New Orleans Saints Rumors & News - Pro Football Rumors

Saints Re-Sign Ty Montgomery

March 6th, 2021 at 8:46am CST by Ben Levine

Ty Montgomery is heading back to New Orleans. NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports (via Twitter) that the Saints have re-signed the veteran to a one-year pact. Specifically, it’s a “veteran benefit deal” that includes a $137.5K signing bonus.

The 2015 third-round pick spent the first three-plus seasons of his career in Green Bay, including a 2016 campaign where he collected 805 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns. He was traded to the Ravens midway through the 2018 campaign, and he served as Le’Veon Bell‘s backup with the Jets in 2019.

Montgomery signed with the Saints last offseason but spent the beginning of the season sitting on IR. With much of New Orleans’ running back corps sidelined by COVID protocol, Montgomery had a chance to start in Week 17, finishing with 105 rushing yards on 18 carries. He finished the 2020 season having appeared in six games, and he made an additional appearance in the postseason.

The 28-year-old has displayed plenty of versatility throughout his career, serving as a running back, wideout, and return man. He’ll likely serve a similar Swiss Army Knife-type role in 2021, although it’ll be tough for him to surpass Alvin Kamara or Latavius Murray on the running backs depth chart, and he’d be (at best) the team’s fifth wideout heading into the offseason.

Saints Restructure Wil Lutz’s Contract

March 5th, 2021 at 4:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Saints continue to methodically move down toward the NFL’s projected salary cap. While they have a long way to go, the team made another move Friday afternoon on the path toward cap compliance ahead of the 2021 league year.

New Orleans will restructure Wil Lutz‘s contract, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). This move will create $1.74MM in cap space for the team. Lutz is attached to a five-year, $20.25MM extension he signed in March 2019. The five-year Saints kicker is signed through the 2023 season.

Many more moves will be required over the next week and change. The Saints entered Friday just more than $60MM over the $180MM mark that represents the floor for the 2021 salary cap. They have begun doing work to clear space, though the lion’s share of this process has yet to transpire.

The Saints released veterans Thomas Morstead and Josh Hill this week and restructured David Onyemata‘s contract. Along with Friday’s Lutz restructure, this work week’s round of moves created upwards of $11MM in cap space. The team still has the most work to do on the cap front of any NFL team as the 2020 league year winds down.

Saints Cut Thomas Morstead

March 4th, 2021 at 1:49pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Saints are cutting a long-time member of the team. New Orleans has released punter Thomas Morstead, Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football confirmed (Twitter link). The news was first reported by Nader Mirfiq (on Twitter).

The move frees up about $2.5MM in cap space. The team unusually kept UDFA rookie Blake Gillikin on the active roster at the beginning of last year before placing him on injured reserve, perhaps signaling they viewed him as the punter of the future. Morstead was more than just the team’s punter, he was also a leader in the locker room and fan favorite due to his long tenure and consistent performance.

Drafted by the Saints in the fifth-round all the way back in 2009, he’s been with them for the past 12 seasons. He’s never missed a game during that span, and he won Super Bowl XLIV with the team. Still only 34, he should have plenty left in the tank physically and should be able to find a new home.

The highest-paid punter in the game for a while, Morstead made the Pro Bowl in 2012 and was also a second-team All-Pro that year. On a zoom call with the media shortly after the news broke, Morstead confirmed he plans to play elsewhere and said last year’s drop in production was due to lingering injuries, Underhill tweets.

He also thanked the fans and Saints, saying “I’m overwhelmed with gratitude and thanks. … My whole experience with the organization has been outstanding,” via another tweet from Underhill.

Saints Release TE Josh Hill

March 3rd, 2021 at 3:42pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Saints’ tight end group will boast a new look next season. With Jared Cook likely to depart as a free agent, the Saints also made the move Wednesday to cut veteran Josh Hill, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.

Still more than $60MM over the projected 2021 salary cap, the Saints will save $2.5MM by jettisoning Hill. One season remained on Hill’s deal. This move comes after the Saints adjusted David Onyemata‘s contract to create $4MM-plus in cap space.

Hill has been with the Saints for eight seasons, having only played in New Orleans as a pro. The Saints gave him a three-year, $8.85MM extension late in the 2018 season. New Orleans then signed Cook in 2019. His contract included a 2021 void year, pointing the veteran elsewhere after a two-year Saints stay.

The Saints continually brought in veteran receiving tight ends — from Coby Fleener to Ben Watson to Cook — while keeping Hill, who began his career when Jimmy Graham was still with the Saints. While Hill did not factor in much as a pass catcher last season, he remained a high-end run blocker. Pro Football Focus graded Hill as its No. 4 overall run-blocking tight end in 2020.

Hill, who will turn 31 in May, played in 117 Saints games and started 61 of those. Barring a reunion down the line, Hill will finish with 116 catches, 1,017 yards and 15 TDs as a Saint.

Saints Gain $4.3MM+ In Cap Room

March 3rd, 2021 at 9:36am CST by Zachary Links

The Saints now have $4.34MM in extra cap room to work with, thanks to David Onyemata. The defensive tackle has agreed to convert a portion of his $7MM base into a signing bonus, kicking a portion of his hit into 2022 and granting the Saints some flexibility in the near term.

Onyemata cracked the Saints’ starting lineup in 2019 and re-upped with the Saints last year on a three-year, $27MM deal. The move garnered mixed reviews since Onyemata wasn’t a tremendous performer in his platform year, per the advanced metrics. Then, he silenced the critics with 44 tackles, 6.5 sacks, 16 quarterback hits, and one interception. Pro Football Focus graded him as the seventh-best interior defender in the NFL, behind only Aaron Donald, Chris Jones, Mario Edwards Jr., Vita Vea, DeForest Buckner, and Cameron Heyward.

Meanwhile, the Saints have also re-signed defensive back J.T. Gray, Rapoport hears. The special teams specialist will stick around on a two-year, $4MM deal that includes $2MM in guarantees.

Saints Shopping DT Malcom Brown

March 2nd, 2021 at 2:43pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Saints are looking to the trade market to help their dire cap situation. The team has begun to shop defensive tackle Malcom Brown, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

A former Patriots first-round pick, Brown is going into the third season of a three-year deal. He is due a $4.6MM base salary in 2021. The Saints moving on from Brown would save them nearly $5MM in cap space. If the Saints are unable to find a taker, a Brown release would seem the logical next step.

Of course, New Orleans would need to do much more than unload Brown to comply with the salary cap. The team remains nearly $70MM over the projected $180MM cap. Mid-tier veterans profile as the players the Saints will look to part with in order to move under the cap.

Brown has worked as a starter for the Saints in each of his two seasons. New Orleans has used the 2019 signee as a first-stringer in 29 games, with ex-first-rounder Sheldon Rankins coming off the bench. The Saints re-signed D-tackle David Onyemata last year and may not be able to carry two veteran contracts at this position under the current circumstances.

Saints Re-Sign Noah Spence

March 2nd, 2021 at 9:33am CST by Zachary Links

The Saints have re-signed edge rusher Noah Spence, according to Katherine Terrell of The Athletic (Twitter link). Due to injury, he has yet to play a down for New Orleans. His new deal is believed to be another one-year arrangement for the sub-$1MM minimum.

The Buccaneers selected Spence in the second round of the 2016 draft and he managed 5.5 sacks in his rookie campaign. Unfortunately, his sophomore season was largely lost to injury and he didn’t really produce in 12 games in 2018. The Bucs waived him prior to the start of the 2019 regular season, leading him to Washington. After two months there, the Saints picked him up in December.

Spence suffered another setback last year when he tore his ACL during spring workouts. Now, it seems like he’s on the road to recovery and ready to compete for a depth spot.

Saints Want To Keep S Marcus Williams

March 1st, 2021 at 4:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

Facing a historic cap crunch, the Saints will still try to retain one of their own marquee free agents. They intend to prioritize safety Marcus Williams, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

Two weeks before the start of the legal tampering period, the Saints are a staggering $69MM-plus over a projected $180MM cap. The franchise has continually faced difficult cap situations, only to navigate them and still manage to bolster its roster — as it did last year via Emmanuel Sanders and Malcolm Jenkins. But this year’s situation presents a final boss-type challenge for New Orleans’ front office.

No other team is within $25MM of the Saints’ present payroll obligations, with the Eagles residing as the league’s only other franchise more than $40MM over the projected cap. The Saints will go through an eventful two weeks to comply with the cap, though the NFL’s in-progress TV deals could help the organization to a degree. It is not certain yet where the 2021 cap will land, which has halted NFL activity to a degree.

Part of one of the best draft classes any team has put together in many years, Williams has been a starter since arriving in the 2017 third round. Pro Football Focus has graded him as a top-eight player at his position in three of his four seasons, including 2020. While 2017 draft classmate Trey Hendrickson figures to have a market as well, Williams has reeled off a much longer run of production with the Saints. Mickey Loomis has acknowledged keeping Hendrickson will be tough.

Williams stands as one of the league’s top free agents, with he and Justin Simmons perhaps residing as the top safeties available. The Broncos are set to make Simmons unavailable, via the franchise tag, which would take a key target off the board. The Jets are also likely to take Marcus Maye off the market via the tag. While other safeties may well be available — from Anthony Harris to Keanu Neal to John Johnson — Williams may be the top prize at this position, should he hit the market. As PFR’s Rory Parks noted recently, a Williams tag — in the $10MM vicinity — will be off the table, meaning the Saints would need to have him extended by March 15 to avoid the talented defender negotiating with other teams.

This Date In Transactions History: Saints Release Jairus Byrd

February 28th, 2021 at 2:47pm CST by Zachary Links

On this date in 2017, the Saints released Jairus Byrd. The safety had still had multiple years to go on his six-year, $56MM deal, but, at this point, the Saints had seen enough.

Byrd joined the Saints as a free agent in 2014, when he was positioned as one of the best talents available in the class. In his previous run with the Bills, Byrd was a star, making three Pro Bowls and intercepted a whopping 22 passes. In New Orleans, he totaled just three picks in three years. For his 33 games (32 starts), Byrd collected $28MM in guaranteed cash alone.

Injuries hampered Byrd throughout his Saints tenure, but he wasn’t a total bust. In 2016 — his age-30 season — Byrd turned in his first 16-start season since 2012. His performance placed him in the middle-of-the-pack among safeties that year (42 out of 89), per Pro Football Focus. So, even though things trending up, he wasn’t worth the megabucks. The Saints recouped $3.2MM of his would-be salary for 2017 but were still left saddled with ~$8MM in dead money.

Unfortunately, Byrd wasn’t able to do much after his release. In the fall, he hooked on with the Panthers to help fill in for an injured Kurt Coleman. After a dozen games and zero starts, Byrd’s Carolina stint marked his last action in the NFL. On the field, Byrd is best remembered for his glory days in Buffalo. In GM circles, Byrd became something of a cautionary tale for teams considering high-priced safeties. The following year, players like Eric Reid and Saints starter Kenny Vaccaro felt the sting of the depressed safety market.

The Only NFL Players With No-Trade Clauses

February 27th, 2021 at 10:30pm CST by Zachary Links

It’s fairly common for disgruntled NFL players to give their teams a short list of acceptable trade destinations. However, it’s still quite rare for players to hold contractual veto power over a trade. Currently, there are only nine NFL players with a no-trade clause in their deals, as ESPN.com’s Field Yates tweets:

▪️ Drew Brees, QB (Saints)
▪️ Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, OL (Chiefs)
▪️ Jimmy Garoppolo, QB (49ers)
▪️ Jimmy Graham, TE (Bears)
▪️ DeAndre Hopkins, WR (Cardinals)
▪️ Patrick Mahomes, QB (Chiefs)
▪️ Deshaun Watson, QB (Texans)
▪️ J.J. Watt, DL (Cardinals)
▪️ Russell Wilson, QB (Seahawks)

The Chiefs, who represent 25% of the list, furnished LDT with a NTC as a part of his contract restructure. Historically, there haven’t been many offensive lineman to secure the clause. However, Duvernay-Tardif had a bit of leverage in 2020 when the Chiefs needed extra cap room. He was scheduled to count for nearly $9MM, $6.45MM of which was comprised of base salary. Instead, he converted some of that money into a signing bonus over the remaining three years and came away with a perk typically reserved for quarterbacks.

Watson and Wilson are among the QBs who can block trades. They’re both putting it to use, albeit in different ways. Watson wants out — even after finally meeting with new head coach David Culley – and he’s steering himself towards a small group of teams, including the Dolphins and Panthers. Wilson, meanwhile, says that he doesn’t want to get traded and doesn’t expect to get traded. But, if the Seahawks do shop him, he wouldn’t mind joining up with the Bears, Cowboys, Saints or Raiders. In beating out several other teams for Watt, the Cardinals included the clause in the star defender’s contract.

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