Today’s minor transactions
New Orleans Saints
- Waived: TE Kahale Warring
Seattle Seahawks
- Waived: OL Pier-Olivier Lestage
Trevor Penning is slotted to be the Saints‘ long-term Terron Armstead replacement, but a stopgap may be required ahead of that succession. The Northern Iowa alum is not a lock to open the season as New Orleans’ left tackle, Mike Triplett of ESPN.com notes. The Saints expected the Division I-FCS product to be raw coming in, and it does not appear he has seized the job for which he’s ultimately ticketed just yet. If Penning is on the bench to start the season, swingman James Hurst would be in line to get the call. The former Ravens starter was a 15-game first-stringer with the Saints last season.
Today’s minor NFL transactions:
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: LB Dakota Allen
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: TE Brandon Dillon
Allen was a seventh-round pick by the Rams in 2019. He eventually made his way to the Raiders and Jaguars, where he appeared in five combined games as a rookie. Between 2020 and 2021, the linebacker saw time in 27 games for Jacksonville, compiling 27 tackles and one forced fumble while primarily playing on special teams.
Dillon signed with the Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2019, and he ended up spending the better part of three seasons with the organization. He appeared in five total games for the Vikings, including one this past season. He has one career catch.
David Johnson ultimately left New Orleans without a deal. After working out for the Saints earlier this week, the veteran running back announced on Twitter that he won’t be signing with the team.
[RELATED: Saints To Meet With RB David Johnson]
“Unfortunate, we couldn’t come to terms,” Johnson wrote. “[B]ut appreciate the Saints for the opportunity! Journey to be continued.”
Johnson participated in the Saints minicamp this week on a tryout basis. New Orleans has Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram atop their depth chart, but there are some questions marks surrounding the duo (Kamara was arrested in February, while Ingram is entering his age-33 season). Johnson could theoretically be an upgrade on the likes of holdovers Tony Jones and Dwayne Washington. At the very least, he’d provide some extra depth if the team does have to play without one of their top-two backs.
Based on Johnson’s tweet, it sounds like a deal may have fallen apart due to contractual disagreements. Considering the Saints tight cap situation, they probably weren’t looking to guarantee much money until the veteran secured a spot on the roster. On the flip side, considering Johnson’s resume, it’d be hard to envision the RB not taking a definitive role.
Of course, Johnson can’t be too picky considering he remains unsigned in June. While the running back hasn’t come close to matching his 2,118-yards-from-scrimmage campaign in 2016, Johnson has proven to be a serviceable back when he’s able to take the field. He topped 1,000 yards from scrimmage as recently as 2020 with the Texans, and while he was limited to a backup role in 2021 (and saw his averages drop across the board), he still managed to top 400 yards from scrimmage while hauling in 32 of his 42 targets.
Demario Davis has been a consistent presence in the middle of the Saints’ defense during his four seasons with the team. He is scheduled to remain in New Orleans for another two years, but the veteran linebacker is aware that his contract status may change soon. 
Davis, 33, began his career with the Jets in 2012. He was a full-time starter by his second year, and remained a significant contributor throughout his tenure. After a single season with the Browns, he was traded back to the Big Apple in 2017. He led the league in solo tackles that year, also setting a new career-high in sacks with five.
That production led to a three-year, $24MM contract with the Saints during the subsequent offseason. He remained as consistent as ever during that span, earning First-Team All-Pro honors in 2019. That led to a three-year extension worth $27MM. He received a Second-Team nod in 2020, after compiling 119 tackles and four sacks. After that season, the Arkansas State alum was one of several Saints veterans who re-worked their contracts to create immediate cap space for the team.
As a result, his 2022 base salary is just $1.1MM, coupled with a cap hit of just under $5.9MM. However, those figures are set to jump to $8.5MM and $13.2MM, respectively, next year. That leaves another extension as a possibility, though the team would see a small financial gain from his release after the 2022 campaign. Davis addressed his contract status at minicamp, his first on-field participation with the team this offseason.
“We’ll see,” he said, via Jeff Duncan of NOLA.com, while speaking about the potential of a new contract. “I have nothing but love for the city. And I have a lot of love for this organization. But at the end of the day, it’s still a business. We’ll see how it goes.”
The Saints have a number of other options to succeed Davis as a starter in the near future, though none of them have established themselves as full-time starters in New Orleans. Depending on his level of play in 2022, then, another new contract could be beneficial for both parties.
It sounds like Marcus Davenport hasn’t had the easiest offseason from a health perspective. As Katherine Terrell of The Athletic writes, the Saints defensive end had a pair of surgeries on his knee and three surgeries on his left hand.
Davenport had a stint on IR last season while dealing with a shoulder ailment, so his two surgeries were likely intended to fix that injury. Meanwhile, Davenport said he’s been dealing with a pinkie injury that dates back to college, but the injury has progressively gotten worse and culminated in Davenport having part of the finger amputated.
The latest finger surgery has put Davenport’s shoulder rehab on hold, but the veteran admitted that he’s feeling better and is excited to get back on the field. Saints coach Dennis Allen previously hinted that training camp was a reasonable return date for the defensive end.
The 2018 first-round pick has spent his entire career with New Orleans, missing 17 games in four seasons. While he was limited to only 11 games (nine starts) last season, he still finished with career-highs in tackles (39), sacks (nine), and forced fumbles (three). In total, Davenport has 21 sacks in 48 games.
The 25-year-old helped the Saints open up some cap space this offseason by reworking his deal. More than $8MM of Davenport’s 2022 $9.6MM base salary was turned into a signing bonus, helping the team carve out $6MM. Davenport is set to hit free agent following the 2022 campaign.
Drew Brees‘ retirement led to four quarterbacks making starts for the Saints last season. Wil Lutz‘s injury produced similar instability. The Saints used four kickers in Lutz’s absence in 2021. Their 2022 outlook at the position appears clearer.
Lutz revealed on Instagram he has received clearance to return to workouts. This will be a welcome sight for the Saints, who used three kickers (Brett Maher, Brian Johnson, Aldrick Rosas) in at least four games, with Maher’s eight leading the way, and Cody Parkey in the other.
A groin injury led to Lutz’s absence. The veteran specialist had an opportunity to return near the midseason point, when the Saints opened his IR-return window. But a setback led to Lutz being shut down for the season. Lutz, 27, said he has undergone two surgeries in the past year.
While the Maher-Johnson-Rosas-Parkey quartet made 25 of 30 field goals, the hired legs combined to go 31-for-38 on extra points. Even while playing exclusively in the longer-range PAT era, Lutz has only missed seven (253-for-260) in his five-season run as New Orleans’ primary kicker. His return stands to help a Saints team that looks better than last year’s iteration — partially because of injured players’ returns. Jameis Winston and Michael Thomas are in line to join Lutz in reclaiming their previous roles with the team.
Lutz, who received a Pro Bowl invite in 2019, is still tied to the five-year extension he signed in March of that year. The Georgia State alum is under contract for two more seasons; he is set to count $5.57MM against New Orleans’ cap in 2022. The Saints’ coalition of 2021 kickers is gone, but the team did sign UDFA John Parker Romo this offseason.
Senio Kelemete is back with the Saints. For a workout, at least. In addition to bringing in David Johnson and Joe Schobert for minicamp, the Saints are hosting Kelemete, Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.football tweets. All three vets are participating in the team’s Tuesday workout.
Johnson’s teammate in Houston two years ago, Kelemete may be better known for his time in New Orleans. The 10-year veteran guard played with the Saints from 2014-17, establishing himself as a spot starter to the point the Texans gave him a three-year, $12MM deal to be one of their starting guards in 2018.
The former Cardinals fifth-round pick played three seasons with the Texans. After a 14-start 2018, a season in which Deshaun Watson took more sacks than any quarterback in 12 years, Kelemete missed 15 games in 2019 after an early-season injury. He did not regain a job as a full-time starter in 2020 but did make five starts.
After making two more starts for the Chargers last season, Kelemete has 44 over the course of his career. Twenty-two of those came for the Saints, who had Kelemete as a steady insurance option as they reconstructed their roster ahead of their late-2010s run of playoff berths.
New Orleans has Andrus Peat and Cesar Ruiz locked in at the guard spots, and while the team did not draft any interior O-linemen, it signed veterans Josh Andrews and Forrest Lamp. Swingman James Hurst remains on the team as well. Kelemete, 32, would vie for a depth role if brought back.
The Saints made some big changes at receiver this offseason, trading up for Chris Olave and signing Jarvis Landry. These additions and Michael Thomas‘ expected return would not leave nearly as many opportunities as the rest of New Orleans’ wideout cast received last season.
Prior to the Olave trade-ups and the Landry accord, the Saints tendered Deonte Harty at the second-round level. The former Deonte Harris signed his RFA tender in April, and Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.football tweets Harty is expected to show for Saints minicamp this week. But the 5-foot-6 wideout/special-teamer is seeking a new contract, Underhill adds.
Harty will make $3.99MM on his RFA tender — well up from the $850K he earned in 2021 — and does have an All-Pro nod on his resume. Harty received that honor as a punt returner in 2019, his rookie season. Harty has remained New Orleans’ primary kick and punt returner in the two seasons since.
A former UDFA out of Division II Assumption College (Massachusetts), Harty became a necessary piece at receiver for the Saints last season — when Thomas’ evolving timetable (and eventual full-season absence) wrecked the team’s aerial setup. Harty caught 36 passes for 570 yards and three touchdowns. Of course, he also served a three-game suspension for a summer 2021 DWI arrest. The Saints and Harty are not believed to be close on terms, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
Harty may be eyeing recent deals handed out to some return men this offseason. Fellow All-Pro returner Jakeem Grant signed a three-year, $10MM deal with the Browns in March. The Jets gave 2021’s All-Pro kick returner, Braxton Berrios, a two-year, $12MM deal this year. Despite Berrios’ momentum and increased usage in New York’s offense, Harty bested the part-time Jet slot’s yardage total (431) by a considerable margin and did so in playing fewer offensive snaps.
David Johnson‘s first free agency foray has been quiet, but the seven-year veteran running back will make his first offseason visit. The Saints are set to host the former Cardinals and Texans starter Monday, Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.football tweets.
New Orleans has Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram under contract, but the former was arrested in February and the latter is going into his age-33 season. The Saints are otherwise thin in the backfield, and Johnson is one of the better options available.
While Johnson’s past five seasons have not come especially close to his monster 2016 showing, the veteran back has done well for himself. The Cardinals gave their third-round find a three-year, $39MM extension in 2018, and the Northern Iowa alum played out that contract with the Texans.
Beyond that All-Pro sophomore slate, injuries and his inclusion in 2020’s DeAndre Hopkins trade — a widely panned deal that sent Johnson and two draft choices to Houston for the perennial Pro Bowl wideout — has defined Johnson’s career. But he delivered stretches of productivity in Houston. In 2020, Johnson totaled 1,005 scrimmage yards in 12 games, averaging 4.7 yards per carry. The Texans brought him back on a restructured deal last year but minimized his role. Johnson started just four games and amassed only 453 scrimmage yards, ceding time to some of the newcomers in Houston’s unusually assembled, veteran-filled backfield.
Johnson, 30, suffered a wrist injury that ended his 2017 season after one game. Although he did not clear 1,000 yards rushing upon return in 2018, the 940 he did compile marked somewhat of an achievement due to the Cardinals’ offensive nosedive that year. Still, nothing Johnson has done comes close to his 2016 year under Bruce Arians, one that featured 2,118 scrimmage yards and 20 touchdowns — both figures leading the league.
The Saints did not draft a running back, but they do have holdovers Tony Jones and Dwayne Washington still rostered. A 2020 UDFA, Jones missed time due to injury last season but only averaged 2.6 yards per carry (on 54 totes) in the games he played. The Saints re-signed Washington, who has been a key special-teamer with the franchise since 2018, this offseason.
Kamara was charged with battery resulting in substantial bodily harm in connection with a Las Vegas incident. The sixth-year star could face a 2022 suspension. Ingram, Johnson’s Texans teammate for a stretch in 2021, stands to be Kamara’s backup on a $1.5MM base salary.