HEADLINES

New Orleans Saints News & Rumors

Saints Cut RB Malcolm Brown

August 10th, 2022 at 7:38pm CST by Ben Levine

Malcolm Brown‘s stint with the Saints ultimately lasted less than a month. The veteran running back was released today, according to Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com (on Twitter). The Saints also signed quarterback K.J. Costello (via Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.football on Twitter) and safety Jack Koerner (per Sean Fazende of FOX8 in New Orleans on Twitter), and they waived/injured defensive back Bryce Thompson (via Wilson).

Brown spent the first six years of his career with the Rams, spending most of his tenure as the number-two running back behind Todd Gurley. A rookie Cam Akers and second-year Darrell Henderson led the Rams in carries in 2020, but Brown still saw the most work of his career. He finished that campaign with 581 yards from scrimmage and five touchdowns on 124 touches. He joined the Dolphins last offseason and started three of his seven appearances, collecting 135 yards and one score. He landed on IR in late October and didn’t see the field again that season.

Alvin Kamara‘s status is still uncertain, but the Saints must feel comfortable with the rest of their RB depth. That grouping is led by Mark Ingram and also includes Dwayne Washington, Tony Jones Jr., and Devine Ozigbo.

Costello, who split his collegiate career between Stanford and Mississippi State, went undrafted in 2021. He had a brief offseason stint with the Raiders last year before joining the USFL back in May. Koerner, an undrafted rookie out of Iowa, joined the Saints earlier this offseason but was waived in May. Thompson spent much of the 2021 campaign on New Orleans’ practice squad, although he did get into two games with the Saints. A lower leg injury will likely keep him sidelined for a bit, and assuming he goes unclaimed, he’ll land on the Saints injured reserve.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/9/22

August 9th, 2022 at 8:56pm CST by Adam La Rose

Today’s minor moves around the NFL:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

  • Placed on IR: DL Bryce Rodgers

Cleveland Browns

Indianapolis Colts

  • Released via injury settlement: WR John Hurst

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

  • Signed: OL Chris Glaser
  • Released: DE Hamilcar Rashed and OL Parker Ferguson

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Perry’s interesting post-draft NFL journey continues. Initially slated to join the Eagles as a UDFA, he ended up signing with the Jaguars days later. Then, in July, he was waived (with an injury designation) to make room for Sloter’s addition. Perry has obviously recovered, as the two have now swapped placed once more.

Fenton was one of four Chiefs placed on the PUP list at the start of training camp. That came as little surprise at the time, but his return to practice will be a welcomed sight in Kansas City’s secondary. NFL Network’s James Palmer tweets that Fenton’s preseason availability remains a question mark, but that he is still expected to be fully recovered in time for the regular season.

Jackson was a fifth-round pick in this year’s draft at a position which has been in flux throughout the offseason in New Orleans. The 24-year-old had a highly productive final season in particular at Appalachian State, posting 119 tackles, 20 TFLs and six sacks. He will now have to wait until 2023 to carve out a depth role in the middle of the Saints’ defense.

Saints Activate DE Marcus Davenport

August 9th, 2022 at 7:19pm CST by Adam La Rose

Marcus Davenport has had an eventful offseason with respect to health in 2022, but the Saints defensive end took a significant step towards being available once again. Per a team announcement, he has been activated, and was back on the practice field Tuesday. 

“I want to say this was a good first day,” Davenport said, via Michael Hull of the team’s website. “It’s just one of those things on the process… I still have more to push through. At this point, I’m really just in the process of getting back, getting acclimated, seeing whatever comes up from actually playing football.”

It was revealed in June that the 25-year-old underwent a total of five offseason surgeries to fix knee, shoulder and finger issues. Those procedures added to the list of ailments Davenport has dealt with in his relatively brief NFL career; through four seasons in the league, he has played in no more than 13 contests in any one campaign.

Not surprisingly, the former first-rounder opened training camp on the PUP list. His return marks a positive development, though, as he looks to continue the form he showed in 2021. Despite playing only 11 games (and seeing the field for less than two-thirds of the team’s defensive snaps), he set new career-highs in sacks (nine) and tackles (39). Matching or improving upon those numbers would be crucial for the Saints’ defense.

A strong season would also, of course, do wonders for Davenport financially. He restructured his contract to help the Saints get cap compliant, but his future beyond this season is unclear. With 2022 being the final non-void year of his contract, the UTSA alum could play his way into a significant second deal in the event of a productive (but, more importantly, healthy) campaign. Today’s news is an encouraging sign that he will have the opportunity to put one together.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/8/22

August 8th, 2022 at 6:59pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

  • Waived/injured: DT Bryce Rodgers

Carolina Panthers

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Washington Commanders

  • Signed: WR Matt Cole
  • Reverted to IR: WR Jequez Ezzard

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/6/22

August 6th, 2022 at 7:00pm CST by Adam La Rose

Today’s minor moves around the league:

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Jacksonville Jaguars

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Washington Commanders

  • Activated from reserve/retired list: LB Tre Walker

Weatherly was in line for a rotational role with the Browns this season behind entrenched starters Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney. The 28-year-old was coming off of a sack-less campaign with the Vikings last year, but has 73 games and 17 starts on his NFL resume. In his absence, the Browns will depend not only on another mostly healthy season for Clowney, but also third-round rookie Alex Wright and recent USFL signing Chris Odom in the edge rush department.

Just yesterday, Walker surprisingly ended his NFL career before it began, briefly becoming the second young Commander this offseason to hand up his cleats unexpectedly. Hours later, however, the UDFA changed his mind and asked to be reinstated. Having signed him to his rookie contract, Washington held the rights to the San Jose State alum and were free to bring him back into the fold. He will once again look to make the team’s roster – something he has a decent chance at, given the lack of proven options Washington has down the depth chart at ILB.

Saints LB Kiko Alonso To Retire

August 6th, 2022 at 1:00pm CST by Ben Levine

After just signing with the Saints the other day, Kiko Alonso is calling it a career. The veteran linebacker is retiring, according to Brooke Kirchhofer of WWLTV (on Twitter).

[RELATED: Saints To Sign LB Kiko Alonso]

Alonso hadn’t seen the field since the 2019 season, but he decided to reunite with the Saints on Thursday. Two days later, he’s hanging up his cleats. According to ESPN’s Katherine Terrell (on Twitter), Alonso’s reverse decision had nothing to do with his health. Rather, the veteran simply changed his mind, with Terrell noting that it’d be tough for the linebacker to return after such a lengthy absence if he wasn’t 100 percent committed.

Once a longtime starter, Alonso has not played since suffering an ACL tear in New Orleans’ wild-card loss to Minnesota in January 2020. During that 2019 campaign, Alonso started four of his 13 appearances and collected 31 tackles. Prior to his season in New Orleans, the linebacker had stints with the Bills and Dolphins. While Alonso never came close to replicating his 159-tackle rookie season (in which he earned PFWA NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors), he still topped 110 tackles for three straight seasons between 2016 and 2018.

Alonso will retire having compiled 588 tackles, seven forced fumbles, and 10 interceptions in 86 career games.

Since Alonso’s last regular-season game, the Saints drafted Zack Baun in the 2020 third round and Pete Werner in the 2021 second. The latter profiles as a better bet to start alongside Demario Davis this season. Rookie fifth-round pick D’Marco Jackson is currently sidelined, so Alonso was expected to provide at least some temporary depth at the position. As Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.football points out on Twitter, the Saints may need to sign another middle linebacker to fill out their roster.

NFL Workout Updates: 8/5/22

August 5th, 2022 at 9:08pm CST by Ely Allen

Here’s a look at some of the notable workouts from around the league this week:

  • After six years with the Raiders, running back Jalen Richard is searching for a new home. This week saw the 28-year-old workout with the Lions and Steelers, according to Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network and Field Yates of ESPN. Richard has seen his production drop off drastically over the past two seasons, but has shown potential as a backup in the past topping out at 607 rushing yards in a season.
  • The Steelers weren’t only looking at Richard, according to Yates. He reported that Pittsburgh also worked out former Giants running back Wayne Gallman. Gallman spent last season with the Falcons and Vikings after recording a 682-yard rushing season in New York, but couldn’t find a role with either team. The Steelers look to be trying to find some depth to compete behind starter Najee Harris.
  • Another veteran searching for a new home, cornerback T.J. Carrie worked out with the Saints today, according to Yates. Carrie has found a strong role as a rotation cornerback over the years with the Raiders, Browns, and Colts. The Saints have a lot of youth at the top of their depth chart with second-year player Paulson Adebo and rookie Alontae Taylor favored to start opposite Marshon Lattimore. Perhaps the Saints are looking to add more veteran depth the room.
  • The 49ers ended up signing Willie Snead today, but his workout today featured another veteran wide receiver, according to Yates. Former Jaguars wide receiver Dede Westbrook was apparently in competition with Snead for a roster spot that ended up going to Snead. Westbrook’s numbers have suffered greatly since tearing his ACL early in 2020. He’ll likely keep auditioning with teams in hopes of working his way back.
  • After nabbing a Super Bowl ring with the Rams last year, cornerback Donte Deayon has been trying to find his way onto another roster. He worked out alongside three other defensive backs in Washington earlier this week, according to Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post. Apparently they were all competing for a roster spot that ended up going to De’Vante Bausby. Deayon will have to continue searching for his third NFL team.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/5/22

August 5th, 2022 at 7:04pm CST by Ely Allen

Here’s today’s minor transactions from around the league:

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Kansas City Chiefs

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Commanders

Saints To Sign LB Kiko Alonso

August 4th, 2022 at 4:09pm CST by Sam Robinson

Despite working out multiple linebackers who have been steady starters over the past two years, the Saints are reuniting with Kiko Alonso. The well-traveled defender has not played since 2019, but Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes (via Twitter) the Saints are giving him another shot. It’s a one-year deal, per ESPN.com’s Katherine Terrell (on Twitter).

Going into what would be his age-32 season, Alonso looks to have shown enough at his Thursday workout to vie for a depth role. Once a longtime starter, Alonso has not played since suffering an ACL tear in New Orleans’ wild-card loss to Minnesota in January 2020.

New Orleans also worked out Anthony Hitchens and Jon Bostic on Thursday. Both players have been starters for the past several years. Alonso is the oldest member of the trio to participate in this audition. While the Oregon alum was with the Saints in 2019, he worked as a starter in just four of the 13 games he played with the team. He will follow former Vikings and Eagles defender Eric Wilson in being a Saints veteran linebacker addition this year.

Alonso stormed onto the NFL scene in 2013, producing a standout rookie season that pushed Sheldon Richardson for Defensive Rookie of the Year honors (a 23-19 vote). The first of Alonso’s two ACL tears as a pro stalled that momentum, knocking him out for all of the 2014 season. He then embarked on a rare NFL path, becoming a four-time trade piece.

The Bills traded Alonso to the Eagles, who dealt him to the Dolphins after one season. With Miami, Alonso was a steady starter. He started 46 games with Miami and signed a four-year, $28.9MM extension during the 2017 offseason. During their rebuilding year, one that later became the subject of multiple NFL investigations, the Dolphins made Alonso one of the many veteran exits by dealing him to the Saints for linebacker Vince Biegel. The Saints dealt Alonso to the 49ers in a trade that brought back Kwon Alexander; the 49ers cut Alonso shortly after that November 2020 swap.

With the Saints in 2019, Alonso made 31 tackles (two for loss). Since Alonso’s last regular-season game, the Saints drafted Zack Baun in the 2020 third round and Pete Werner in the 2021 second. The latter profiles as a better bet to start alongside Demario Davis this season. Wilson, 28, started 15 games with the Vikings in 2020 but was cut midway through his lone Eagles season. The sixth-year veteran is pushing for a starting job as well. Alexander, a regular Saints starter from 2020-21, is now with the Jets.

Saints To Audition LBs Kiko Alonso, Anthony Hitchens, Jon Bostic

August 4th, 2022 at 2:29pm CST by Sam Robinson

Former Saints linebacker Kiko Alonso is attempting to catch on with the team again. The 2013 second-round pick has not played in a game since spending the 2019 season with the Saints, but Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets the Saints are holding an audition.

This workout also includes former Washington starter Jon Bostic and veteran Anthony Hitchens. The Saints were interested in Anthony Barr as well, but the longtime Vikings starter signed with the Cowboys.

Alonso, Hitchens and Bostic each have at least seven years’ experience. Hitchens and Bostic both worked as starters last season, but an early-season pectoral injury cut Bostic’s run short. The Chiefs released Hitchens earlier this offseason, cutting bait four years into a five-year contract. Alonso was last with a team in 2020, but his 49ers stay — which ended in November of that year — did not come with any regular-season action.

[RELATED: Saints Sign LB Eric Wilson]

The Saints moved on from Alonso in 2020, trading him to the 49ers in the Kwon Alexander in-season swap. Set to turn 32 next week, Alonso has not been on a team since the 49ers cut him weeks after that deal. While Alonso began the 2020 season on the Saints’ PUP list, stemming from his January 2020 ACL tear, he played 13 games for the Saints in 2019 and started four. Prior to his New Orleans arrival, the Oregon alum strung together back-to-back-to-back seasons of at least 115 tackles with the Dolphins.

Hitchens, 30, kept his Chiefs starting job despite the presences of Nick Bolton and Willie Gay. The former Cowboys draftee nearly played out the five-year, $45MM contract he signed with the Chiefs in 2018. Hitchens started in two Super Bowls, though his Kansas City usage rate dropped after the 2018 season. The run-stopping ‘backer went from an 85% defensive snap rate in 2018 to sub-70% in each of his final three Chiefs slates.

After reviving his career in Washington, Bostic saw the pec injury blunt his momentum. After one-year stints as a starter with the Colts (2017) and Steelers (’18), Bostic spent the past three seasons with Washington. In his most recent full season, the ex-second-round pick totaled 118 tackles and three sacks. Bostic, now 31, landed a two-year, $5MM extension from Washington in 2020.

Demario Davis still leads New Orleans’ linebacking corps; he signed a one-year, $12MM extension earlier this summer. The Saints used second- and third-round picks at this position over the past two years, drafting Pete Werner and Zack Baun on Day 2. The Saints let Alexander walk this offseason; the veteran signed with the Jets last week. Any member of audition group to sign would vie for time alongside the two Day 2 picks and Wilson, who signed with the team in May.

Load More Posts