Free agent cornerback Coty Sensabaugh will visit the Saints on Wednesday, a source tells Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). The seven-year veteran started ten games last season for the Steelers.
Sensabaugh, 30, has 43 career starts to his credit, including ten starts with the Steelers last season. He earned a decent 65.7 overall score from Pro Football Focus last season, positioning him among the top 65 players at the position. And, for what it’s worth, Sensabaugh shined in the Steelers’ regular season finale against the Bengals.
Free agent cornerback Kayvon Webster will visit the Saints on Wednesday, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The 49ers and Bears also have expressed interest in Webster recently and it might not be long before he finds a new NFL home.
Webster garnered buzz early in his career as a talented cornerback with the Broncos who was buried on the depth chart behind more established names. Many expected him to break out upon signing with the Rams in 2017 and reuniting with Wade Phillips, but he didn’t do much in his injury-shortened season. In 2018, injuries hampered him yet again as he tried to reestablish himself with the Texans.
Roughly one-quarter of the NFL’s teams have signed every player in their draft class, as shown in PFR’s tracker. The front offices of the following clubs have a little bit less on their plate as mandatory minicamps get underway:
Cardinals
Falcons
Browns
Lions
Chiefs
Saints
Eagles
Steelers
While the league’s rookie slotting system has been criticized by some, there’s no denying that it has streamlined the signing process for the incoming class. Prominent first-round picks like Joey Bosa and Marcus Mariota have squabbled with teams over offset language in recent years and the third round lacks some structure due to flexibility in base salary, but, on the whole, rookies have been quicker to put pen to paper in recent years.
It was about two months ago that free agent running back DarrenSproles said he’d make a decision regarding his NFL future by May. Well, it sounds like the 35-year-old may need a bit more time making a decision.
During an appearance on 97.5 The Fanatic, ESPN’s Adam Schefter said Sproles would be willing to wait for the right offer, even if it comes during the latter part of the summer (via Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com). Furthermore, Schefter hinted that the running back would prefer to play for one of his former teams. Specifically, that’d mean the Eagles, Saints, or Chargers are atop Sproles’ list. Of course, Schefter also notes that the running back would be open to other opportunities.
After a broken arm and a torn ACL limited him to only three games during the Eagles’ Super Bowl-winning 2017 campaign, Sproles said the 2018 season would be his final year in the NFL. However, Sproles ended up being hampered by injuries once again, limiting him to only six regular season games. He was still relatively productive when he was on the field; he paired 120 rushing yards (and a rushing touchdown) with 15 receptions for 160 yards and two scores.
Of course, Sproles continues to get older; if he plays in 2019, he’d be the second-oldest player at his position (behind FrankGore). While any team would take a chance on a savvy veteran who possesses some pass-catching prowess, it’s uncertain if any of Sproles’ former teams would have interest.
The Jets added a fifth name to their GM search. The Jets put a request in for Saints Director of Pro Scouting Terry Fontenot, sources tell Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).
Fontenot was not previously connected to the job and doesn’t have the name value of the Jets’ other four candidates. However, as Rapoport notes, he has a strong reputation in the football world and has been credited with improving the Saints’ roster, along with Sean Payton and Jeff Ireland.
Fontenot, 38, has spent 16 years with the Saints and six years as the club’s director of pro scouting. He joins Eagles VP of player personnel Joe Douglas, Seahawks co-director of player personnel Scott Fitterer, Bears assistant director of player personnel Champ Kelly, and Vikings assistant GM George Paton as known candidates for the job.
The Saints have signed running back Buck Allen, according to a team press release. In a related move, the Saints dropped running back A.J. Ouellette and cornerback Jordan Wyatt to make room for Allen and the previously reported addition of Matthew Dayes.
Allen worked out for the Saints last week alongside fellow running backs Fozzy Whittaker and Robert Kelley. Allen, apparently, was the best of the bunch, even though he averaged just 2.7 yards per rushing attempt for the Ravens last year. The former fourth-round pick had some moments early on in his career – including his 12 catches for 107 receiving yards against the Dolphins in 2015 – but has never topped the 4.0 YPC mark in any of his four NFL seasons.
Allen and Dayes will try to make the cut behind an RB depth chart headlined by Alvin Kamara and Latavius Murray. Dwayne Washington and rookie Devine Ozigbo are also on the 90-man roster.
Since being released by the Buccaneers earlier this week, Gerald McCoy has received his fair share of interest from about a quarter of the league’s teams. Once Tampa Bay quickly signed Ndamukong Suh as his replacement, the veteran defensive tackle became arguably the most impactful free agent left on the market.
It’s not hard to see why the nine-year veteran is receiving so much attention. Since entering the league in 2010, the Oklahoma product has earned six Pro Bowl selections and a First Team All-Pro nod (2013) while recording at least five sacks in every season since 2012. He is the only defensive tackle who can make that claim.
The list of teams interested in McCoy’s service is a long one that includes the Browns, Ravens, Panthers, Colts, Bengals, Saints, Falcons and Patriots, who have reportedly pulled out of the running recently. As of this writing, only the Browns and Ravens have been linked to visits. According to reports, McCoy is more interested in playing for a contender and making the playoffs for the first time in his career than a pay day.
His fit in Cleveland would be an intriguing one. That would mean the Browns would roll out a defensive line that would feature McCoy, Myles Garrett, Olivier Vernon and Sheldon Richardson. That is one formidable front four. The Browns have been connected to McCoy for some time, but they decided against trading for the defensive tackle while he was under contract for $13MM in the upcoming season. After his Bucs release, the Browns might be able to sign him at a lesser rate without giving up any draft capital.
Staying in the AFC North, Baltimore would provide McCoy a contender as the reigning division champs and a loaded defense to work in. In 2018, Baltimore allowed the fewest yards and the second-fewest points in the league, and would become even better on paper with the addition of McCoy.
Drew Brees is making his own pitch for McCoy to join the Saints. “He’s a stud, he’s a great player,” Brees said this week. “I mean you’re basically asking me if I would love having a Pro Bowl defensive tackle that I’ve spent the last eight years trying to run around and avoid, not have hit me, join our team. Yeah, of course.” McCoy would team with the recently signed Malcom Brown up the middle for a team considered by many to be a Super Bowl frontrunner in 2019.
The Colts have the cap space to sign McCoy and have been relatively quiet so far this offseason. The longtime star would fill an immediate role as a leader on a young and up-and-coming defensive unit that features the reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year Darius Leonard.
Both the Panthers and Falcons have little in the way of cap room to sign McCoy, but that hasn’t stopped the NFC South squads from readying their pitches for the six-time Pro Bowler.
The Bengals are also interested in McCoy, but they are arguably the furthest away from competing for a playoff spot among the other teams listed. Though pairing McCoy with fellow standout Geno Atkins up the middle would instantly propel Cincinnati into the conversation in the AFC North.
So which team will be the one to land the impact defensive tackle? Is it one of the squads already rumored to be interested, or will a mystery team emerge and secure McCoy’s signature? Vote in the poll (link for app users) and let us know your thoughts in the comment section.
It appears of the teams interested in helping Ben Watson unretire, one had a substantial lead on the others. Although the 38-year-old tight end was linked to the Chiefs, Bills and 49ers, he was only considering a return if two teams were in the mix.
“I was retired. I was done for a few months,” Watson said, via Nick Goss of NBC Sports Boston. “Around I would say, late April, early May I started thinking about it and made myself available. There were really only two places I would consider playing, coming back (to the Patriots) and playing in New Orleans. Once I made myself available I got a call, and I thought it would be an interesting opportunity.”
The Patriots and Saints were Watson’s two most prominent stops during his 15-season run, the former drafting him in the 2004 first round and deploying him for six seasons. The latter featured him frequently before and after the Jimmy Graham trade. New Orleans, though, was not in the mix for Watson. The Saints shelled out some cash to sign Jared Cook, who was coming off his most statistically productive season.
New England lost this generation’s best tight end, but Watson did not factor Rob Gronkowski‘s status into his decision. Though, it’s certainly debatable if the Pats would have been interested had Gronk not informed them he was retiring. That may have forced Watson to consider one of the aforementioned destinations.
“No, I was retired. I considered myself retired,” Watson said about viewing Gronkowski’s retirement as a reason to come back. “I was processing as such and moving forward as such until late in April. (Gronkowski’s exit) wasn’t a factor for me.”
Should the Patriots stand pat with Watson and Austin Seferian-Jenkins at tight end, their 2019 offense stands to look different than their other nine attacks this decade. Most of those, when Gronkowski was healthy, funneled through the future Hall of Famer. This year’s Pats feature bigger names or higher-end investments at receiver, with Demaryius Thomas (should he surmount the Achilles injury that ended his 2018 season) and N’Keal Harry now joining Julian Edelman.
