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New Orleans Saints News & Rumors

Glennon, Other QBs Drawing Trade Interest

August 29th, 2018 at 2:09pm CST by Zachary Links

On Wednesday morning, the Packers traded Brett Hundley to the Seahawks. That deal is unlikely to be the last trade involving a backup quarterback, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Mike Glennon of the Cardinals, Tom Savage of the Saints, and Joshua Dobbs are the Steelers are among the QBs being discussed by teams of need, Rapoport hears. 

The Cardinals signed both Sam Bradford and Glennon in March, but the QB room changed dramatically in April when they drafted UCLA star Josh Rosen. Rosen may not be ready for primetime, but the Cardinals may feel that he is ready to be a capable No. 2 QB. Glennon flamed out in his one month as the Bears’ starter last year, but he would represent a QB2 upgrade for many teams around the league.

Savage has been long rumored to be on the bubble, but he is now firmly on the trade block following the Saints’ acquisition of Teddy Bridgewater. The Saints project to move ahead with Bridgewater and Taysom Hill as the backups to Drew Brees, leaving Savage without a spot in New Orleans. Savage, a former fourth-round pick out of Pittsburgh, entered the 2017 season as Houston’s starter, but he lost the job to rookie Deshaun Watson rather quickly. He finished the year with 1,412 yards and five touchdowns against six interceptions.

The writing has been on the wall for Dobbs ever since the Steelers used a third-round pick on Mason Rudolph in this year’s draft. Landry Jones is locked in as the backup quarterback and Rudolph is locked in as the No. 3, so Dobbs is clearly on the block.

Jets Trade Teddy Bridgewater To Saints

August 29th, 2018 at 1:46pm CST by Zachary Links

The Saints have acquired quarterback Teddy Bridgewater from the Jets, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The Jets will send Bridgewater and a sixth-round pick to the Saints for a third-round pick, sources tell Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). 

Bridgewater, who doesn’t turn 26 until November, joined the Jets in March on a one-year deal. Now, he’ll serve as the primary backup to Drew Brees in New Orleans. It’s not immediately clear what the trade means for Taysom Hill, who is under contract through 2019, or Tom Savage, who is on a one-year deal with the club. In all likelihood, Savage is on the verge of being released or traded.

For the Jets, the move signals a tremendous amount of confidence in rookie quarterback Sam Darnold. It’s likely that Darnold will be the team’s Week 1 starter, despite a tough early schedule, with veteran Josh McCown as his understudy.

Bridgewater may be a better quarterback than McCown in 2018, but McCown wouldn’t have fetched much in a trade due to his one-year, $10MM contract. The Jets also value McCown’s veteran leadership and mentorship to Darnold.

Jets players were notified of the trade on Wednesday afternoon when they were on the team bus, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (Twitter link) hears. Just before they were about to depart, Bridgewater was informed of the trade and said goodbye to his teammates.

Bridgewater has impressed this offseason and shown no ill effects of the devastating injury that wiped out his 2016 campaign. In two years as the Vikings’ starter, Bridgewater completed 65% of his passes and averaged 3,075 yards, 14 touchdowns, and ten interceptions.

In three preseason games this year, Bridgewater has completed 28-of-38 throws (73.7%) for 316 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/21/18

August 21st, 2018 at 1:47pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Carolina Panthers

Denver Broncos

  • Re-signed: T Leon Johnson

Houston Texans

  • Signed: CB Bryce Jones
  • Waived/injured: CB Josh Thornton

Jacksonville Jaguars

Minnesota Vikings

  • Signed: C Jacob Judd
  • Claimed off waivers: RB Luke McNitt

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Oakland Raiders

  • Claimed off waivers: CB Antwuan Davis (Lions)
  • Waived/injured: CB Tevin Mitchel

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Signed: TE Matt Weiser
  • Waived/injured: TE Colin Jeter

Tennessee Titans

 

Saints Release RB Terrance West

August 21st, 2018 at 9:53am CST by Zachary Links

The Saints released running back Terrance West, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). West hoped to stick after a few years in Baltimore, but he finds himself looking for work once again in late August. 

West was signed in June to help to fill the void left by Mark Ingram‘s four-game suspension. He was the Saints’ pick over other running backs that auditioned around the same time, including Tim Hightower and Jamaal Charles.

West is looking to rebound from an injury-shortened campaign in 2017. In 2016, West paced the Ravens’ ball carriers in attempts (193), yards (774) and touchdowns (five). The 26-year-old also added 34 catches for 236 yards and a receiving TD.

Without West, the Saints still have a formidable group at running back. Ingram, when he plays, will serve as the team’s pass-catching specialist while young star Alvin Kamara handles most of the carries. Beyond that, there’s also Jonathan Williams, veteran Shane Vereen, promising rookie Boston Scott, and Trey Edmunds. Of course, at least one of those reserve RBs will also have to be shown the door between now and September 1.

Saints Lose DB For Season

August 19th, 2018 at 9:36pm CST by Sam Robinson
  • Sean McVay said (via Lindsay Thiry of ESPN.com, on Twitter) Junior Galette‘s Rams visit will take place Monday. Galette is now 30 and a few years removed from his peak — back-to-back 10-plus-sack years with the Saints in 2013-14 — but he did play in all 16 Redskins games last season after missing the previous two years with injuries. The Rams’ efforts to restock their cornerback contingent and add Ndamukong Suh induced some cutbacks, and the Super Bowl contender’s edge defender situation is perhaps a vulnerable spot midway through the preseason.
  • Second-year UDFA Rickey Jefferson will not play for the Saints this season. The defensive back tore one of his ACLs in New Orleans’ second preseason game, Nick Underhill of The Advocate reports. The LSU alum did not play last season and latched on with the Saints in January via reserve/futures contract.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/12/18

August 12th, 2018 at 9:21am CST by Rory Parks

Today’s minor moves:

Carolina Panthers

Denver Broncos

  • Waived: OL Leon Johnson

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Rams

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

New Orleans Saints

  • Waived:G Trevor Darling

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Saints Sign CB Marcus Williams

August 11th, 2018 at 6:41pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Saints now have two Marcus Williams‘. The team is signing the fifth-year jounreyman cornerback, a source told Nick Underhill of the New Orleans Advocate (Twitter link). Williams came into the league as an undrafted free agent back in 2014, signing with the Jets. He made an impact right away, starting eight games as a rookie.

He continued to play a large role in New York over the next couple of seasons, and the team valued him highly. When he was a restricted free agent in 2017, the Jets placed a second round tender on him. Despite paying him $2.75MM under the tender, he quickly fell out of favor and was waived just a few weeks into the 2017 season.

The Texans claimed him off waivers, and he appeared in ten games for them, notching 12 tackles in a reserve role. After the season, he signed with the Cardinals, but was released back in May. Across his four seasons in the league, Williams has played in 49 games, including 15 starts, and racked up 89 tackles, ten interceptions, and 27 passes defended.

Signed this late in the offseason, Williams will be fighting an uphill battle to earn a roster spot with the Saints. New Orleans was apparently looking for some secondary depth, also signing safety Robert Nelson according to Underhill (Twitter link). It’s a nice add at this point in the season for the Saints, as Williams has always shown good ball skills, compiling an impressive amount of interceptions and pass breakups on limited playing time.

Saints Cut CB De’Vante Harris

August 11th, 2018 at 10:05am CST by Ben Levine

De’Vante Harris will be looking for a new home. Nick Underhill of The New Orleans Advocate reports (via Twitter) that the Saints have cut the cornerback.

The 25-year-old initially joined the Saints as an undrafted free agent out of Texas A&M back in 2016, and he proceeded to spend most of the next two seasons on the active roster. After playing in 10 games as rookie, Harris made 11 appearances (one start) for the Saints last season.

While he finished with career-highs in tackles (18) and passes defended (two), he seemed to lose the faith of the New Orleans coaching staff. He started the season in a primary role, but was demoted to special teams midway through the year. An injury to Marshon Lattimore forced him back into the lineup.

Harris was already going to be hard pressed to make the Saints on a crowded cornerback depth chart. Following his release, the team will be eyeing Ken Crawley, P.J. Williams, Justin Hardee, Arthur Maulet, and Kamrin Moore for backup reps.

WR Brandon Coleman Could Return To Saints

August 6th, 2018 at 5:52pm CST by Ben Levine

The Saints released Brandon Coleman yesterday, but the receiver could end up finding his way back to New Orleans. Head coach Sean Payton hinted that the 26-year-old could return to the organization once he’s healthy enough to play.

“He’s got a little bit of time still in his rehab,” Payton said (via Luke Johnson of NOLA.com). “He’ll be able to go ahead and rehab and get healthy. I would anticipate that it’s not the last time we’ll see him. He and I had a good visit today, we’re all on the same page.”

After starting training camp on the active/physically unable to perform list, the Saints released Coleman with a failed physical designation yesterday. Payton told reporters that the receiver is dealing with neck and hip injuries, and the estimated recovery time meant the Saints were forced to part ways with the former undrafted free agent.

“It would be too early for me to say three weeks, four weeks, but his progress is going well,” Payton said. “It’s just going to take a little bit longer. Right now, with where we’re at, we’ve got to keep making room so we can play these games.”

The six-foot-six, 225-pound Coleman may have stood above his fellow Saints wideouts, but he was unable to put up big numbers with New Orleans over the past three seasons. His 2017 campaign was on-par with his usual production, as he finished with 23 receptions for 364 yards and three scores. If Coleman were to return to the Saints, he’d have a tough time improving on those stats, as Michael Thomas, Cameron Meredith, and Ted Ginn Jr. seemed to be locked in atop the depth chart.

Saints To Release WR Brandon Coleman

August 5th, 2018 at 4:13pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Saints will release wide receiver Brandon Coleman with a failed physical designation, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Coleman had been sidelined by an unspecified injury in recent weeks, tweets Mike Triplett of ESPN.com.

New Orleans declined to tender Coleman as a restricted free agent earlier this year, failing to bring him back on an original round tender that would have cost $1.9MM. Instead, the Saints re-signed Coleman in April to a deal that had a maximum value of $1MM.

Exactly how often Coleman was to contribute during the upcoming season had been unclear, as the Saints improved their wide receiving corps over the offseason. New Orleans landed Cameron Meredith after inking the former Bear to a restricted offer sheet, one which Chicago declined to match. He’ll likely act as the Saints’ slot receiver between Michael Thomas and Ted Ginn Jr., so Coleman was — at best — the club’s fourth wideout.

Coleman, who entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Rutgers in 2014, has never been all that productive while catching passes from Drew Brees. His target share and overall reception total decreased in each of his three full seasons with the Saints, and he was never able to top 30 receptions or 500 receiving yards during his tenure wit the team.

But there are reasons to be somewhat optimistic about Coleman’s future, and his large stature is one of them. Coleman stands 6’6″ and 225 pounds, meaning he nearly has the frame of a tight end. That size hasn’t contributed to production out of the slot thus far, but Coleman is still only 26 years old. Coleman also fared well in Football Outsiders’ DYAR, which measures value over a replacement-level player — among the 71 wideouts with fewer than 50 receptions in 2017, Coleman ranked a respectable 13th in DYAR.

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