New Orleans Saints Rumors & News - Pro Football Rumors

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.

Saints Place WR Tre’Quan Smith, CB Ken Crawley On IR

September 10th, 2021 at 3:38pm CST by Sam Robinson

Jameis Winston‘s debut as the Saints’ starting quarterback will come without another of his top wide receivers. Tre’Quan Smith will begin the season on IR, Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.football tweets.

The Saints added Smith to their injury report Thursday, and the hamstring injury the fourth-year wideout has battled will shelve him for at least three games. Additionally, New Orleans placed veteran cornerback Ken Crawley on IR. Crawley is also dealing with a hamstring malady.

This injury has dogged Smith for several weeks. He has now tried and failed to come back from it twice. It caused the former third-round pick to miss extensive training camp time. It also comes, of course, at a key point for New Orleans’ passing attack, which will feature a new quarterback for the first time in 15 years. Michael Thomas‘ belated offseason ankle surgery will sideline him for at least the season’s first six games; the All-Pro is on the Saints’ reserve/PUP list.

Crawley represents key depth for a Saints team that has been undermanned at corner this year. The team traded for Bradley Roby earlier this week, however. That acquisition, pairing Roby with fellow ex-Ohio State standout Marshon Lattimore, looms larger now.

Thomas and Smith’s absences will leave Drew Brees‘ successor with a much lower-profile receiving corps. Although Marquez Callaway impressed throughout the Saints’ summer work, the team did not draft a wideout this year and has only return man Deonte Harris, third-year UDFA Lil’Jordan Humphrey and veteran Chris Hogan — who recently left the game to give lacrosse another try — at the position. Running back/wideout Ty Montgomery remains on New Orleans’ roster, and Kevin White resides on the team’s practice squad.

Texans Trade Bradley Roby To Saints

September 9th, 2021 at 1:41pm CST by Zachary Links

The Texans are trading cornerback Bradley Roby to the Saints (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). The Texans will receive a 2022 third-round pick and a conditional 2023 choice in the swap (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com). Meanwhile, as reported on Thursday morning, the Texans will cover $7MM of Roby’s salary this season while the Saints pay the remaining ~$1.8MM.

Roby was hit with a six-game suspension in December for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs. He’s already served five of those games, so he’ll be eligible to play for the Saints in Week 2 when they take on the Panthers.

In ten games (all starts), Roby notched 37 tackles, one interception, a fumble recovery, and seven passes defended. Even though he was briefly deactivated in November, the veteran stood as the Texans’ best corner.

Now, the 29-year-old will jump into a Saints secondary that badly needs reinforcements. Between Roby and newcomer Desmond Trufant, the Saints are in a much better position that they were just last week. Together, they’ll team up with Marshon Lattimore, Ken Crawley, and Paulson Adebo. Meanwhile, free safety P.J. Williams should be able to stick to his natural position.

The Saints will assume the rest of Roby’s three-year, $31.5MM deal, keeping him under club control through 2022. The Texans, meanwhile, will move forward with Terrance Mitchell and Desmond King II as their top corners.

Reworked Deal For Saints’ Bradley Roby

September 9th, 2021 at 10:21am CST by Zachary Links

On Wednesday, the Texans shipped cornerback Bradley Roby to the Saints. In order to facilitate the trade, the Texans first converted ~$7.6MM of his base salary into a signing bonus (Twitter link via Field Yates of ESPN.com).

Now, Roby will have a base salary of $1.86MM, down from his scheduled $9.5MM. In essence, the Texans are absorbing a larger dead money hit so that the Saints can fit his contract under the salary cap. That likely means a better haul of draft picks for the Texans, though the exact return in the trade is not yet known.

Roby won’t be with the Saints for their season opener against the Packers on Sunday, since he’s still serving the final week of his six-game ban. But, after that, he’ll be good to go for September 19, when they travel to Carolina to face the Panthers.

Roby, 29, recorded 37 tackles, one interception, a fumble recovery, and seven passes defended in 2020. In a trying year for the Texans, he stood as Houston’s best cornerback. Now, he’ll join fellow newcomer Desmond Trufant to help New Orleans’ ailing secondary. The veterans will team up with Marshon Lattimore, Ken Crawley, and Paulson Adebo, though Lattimore could face a suspension of his own before the season is through.

Saints To Release RB Latavius Murray

September 7th, 2021 at 4:19pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Saints are set to have a new backup running back. They are releasing Latavius Murray, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets, adding that the veteran refused a pay cut Monday.

While this strips the Saints of another proven weapon, it will give other teams in need at running back an interesting option ahead of Week 1. Murray spent the past two seasons working as Alvin Kamara‘s backup. He saw extensive time during that stretch, surpassing 600 rushing yards in each season.

Murray agreed to a four-year, $14.4MM deal with New Orleans in 2019, coming over from Minnesota to replace Mark Ingram as Kamara’s between-the-tackles sidekick. The team’s pay-cut request certainly came at a late juncture; Murray, 31, was set to make $2.95MM in base salary this season.

Missing just one game during his two-year Saints stay, Murray totaled 1,293 rushing yards with the team. He scored 11 touchdowns as a Saint, filling in for an injured Kamara for short stretches in both seasons, and provided a smooth transition from Ingram. The Saints have fourth-year back Dwayne Washington and second-year UDFA Tony Jones Jr. as their active-roster backs behind Kamara. The latter appears the better bet to take over as Kamara’s primary backup. A Notre Dame product, Jones has three career carries but impressed this summer.

Saints To Sign Desmond Trufant

September 6th, 2021 at 7:44pm CST by Zachary Links

The Saints are expected to sign cornerback Desmond Trufant, (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). The veteran impressed in his Monday workout and will join the club just in time for Week 1.

Trufant missed the Bears’ final cut but also missed the last couple weeks of training camp due to a family situation. A first-round pick of the Falcons back in 2013, the Washington product became a quality starter in Atlanta. He was a full-time first-stringer for all seven of his Falcons seasons and made the Pro Bowl in 2015. He received a massive payday when the Falcons gave him a five-year, $68.5MM extension in April of 2017.

The terms of Trufant’s new deal are unknown, but he’s still going to collect $3.5MM from the Lions for this season. Meanwhile, the soon-to-be 31-year-old will look to fortify the Saints’ banged up secondary.

Saints To Re-Sign Chris Hogan, Trevor Siemian

September 6th, 2021 at 9:24am CST by Zachary Links

They weren’t gone for long. On Sunday, the Saints re-signed wide receiver Chris Hogan and quarterback Trevor Siemian (Twitter link via Mike Garafolo and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com).

Hogan delayed a professional lacrosse career to return to the NFL this summer. The two-time Super Bowl champ signed with the Saints back in July and missed the final cut, but that had more to do with the roster shuffle than anything. After his Patriots run, Hogan spent 2019 with the Panthers and 2020 with the Jets, though both years were marred by injuries. In his five games with Gang Green last year, Hogan had 14 catches for 118 yards. He’ll turn 33 in October and will serve as depth while star Michael Thomas works his way back to the field.

Siemian also lost his spot on Aug. 31, but he was expected to return all along. The veteran will operate as Jameis Winston‘s backup on game days while Taysom Hill occupies a variety of other roles and special teams functions. Siemian, a seventh-round pick of the Broncos in 2015, became Denver’s starter after Peyton Manning retired. He started 24 games for the Broncos between 2016-17, and has bounced around with a few different teams as a backup or third-string since losing that gig. His only recent live action came in one start with the Jets in 2019, when he suffered a devastating ankle injury.

Saints To Sign DTs Jaleel Johnson, Montravius Adams

September 5th, 2021 at 7:48am CST by Rory Parks

The Saints are expected to sign DT Jaleel Johnson, according to veteran NFL reporter Aaron Wilson (via Twitter). The Texans released Johnson as part of final cutdowns last week.

Though Johnson signed a modest one-year, $1.3MM pact with Houston this offseason, his ouster came as something of a surprise given his generally strong performance in training camp and the preseason. Texans GM Nick Caserio elected to go in a different direction, and New Orleans was quick to pounce.

The Saints will be without DT David Onyemata for the first six games of the season due to a PED suspension, and the club lost fellow D-lineman Jalen Dalton — who had been having a good summer as well — to a season-ending injury. That opens the door for Johnson, a run-stuffer who appeared in all 48 games for the Vikings over the past three seasons (including 16 starts in 2020) to come in and compete for snaps.

Montravius Adams is also hoping to carve out a role for himself in the Big Easy. Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reported (via Twitter) that the Saints are signing the former Packers third-rounder, who signed with the Patriots in March but who could not crack New England’s final roster.

Adams entered the league with tantalizing raw ability and physical tools, but he played in less than 600 snaps over the course of four seasons in Green Bay. Last year, he was limited to eight games due to a sprained toe, and he did not do quite enough this summer to stick with the Pats.

With Onyemata sidelined, Adams and Johnson will jockey for playing time alongside Shy Tuttle, Malcolm Roach, and Christian Ringo.

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