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New Orleans Saints News & Rumors

Saints Working Out K Aldrick Rosas

August 19th, 2021 at 3:24pm CST by Sam Robinson

Having included Brett Maher in their recent cuts, the Saints continue to search for Wil Lutz replacement options. They are working out a former Pro Bowler.

Aldrick Rosas auditioned for the Saints on Thursday, according to ESPN.com’s Field Yates (via Twitter). A 2018 Pro Bowler with the Giants, Rosas has been unattached since the Jaguars cut him late last month. The Saints also worked out kickers Alex Kessman and Dominik Eberle.

Rosas, 26, is the only one of these three with NFL experience. Kessman kicked at Pitt, while Eberle played at Utah State.

The Giants placed a second-round RFA tender on Rosas last year but cut him soon after the young specialist was arrested following a hit-and-run incident. After serving a four-game suspension, Rosas landed in Jacksonville and kicked in six Jags games. The Southern Oregon product’s 2018 season, when he made 97% of his field goal tries (32-for-33), has thus far been an aberration. Rosas did not clear the 73% barrier in his other three seasons.

The Saints signed Maher last week but waived him days later; Maher sustained an injury in the Saints’ first preseason game. Lutz is expected to miss extensive time due to a groin injury, forcing New Orleans to search for a kicker for the first time in five years.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/18/21

August 18th, 2021 at 4:56pm CST by Zachary Links

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

Arizona Cardinals

Dallas Cowboys

  • Signed: K Lirim Hajrullahu

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Kansas City Chiefs

Miami Dolphins

  • Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: LB Samuel Eguavoen; Eguavoen tested positive for the coronavirus

New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Claimed (from Steelers): OT Brandon Walton
  • Waived/injured: S Raven Greene

Saints To Sign WR Kevin White

August 17th, 2021 at 4:53pm CST by Sam Robinson

Shortly after the 49ers cut Kevin White, the former top-10 pick found a new home. The Saints are signing the veteran wide receiver, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.

White participated in a Saints workout Tuesday, joining fellow wideouts Bennie Fowler, Devin White and Malachi Dupre. Reeling at wide receiver, New Orleans will give White another opportunity.

The West Virginia product played in three 49ers games last season but has not made a regular-season reception since 2018. White, 28, battled injuries throughout his Bears tenure and later caught on with the Cardinals and 49ers. San Francisco cut White last week. Despite their injury issues at wideout, the Saints will give one of the NFL’s most injury-prone players a chance to help fill this void.

New Orleans is expected to be without Michael Thomas for months, and would-be starter Tre’Quan Smith just returned to practice Tuesday after missing two weeks due to a leg injury. The Saints released Emmanuel Sanders this offseason and did not heavily address the receiver position in the draft, which has helped put former UDFA Marquez Callaway in a strong position to contribute this season.

Saints Cut Prince Amukamara

August 16th, 2021 at 8:25am CST by Zachary Links

The Saints have released cornerback Prince Amukamara, as ESPN.com’s Mike Triplett tweets. The cornerback joins defensive end Noah Spence and a handful of other ex-Saints in free agency. 

Amukamara was the No. 19 overall pick in 2011 but he’s been inconsistent throughout his career. He was originally drafted by the Giants and won Super Bowl XLVI with the team as a rookie. After five up-and-down years, he moved on to the Jaguars and the Bears. He spent three years as a full-time starter in Chicago and earned a $27MM extension along the way, but didn’t make it to the end of the deal.

The corner spent 2020 with the Cardinals’ practice squad last year but didn’t appear in a game. The Saints gave him a shot a few weeks ago, but he didn’t quite impress on the practice field. Now, the Saints will continue to look for cornerback help with a possible suspension looming for star Marshon Lattimore.

The Saints may pursue Jaguars cornerback C.J. Henderson in the coming days. But, for now, they’re banking on third-round corner Paulson Adebo, slot corner Brian Poole, and Lattimore’s continued availability.

Sean Payton: Saints Likely To Add CB Help

August 15th, 2021 at 7:23pm CST by Sam Robinson

Although Patrick Robinson did not play a big role with the Saints upon returning to the team that drafted him, the since-retired cornerback was receiving extensive work in training camp and on track to play a big role. Robinson’s retirement has left the Saints even thinner at cornerback.

Marshon Lattimore faces a possible suspension for his March arrest. That prospect would leave New Orleans extremely vulnerable at corner. Sean Payton said in April cornerback was a position the team must upgrade. Following Robinson’s retirement nearly four months later, Payton called corner a “must” position and said a notable acquisition at this spot will likely take place ahead of the season.

“Yeah, we’re paying close attention to that,” Payton said of cornerbacks potentially available (via ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano). “And I would say there’s a good chance for us maybe that player may or may not be in the building right now.”

Certainly not shy about taking big swings in trades, the Saints are believed to be one of the teams interested in Jaguars cornerback C.J. Henderson. New Orleans tried to trade up for Jaycee Horn and Patrick Surtain II in the first round but could not find a team willing to accept its offer to move into the top 10. The team did draft Stanford’s Paulson Adebo in Round 3, but after releasing previous starter Janoris Jenkins and seeing Robinson retire, the Saints are light on proven options opposite Lattimore.

The Saints signed slot corner Brian Poole and Prince Amukamara, but the veteran boundary defender did not play last season. Prior to Richard Sherman‘s arrest last month, the Saints were linked to the outside corner in free agency. Sherman remains available, though the 33-year-old defender faces legal issues presently. Josh Norman, Dre Kirkpatrick and now Quinton Dunbar are also available. The Saints met with Kirkpatrick in June.

Saints To Cut DE Noah Spence

August 15th, 2021 at 6:17pm CST by Sam Robinson

A 2021 rule tweak will force teams to cut down to 85 players by Tuesday, and the Saints included a former second-round pick in their first group of cuts. They intend to release defensive end Noah Spence, according to Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.football (on Twitter).

Despite Spence tearing his ACL in 2020, the Saints brought him back on a one-year deal worth the league minimum. The former Buccaneers second-rounder, however, could not make enough of an impression to stick with the Saints beyond the first cutdown day.

This marks another setback for Spence, who has been a preseason cut previously. The Bucs jettisoned him in August 2019, and while Spence found his way to Washington later that year, he wound up being waived by the NFC East franchise as well. The Saints scooped him up in March 2020, but the ACL tear marred any game action.

An Ohio State cog who transferred to Eastern Kentucky, Spence flashed as a Bucs rookie by registering 5.5 sacks. In 18 games from 2017-18, however, the pass rusher combined for just one. New Orleans did not include any fully guaranteed money in Spence’s latest deal.

The Saints are also waiving running back Stevie Scott, Underhill tweets. The Indiana product caught on with the team as a rookie UDFA but will now head to the waiver wire.

Latest On Saints WR Michael Thomas

August 14th, 2021 at 9:46am CST by Ben Levine

It sounds like tensions between Michael Thomas and the Saints are continuing to cool off. Following a meeting between the wideout and coach Sean Payton earlier this week, Thomas is expected to be in attendance for tonight’s preseason opener, reports Jeff Duncan of NOLA.com.

The writer notes that “Thomas’ attendance came at the request of Payton,” and Duncan wouldn’t be surprised if the two are seen standing together “in a show of solidarity.” Of course, while both sides could put on a fake smile for the press, this seems to be a positive development as the organization looks to overcome their recent fallout.

To review: Thomas is expected to miss a chunk of the Saints’ 2021 campaign due to a late-offseason ankle surgery, and Payton revealed that he would have preferred the receiver underwent the procedure earlier in the offseason in order to be ready for the upcoming campaign. Thomas later fired back at his coach’s comments, leading to the face-to-face meeting earlier this week. According to Duncan, the two sides had a “productive talk,” and everyone left the meeting “feeling positive about the interaction.”

From the organization’s perspective, it always made more sense to resolve the issues vs. trading Thomas elsewhere. For starters, the receiver’s trade value has plummeted; since he shattered the NFL single-season reception record, with 149 in 2019, the Ohio State product has run into injury issues on multiple fronts and was suspended for a game for fighting with teammate Chauncey Gardner-Johnson. The past year has affected Thomas’ standing around the league, with two GMs telling Yahoo’s Charles Robinson that the receiver’s trade value has fallen to the point no first-round pick could be attached in a deal without protections.

Of course, Thomas is also out for a while, so no trade would be imminent, regardless. Further, if Thomas does make a full recovery, it makes sense for the Saints to keep him as they look to kick off the post-Drew Brees era with either Jameis Winston or Taysom Hill.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/13/21

August 13th, 2021 at 4:54pm CST by Zachary Links

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

Chicago Bears

  • Waived: WR Thomas Ives

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Las Vegas Raiders

New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/12/21

August 12th, 2021 at 5:34pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Thursday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed: CB Dominique Martin
  • Waived/injured: LB Randy Ramsey

Indianapolis Colts

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

  • Re-signed: WR Darece Roberson
  • Waived: CB Bryan Mills

Tennessee Titans

  • Signed: LB Reggie Floyd
  • Waived: WR Kalija Lipscomb
  • Waived/injured: OL Adam Coon

Saints, Michael Thomas Working To Resolve Issues

August 12th, 2021 at 4:54pm CST by Sam Robinson

Continuing his downward trajectory from last season, Michael Thomas is expected to miss a chunk of the Saints’ 2021 campaign due to a late-offseason ankle surgery. The All-Pro wide receiver then sent out a tweet seemingly aimed at the Saints’ reaction to his medical decision, adding smoke to this simmering situation.

But cooler heads may prevail here. Thomas and Sean Payton met recently to discuss comments each made about this situation, according to Yahoo.com’s Charles Robinson. Prior to Thomas’ tweet, Payton said he would have preferred his top wideout undergo surgery earlier this year in order to be ready for the season. The issue of Thomas ignoring Saints calls this offseason surely came up as well.

Both parties do not want this situation to escalate further, Robinson adds. This would be good news for the Saints, who are moving from one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history to a far less certain option under center. A Thomas trade would carry a significant dead-money charge as well.

Although other teams have moved past dead-money bloodbaths to separate from players — as in the cases of the Steelers (Antonio Brown), Rams (Jared Goff) and Eagles (Carson Wentz) — the Saints have depended on Thomas as their top target for years. They moved on from Emmanuel Sanders this offseason and do not have much behind Thomas in the way of reliable weaponry. Separating from the two-time All-Pro would leave Jameis Winston and/or Taysom Hill at an extreme disadvantage upon taking over for Drew Brees.

Thomas’ trade value has plummeted as well. Since he shattered the NFL single-season reception record, with 149 in 2019, the Ohio State product has run into injury issues on multiple fronts and was suspended for a game for fighting with teammate Chauncey Gardner-Johnson. The past year has affected Thomas’ standing around the league, with two GMs expressing to Robinson a belief the receiver’s trade value has fallen to the point no first-round pick could be attached in a deal without protections. Another GM, however, added that a healthy Thomas would bring back a package of a first-round pick and change, which would be similar to the haul Stefon Diggs fetched last year. Since Thomas is not currently healthy, this is a moot point.

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