New Orleans Saints News & Rumors

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/28/18

We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

  • Signed: TE Nick Keizer

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Oakland Raiders

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Details On Brandon Marshall's Contract

  • Signed to essentially take Dez Bryant‘s place on the Saints‘ roster, Brandon Marshall signed for the 13th-year veteran’s minimum, Nick Underhill of The Advocate tweets. He signed for $1.02MM and will count $259K toward New Orleans’ cap. Bryant signed for slightly more than the veteran minimum — $1.25MM — with incentives tied to his deal. It’s not known if Marshall has incentives attached to his pact. He’s yet to suit up for the Saints.

Saints To Activate WR Tommylee Lewis

The 9-1 Saints will soon receive more help. They are activating wide receiver Tommylee Lewis, their primary return man, from IR, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.

New Orleans will waive offensive lineman Chaz Green to make room. Lewis was designated as an IR-return player earlier this month. He has not played since Week 2 due to a knee injury.

Lewis served as the Saints’ kick- and punt-return specialist from 2016-17, primarily working as a kick returner. With the Saints waiving Green, whom they recently signed, it appears they’ll be going with a six-wideout group entering their Week 12 matchup with the Falcons.

New Orleans lost Dez Bryant days after signing him but added Brandon Marshall and Keith Kirkwood and are now bringing back Lewis. So, New Orleans is now much deeper at wideout than it was two weeks ago.

A former UDFA out of Northern Illinois, Lewis caught 10 passes for 116 yards last season. The Saints have used third-string quarterback-turned-gadget dynamo Taysom Hill as their primary kick returner in Lewis’ absence. Alvin Kamara has returned the bulk of the punts.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/15/18

Today’s practice squad updates:

Dallas Cowboys

  • Signed: DL Aziz Shittu

Jacksonville Jaguars

New York Giants

New Orleans Saints

Miami Dolphins

Washington Redskins

Saints’ Terron Armstead To Miss Time

Saints left tackle Terron Armstead is expected to miss three to four weeks with a pectoral injury, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Armstead suffered the injury in Sunday’s one-sided win over the Bengals. 

The Saints turned to veteran Jermon Bushrod after Armstead’s exit, so it stands to reason that he will start in Armstead’s absence. The Saints also have Michael Ola and tackle/guard Chaz Green to support Bushrod and Ryan Ramczyk, so they don’t necessarily have to add a tackle this week.

With an 8-1 record, the Saints are fighting more for playoff positioning than a postseason berth. They have a comfortable, though not insurmountable, lead over the 6-3 Panthers for the NFC South title and they are second only to the 9-1 Rams in the NFC. Clearly, they did not miss a beat after Armstead’s exit on Sunday, so this is unlikely to unravel the Saints’ passing offense in the coming weeks.

Armstead, 27, ranks as the league’s No. 1 overall tackle this year, according to Pro Football Focus.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/13/18

Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

NFL Workout Updates: 11/13/18

Here’s the latest from the workout circuit. All links go to NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account, unless otherwise noted.

Arizona Cardinals

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Oakland Raiders

Tennessee Titans

Saints To Sign Brandon Marshall

Veteran wide receiver Brandon Marshall is signing a one-year deal with the Saints, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Marshall will step in for Dez Bryant, who suffered a season-ending Achilles tear just hours after inking his contract with the team. 

Marshall hooked on with the Seahawks this offseason, and while he found the end zone in Week 1 of the regular season, his playing time quickly diminished. He was targeted just twice during his last three games with Seattle and was let go on October 30. He’s clearly lost a step or two, and probably doesn’t have the same upside as a healthy Bryant, but the Saints feel that he can offer quality support behind top receivers Michael Thomas and Tre’Quan Smith.

Marshall is a six-time Pro Bowler, but he hasn’t played at an elite level since the 2015 season in which he posted 109 receptions, 1,502 yards, and a league-leading 14 touchdowns for the Jets. Injuries have limited his effectiveness and overall production, and Marshall appeared in only five games a year ago before going on injured reserve with a ankle injury. With the Saints, he’ll have a chance to prove he can still be a difference-maker.

As Schefter notes, Marshall has never made a playoff game in his 13-year career, but he now has a good chance of seeing the postseason for the first time. After a 51-14 throttling of the Bengals, Marshall and the Saints will face the Eagles in New Orleans on Sunday.

Brandon Marshall To Visit Saints Monday

Right after Dez Bryant tore his achilles, it was reported that the Saints were interested in going after Brandon Marshall. Things appear to be progressing toward a signing, as Marshall will visit the team in New Orleans tomorrow and the Saints hope to sign him, a source told Nick Underhill of the Advocate.

After an injury-ruined 2017 season with the Giants, Marshall latched on with the Seahawks this offseason. He showed flashes, but ultimately lasted only seven games in Seattle, where he caught 11 passes for 136 yards and one touchdown. He’s been plagued by injuries the last few seasons, but as recently as 2015 he was one of the best receivers in football. In 2015 he caught 109 passes for 1502 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Marhsall also auditioned for the Lions after the Seahawks cut him loose, and apparently the Saints — who now have five receivers on IR — were considering bringing Marshall aboard even if Bryant had not gotten hurt. Given the state of New Orleans’ wide receiver depth chart, Marshall would likely see a fair amount of playing time if he ends up signing with the Saints.

It sounds like Marshall could be signed within the next day, and although it remains to be seen how much he has left in the tank at age 34, should provide an instant boost to the New Orleans passing game. Seemingly every receiver the Saints have other than Michael Thomas has been seriously injured at some point, and it can’t hurt to bring Marshall in.