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New Orleans Saints News & Rumors

Saints Add WR Kenny Stills To Practice Squad

September 13th, 2021 at 9:38pm CST by Ben Levine

Kenny Stills is heading back to New Orleans. The veteran wideout is signing with the Saints practice squad, reports NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo (via Twitter). Stills worked out for the team earlier today, and Garafolo notes that the receiver could be a “possible add to their active roster soon.”

The 2013 fifth-round pick spent the first two seasons of his career in New Orleans, including a 2014 campaign where he finished with 929 yards from scrimmage (a mark that still stands as a career high). Stills was traded to the Dolphins in 2015 and proceeded to spend four seasons in Miami, finishing with more than 640 receiving yards per season.

The 29-year-old spent that past two seasons with the Texans. After collecting 561 receiving yards in 2019, the veteran finished 2020 with only 144 yards in 10 games.

Stills joins a crowded receivers depth chart. Marquez Callaway, Deonte Harris, Ty Montgomery, Lil’Jordan Humphrey, and Chris Hogan are on the active roster, and Michael Thomas will take a spot once he returns from injury. The team also has Kevin White, Easop Winston, and rookie Kawaan Baker on their practice squad.

Injury Updates: Penny, Davenport, Taylor, Brown

September 13th, 2021 at 8:00pm CST by Ben Levine

Rashaad Penny has struggled to stay healthy during his brief NFL career, and the Seahawks running back suffered another injury on Sunday. Penny left the game early with a calf injury, and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweets that the 25-year-old is expected to be “shut down for a few weeks” while he recovers. An IR stint could be a possibility for the running back.

Fortunately for the Seahawks, they’re rostering a handful of capable running backs behind Chris Carson, including DeeJay Dallas, Travis Homer and Alex Collins. Head coach Pete Carroll pointed to that depth when explaining why the team would be cautious during Penny’s recovery.

“He’s got a calf strain, so it’ll take us a bit to figure out what the return would be on that,” Carroll said (via the team’s website). “He ran really well when he ran the other night, so we’re going to miss him, it looks like this week, we won’t know. We’ll let you know how that goes. But Alex is ready to go, and both Homer and DeeJay, they’re ready to go too, so we’re in good shape. We had four running backs up this week, so we’re in pretty good shape at the position. Unfortunately, if it takes him a couple weeks, then we’ll figure out how to handle that.”

Penny, a 2018 first-round pick, appeared in only 13 games between the 2019 and 2020 seasons.

Some more injury notes from around the NFL:

  • Saints defensive end Marcus Davenport will be sidelined while he recovers from a pectoral strain, per Rapoport on Twitter. The pass rusher is expected to miss some time but “should be back sooner rather than later.” Following a disappointing 2020 campaign, Davenport was hoping for a bounce-back season in 2021. He was already on his way, as he compiled three tackles, one sack, two tackles for loss, and one QB hit before falling to his injury.
  • Texans defensive tackle Vincent Taylor suffered an ankle injury yesterday that will require surgery, according to Mark Berman of Fox26 in Houston (via Twitter). Taylor is expected to be sidelined for six weeks. Taylor signed a one-year contract with Houston this offseason, and he started Sunday’s game before suffering the injury. The 27-year-old got into a career-high 15 games for the Browns last season, finishing with 12 tackles.
  • Patriots offensive tackle Trent Brown exited yesterday’s loss with a calf injury, but the offensive lineman is now just considered day-to-day, according to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. Brown re-joined the Patriots this offseason after having spent the past two seasons with the Raiders.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/13/21

September 13th, 2021 at 11:35am CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves:

Carolina Panthers

Dallas Cowboys

Las Vegas Raiders

New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/13/21

September 13th, 2021 at 11:33am CST by Zachary Links

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

Carolina Panthers

Dallas Cowboys

Kansas City Chiefs

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Football Team

Shurmur will give WFT another option as Ryan Fitzpatrick recovers from his hip injury. For now, this likely means that Taylor Heinicke will serve as their starter. Heinicke stepped in for Fitz against the Chargers on Sunday, completing 11-for-15 passes for 122 yards and a touchdown.

Saints’ Marshon Lattimore Set For Surgery

September 13th, 2021 at 8:59am CST by Zachary Links

What a day for Marshon Lattimore. The Saints’ star cornerback suffered a thumb injury against the Bucs on Monday night and will need surgery (via PFT). Of course, this all came hours after he agreed to a five-year, $97.6MM extension with New Orleans. 

[RELATED: Saints, Marshon Lattimore Agree To ~$100MM Deal]

Lattimore mostly played through the pain with a cast on his right hand and finished with three tackles and one pass defensed. Still, he’ll need the issue corrected before he retakes the field. For now, he’s considered week-to-week, but the Saints could consider a short-term injured reserve stint pending the outcome. That would allow Lattimore to return after three missed games and retake the field in Week 5.

Fortunately, it’s a minor injury, and Lattimore has all the fiscal security he could ever ask for. His new five-year re-up furnishes him with $97.6MM and $44MM in full guarantees, a record for defensive backs. The deal also includes $68.3MM in overall guarantees and incentives that can take him up to $100MM.

Without Lattimore, the Saints will lean on recent pickup Desmond Trufant for support.

Saints, Marshon Lattimore Agree To ~$100MM Deal

September 12th, 2021 at 7:07pm CST by Zachary Links

The Saints have locked up Marshon Lattimore. On Sunday, the Pro Bowl cornerback agreed to a five-year, $97.6MM extension including $44MM in full guarantees and $68.3MM in overall guarantees. Plus, through incentives, Lattimore can earn up to $100MM over the course of the contract. 

With the new deal in hand, Lattimore has secured the most guaranteed cash of any cornerback or safety in NFL history. He was initially set to play out his fifth-year option — worth $10.2MM — before approaching free agency in the spring of 2022.

The 2017 first-round pick has started all 57 of his games as a pro, missing only seven possible contests on the whole. Meanwhile, he’s notched three Pro Bowl selections in four NFL seasons. That includes his debut year, when he earned Defensive Rookie of the Year honors.

Lattimore, 25, has 55 passes defensed and ten interceptions over the course of his career. He stands as one of the most feared young CBs in the league but, in the interest of equal time, it’s worth noting that the advanced metrics have soured on him somewhat. Pro Football Focus pegged him at a stellar 86.1 as a rookie, followed by scores of 77.5 (2018), 65.6 (2019) and 59.1 (2020).

Still, the Saints recognize his value and had no interest in letting him get away. Now, after helping the team to rank No. 5 in 2020 pass defense, he’s locked in for years to come.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/11/21

September 11th, 2021 at 4:48pm CST by Sam Robinson

With Week 1 games on tap for 28 teams Sunday, here is Saturday’s extensive batch of minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Football Team

Saints Elevate K Aldrick Rosas, S Jeff Heath

September 11th, 2021 at 4:35pm CST by Sam Robinson

Jeff Heath has enjoyed a busy 24 hours, from a transactional sense. The Saints released the veteran safety Friday, added him to their practice squad Saturday and then promoted him back to their active roster.

The timing of this move makes sense for the organization, as it prevents Heath’s 2021 base salary from becoming guaranteed. Had Heath stayed on New Orleans’ active roster and not gone through this spree of transactions, his salary would have been guaranteed for the season.

A former Cowboys and Raiders starter, Heath stands to provide depth behind starters Malcolm Jenkins and Marcus Williams. The Saints have Chauncey Gardner-Johnson and P.J. Williams on their roster, but both hybrid players may be needed at cornerback. New Orleans has seen significant turnover at corner this offseason. While the additions of Bradley Roby and Desmond Trufant stand to help the four-time reigning NFC South champs’ cause, the Saints placed Ken Crawley on IR on Friday.

Rosas joined the Saints last month, trekking to Louisiana after Wil Lutz‘s injury. This will be Rosas’ first Week 1 assignment since 2019. A suspension led to the Giants releasing him prior to Week 1 of last season, during which he served a suspension. A 2018 Pro Bowler, Rosas kicked in six Jaguars games last season.

The Saints also released defensive tackle Montravius Adams from their active roster and promoted defensive tackle Albert Huggins and DB Jordan Miller.

Contract Details: Smith, Amendola, Trufant

September 11th, 2021 at 3:27pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are the latest details on some of the notable contracts recently signed around the NFL:

  • Harrison Smith, S (Vikings): Four years, $64MM. The deal includes $14.2MM fully guaranteed, but Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com notes $26.4MM will be guaranteed by March 22 (Twitter link). Smith’s 2021 cap hit only comes in at $6.99MM. However, the veteran safety’s salary spikes from $2.95MM in 2022 to $14.7MM in 2023. His 2024 and ’25 base salaries ($14.45MM, $17MM) are not guaranteed.
  • Danny Amendola, WR (Texans): One year, $2.5MM. Deal includes a $1.25MM base salary and a $250K signing bonus, Sports Talk 790’s Aaron Wilson tweets. Amendola’s pact features $300K in per-game roster bonuses, with an additional $700K available through incentives.
  • Desmond Trufant, CB (Saints): One year, $1.075MM, Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.football tweets. Trufant’s deal qualifies for the minimum-salary benefit, putting his cap hit at just $850K.

Saints Release S Jeff Heath

September 10th, 2021 at 7:52pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Saints did some roster rearranging Friday. In addition to placing Tre’Quan Smith and Ken Crawley on IR, the team released safety Jeff Heath.

It is possible Heath could be brought back on a team-friendlier deal, one lighter on guarantees, but that is not certain yet. Vested veterans’ salaries become guaranteed if they are on a Week 1 roster. The Saints signed Heath to a one-year deal worth $1.1MM.

New Orleans added the 30-year-old defender to its roster three weeks ago. But the former Cowboys and Raiders starter has made 59 career starts. In addition to starting responsibilities in Dallas and Las Vegas, Heath was on the field for more than half of his teams’ special teams plays in three of the past four years.

New Orleans returns starting safeties Malcolm Jenkins and Marcus Williams and has hybrid DBs Chauncey Gardner-Johnson and P.J. Williams behind them.

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