Saints free agent safety Kenny Vaccaro is still on the market, but it’s not due to any health issues, Nick Underhill of The Advocate tweets. And, although the safety market didn’t develop as expected, Underhill anticipates that he’ll land somewhere before training camp starts.
It’s possible that Vaccaro turned down some low-cost deals early on in free agency, as Underhill notes that there was “no need [for him] to hurry and sign a deal when free agency opened.” He may have some regrets about that now, but it’s hard to imagine a scenario in which Vaccaro won’t be able to find a team on a low-cost one-year deal.
The Colts, Jets, and Dolphins showed interest in Vaccaro earlier this offseason, but we haven’t heard much about him in recent weeks. While we wait to see where the former Saints safety will land, here’s more out of the South divisions:
- Texans safety Tyrann Mathieu is the best newcomer to the AFC South, Sarah Barshop, Mike Wells, and Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com argue. Mathieu isn’t coming off a great year, but the Texans will mostly play Mathieu at his natural safety position which may allow him to thrive. After the Texans fell to last place in the NFL in points allowed, they’re certainly hoping that Mathieu will have a big impact in 2018.
- In the same piece, ESPN.com’s Cameron Wolfe makes a case for Titans cornerback Malcolm Butler being the AFC South’s best new player. Although Butler’s curious benching in the Super Bowl has some concerned, he boasts 44 total pass breakups in the last three seasons, which is good for second most among all cornerbacks in the league since 2015. If things pan out, Butler could give the Titans the high-end defender they need to bottle up opposing receivers in the division like DeAndre Hopkins and T.Y. Hilton.
- New Panthers owner David Tepper confirmed that the team will remain in Charlotte, North Carolina.
I would love to see Vaccaro come over to the Texans….