocks to start his career, becoming the first UDFA to start his NFL run with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. But backfield mate Royce Freeman, a Broncos 2018 third-round pick, has underwhelmed. The Broncos may be eyeing an upgrade, with Mike Klis of 9News tweeting the team is exploring veteran backs on the market. With teams potentially skittish about big deals for backs, after some recent ones backfired, some bigger-name backs may be available at reasonable rates.

Latest On Drew Brees, Saints

March 2nd, 2020 at 3:23pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Saints’ future first-ballot Hall of Fame quarterback has forged a much simpler offseason path than the Patriots’. With Tom Brady uncertain to come back to New England, thus hitting the Pats with dead money via the void-years tactic the franchise used last summer, fellow free agent Drew Brees will return to the Saints and looks set to help them out on the latter front.

Brees plans to re-sign with the Saints before the March 18 start of the new league year, Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano of ESPN.com report (ESPN+ link). This would help the Saints, who used void years to create cap space on Brees’ most recent deal. No extension talks have transpired yet, but the sides will certainly huddle up soon.

If Brees does not agree to a new Saints pact by 3pm CT March 18, the Saints would be hit with $5.4MM in dead money on their 2020 cap sheet. New Orleans finalizing a Brees extension before then would keep a $10.8MM cap charge on its 2021 books but leave Brees dead money out of the 2020 equation. The Saints, per usual, reside near the bottom in available funds. They hold just more than $9MM in cap space.

Before pledging to return to the Saints, the 41-year-old quarterback said for weeks he would not entertain offers from other teams. Brees operated this way in 2018, when he received a two-year, $60MM offer from the Cardinals. We heard at the time Brees bypassed a better offer — which indicated all $60MM was guaranteed — to continue his New Orleans run. The Cards are now believed to have submitted said offer, which would have made Brees the NFL’s highest-paid player at the time.

The league’s all-time passing leader ignored Arizona’s interest, Graziano and Fowler add, in order to stay in a winning situation. The Cardinals instead signed Sam Bradford that year, before drafting Josh Rosen.

No known outside interest has come Brees’ way this year, but that is probably because the 19-year veteran let it be known early he would stay in New Orleans. Brees’ two-year backup, Teddy Bridgewater, has received interest and is expected to relocate.

QB Rumors: Stafford, Dalton, Saints

March 1st, 2020 at 9:13pm CST by Sam Robinson

A rumor surfaced recently indicating the Lions discussed a Matthew Stafford trade. GM Bob Quinn denied this, and multiple key parties were quick to state the 11-year veteran quarterback does not want to leave Detroit. Stafford’s agent, Tom Condon, informed NFL.com’s Michael Silver his client does not want a trade (Twitter link). The quarterback’s wife, Kelly Stafford, shared on her Instagram (Twitter links via the Detroit Free Press’ Dave Birkett) they are not angling for a new NFL city. Matthew Stafford, 32, is under contract for three more seasons.

Here is the latest from the quarterback realm, moving to a passer who very much is available for trade:

Despite the Saints set to start a 41-year-old Drew Brees and apply a high tender to intriguing gadget player/backup Taysom Hill, they may not be prepared to draft a passer this year. Although some mock drafts have the Saints taking Utah State’s Jordan Love, Larry Holder of The Athletic notes (subscription required) the Saints do not appear to be interested. The Saints hold the No. 24 pick in the draft, and it might now be a surprise to see Love still on the board at that point.
Brees-Hill 2020 looks like the Saints’ plan. Combine buzz centered around Bridgewater’s next team, with Holder speaking to no NFL decision-maker who expected Brees’ backup of the past two years to return. Sean Payton said it would be unrealistic for the Saints to bring back all three, and Bridgewater is expected to receive interest as a starter in free agency. The Bears, Buccaneers, Chargers, Panthers and Patriots may possess some interest, Holder hears. Though, unlike Tom Brady and Philip Rivers, no team has been connected to Bridgewater yet.
Like Brady and Rivers, Andy Dalton has also been connected to a team. The Bears discussed a trade with the Bengals but may have to battle other teams for the nine-year veteran starter. Dalton’s agent has been working with the Bengals on potential Dalton deals, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com names the Colts and Patriots — in addition to the Bears — as teams who could potentially have interest in the contract-year passer (video link). The Colts have been connected to Rivers at multiple junctures this week, while some around the league have indeed viewed New England as a landing spot for Dalton if Brady does decide to defect in free agency. Cincinnati and New England have made multiple trades involving high-profile Bengals, and the same two decision-makers — Mike Brown and Bill Belichick — remain in place from when Corey Dillon and Chad Johnson were dealt to New England in 2004 and 2011, respectively.

Cameron Jordan Underwent Surgery

February 29th, 2020 at 8:22pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan had another very successful season, finishing with a career-high 15.5 sacks. He managed to do it despite dealing with a significant injury, as he played the last five games of the year with an adductor muscle torn off the bone, the pass-rusher told Mike Silver of NFL Network (Twitter link).

Silver added that he had core muscle surgery shortly after the Super Bowl. Fortunately for Saints fans, he’s expected to be fully recovered by training camp, although he’ll likely miss most of the offseason program. Jordan has been a warrior during his time in the league, never missing a game in his nine seasons with the Saints. New Orleans drafted Jordan 24th overall back in 2011, and he became an immediate starter.

The Saints have one of the league’s most talented defensive fronts on paper, and they’ll be hoping that Jordan and Marcus Davenport can form an elite pass-rushing duo. Jordan has notched at least 12 sacks in each of the past three seasons, earning an All-Pro nod in each of those campaigns. Jordan inked a three-year, $52.5MM extension in June of last year, keeping him under team control through the 2023 campaign.

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