Saints Sign G J.R. Sweezy
The Saints have signed guard J.R. Sweezy, per a club announcement. Meanwhile, the club has waived defensive lineman Lorenzo Neal and defensive back Lawrence Woods. The Saints also placed tight end Dylan Soehner on injured reserve, opening up roster spots for Sweezy and their new cornerbacks, Prince Amukamara and KeiVarae Russell.
[RELATED: Saints Sign CBs Prince Amukamara, KeiVarae Russell]
Sweezy offers 117 games of NFL experience, including 104 starts. He spent the first four years of his career with the Seahawks before moving to the Bucs in 2016. Unfortunately, he missed his first would-be season in Tampa and was clearly hampered in 2017 – they terminated the rest of his five-year deal, $32.5MM pact. He returned to the Seahawks in ’18 before joining up with the Cardinals, where he’s spent the last two seasons.
In addition to all of that regular season time, the 6’5″, 310-pound lineman has started in eleven Seattle playoff games. Not bad for a former seventh-round pick. His more recent run with Arizona wasn’t his best work, but he still profiles as an intriguing option for the Saints’ offensive line. The bulk of his work has come at right guard, but he can also pitch in on the left side if needed.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/2/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: LB Jonathan Celestin
Houston Texans
- Signed: LS Mitchell Fraboni
- Waived: LB Nate Hall
Kansas City Chiefs
- Cut from IR: WR Chris Finke
Las Vegas Raiders
- Waived: RB Darius Jackson
- Placed on reserve/retired list: LB James Onwualu
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: QB Case Cookus
- Claimed off waivers (from Seahawks): QB Danny Etling
New Orleans Saints
- Cut: DL Lorenzo Neal Jr., DB Lawrence Woods
- Placed on injured reserve: TE Dylan Soehner
Washington Football Team
- Waived: OL Ross Reynolds
Saints To Sign CBs Prince Amukamara, KeiVarae Russell
All offseason, we’ve been hearing about how the Saints would likely add some veteran cornerback help. Now finally on August 1st, it appears they’re signing two.
New Orleans plans to sign both Prince Amukamara and KeiVarae Russell pending the passing of physicals, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com tweets. We heard last night that the team was hosting Amukamara on a visit. The 19th overall pick of the 2011 draft was a full-time starter with the Bears from 2017-19, but spent 2020 on the Cardinals’ practice squad. The Super Bowl XLVI champ has 99 career starts under his belt, so he’s got plenty of experience. He turned 32 in June.
Russell was a third-round pick of the Chiefs back in 2016. He was surprisingly cut in September of that year, getting waived shockingly early for a 74th overall pick. Russell latched on with the Bengals for the next three seasons, but was mostly a special teamer. He was on the Packers’ practice squad for most of last season, and was elevated to the active roster for a couple playoff games.
In addition to top corner Marshon Lattimore, the Saints also have longtime vet Patrick Robinson and 23-year-old Chauncey Gardner-Johnson on the depth chart. With these two vets soon to be in the fold, New Orleans will now have pretty solid depth at the position after cutting starter Janoris Jenkins this offseason.
Saints To Host Prince Amukamara
The Saints just agreed to terms with running back Devonta Freeman, and he might not be the only big name veteran they add. New Orleans is also hosting cornerback Prince Amukamara for a visit on Saturday, a source told Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football (Twitter link).
The 19th overall pick of the 2011 draft, Amukamara was on the Cardinals’ practice squad last year but didn’t appear in a game. He had spent the previous three seasons as a full-time starter in Chicago. Amukamara was originally drafted by the Giants, and he won Super Bowl XLVI with the team as a rookie. After his first five years in New York he signed a one-year deal with Jacksonville.
After that one season with the Jaguars he signed with the Bears, who gave him a three-year, $27MM extension in March of 2018. In February of 2020, he was cut. He’s never been a top-tier talent but has been a pretty solid starter at times, and he had double digit passes defended in both 2018 and 2019.
New Orleans is also bringing in fellow corner KeiVarae Russell for a workout, as Dan Graziano of ESPN.com tweets. Russell, a third-round pick of the Chiefs in the 2016 draft, has appeared in just 21 games (one start) since he entered the league, so he does not offer nearly the same level of experience as Amukamara. The Packers signed Russell to a reserve/futures deal in January but cut him loose in May.
The Saints have been linked to free agent cornerback help all offseason after releasing Janoris Jenkins back in March, so it wouldn’t be shocking if they made a move here. After top corner Marshon Lattimore, New Orleans also has longtime vet Patrick Robinson and youngster Chauncey Gardner-Johnson. The club also signed veteran slot man Brian Poole last week.
Saints To Sign Devonta Freeman
Devonta Freeman will have multiple chances to stick it to his old team in 2021. The veteran running back and former Falcons star has agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the Saints, according to his agent Drew Rosenhaus.
Financial terms weren’t immediately available, although it’s fairly safe to assume it was pretty cheap. The Florida State product became a starter for the Falcons in 2015, earning second-team All-Pro honors that year. In both 2015 and 2016 he made the Pro Bowl while having at least 1,500 all-purpose yards and 13 total touchdowns. It wasn’t too long ago that he was considered one of the league’s best backs, and a legit weapon in both the ground and passing games.
Multiple injuries limited him to only two contests in 2018, and despite regaining his starting job in 2019 he was cut the following offseason. He signed a $3MM deal with the Giants for 2020, but injuries limited him to five games for New York before he was cut in January. He was then added to Buffalo’s practice squad for their playoff run.
This was the first known interest he’d received this cycle. The 2014 fourth-rounder will now slot in as the third back on a running back depth chart that already features Alvin Kamara and Latavius Murray in New Orleans. It’ll likely take a injury to one of those guys for the 29-year-old to get significant playing time.
WR Tommylee Lewis Visits Vikings, Saints
A Saints return man in four of the past five seasons, Tommylee Lewis remains on the team’s radar. Lewis visited the Saints on Thursday, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.
This meeting comes days after the Vikings brought in the 5-foot-7 return man/occasional wideout for a visit, according to SI.com’s Howard Balzer (on Twitter). That workout, however, came along with Dede Westbrook‘s. The Vikings agreed to terms with Westbrook last weekend, seemingly signaling Lewis would need to look elsewhere to land a 2021 gig.
The Saints have already agreed to multiple reunions with Lewis, whom they initially signed as a UDFA back in 2016. The team did not tender him a contract as an RFA in 2019, and Lewis signed with the Lions. However, he made his way back to New Orleans via reserve/futures deal in January 2020. The Saints cut him last August, but after the Panthers did the same, Lewis migrated back to the Saints and played five games in 2020. Lewis, 28, has only suited up for the Saints in a regular-season game.
The Lewis-Saints meeting comes after news surfaced of Deonte Harris‘ DWI arrest. New Orleans’ incumbent return man was arrested July 16 in Maryland, Katherine Terrell of The Athletic tweets. Harris, 23, was booked on multiple charges. The ex-UDFA has been with the Saints since 2019, when he broke out for an All-Pro season as a rookie return man.
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/29/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: OT Kelvin Beachum, G Deion Calhoun, WR Rico Gafford, C Rodney Hudson, WR Andy Isabella, WR KeeSean Johnson, G Justin Pugh
Houston Texans
- Signed: WR Jordan Veasy
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: CB Holton Hill, DT Joey Ivie
Las Vegas Raiders
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: RB Jalen Richard, RB Theo Riddick
- Signed: RB B.J. Emmons, RB Darius Jackson
- Placed on NFI list: RB Kenyan Drake
New Orleans Saints
- Placed on NFI list: K Wil Lutz, CB P.J. Williams
New York Giants
- Released from IR with injury settlement: RB Taquan Mizzell
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: S Obi Melifonwu
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: OT Chidi Okeke
- Waived: OT Calvin Ashley
Tennessee Titans
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: LB Bud Dupree; Dupree remains on Tennessee’s active/PUP list as well
Washington Football Team
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: DT Matt Ioannidis, CB Chris Miller, WR Curtis Samuel
- Signed: TE Nick Guggemos, LB Justus Reed
Saints To Sign Chris Hogan
Chris Hogan‘s professional lacrosse aspirations will have to go on hold. The free agent receiver apparently impressed in his workout with the Saints today, because New Orleans is signing him to a contract, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network tweets.
Hogan, of course, was a star lacrosse player in college and had been chasing an old dream in the Premier Lacrosse League this summer before the Saints decided to pluck him away. Hogan began his NFL career as an unheralded undrafted player, and was able to eventually carve out a heck of a career for himself. After spending his first couple years on practice squads he broke through with the Bills, and ended up becoming a big part of the Patriots’ recent success.
He won two Super Bowls while playing in New England from 2016-18, then signed with the Panthers for 2019. Injuries limited him to seven games that year, and additional injuries limited him to only five with the Jets in 2020. We hadn’t heard of any other known NFL interest before he suddenly resurfaced today.
In those five games with the Jets, he had 14 catches for 118 yards. He’ll turn 33 in October, and will be a depth piece for a Saints offense that is expected to be without star Michael Thomas to begin the year.
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/26/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here.
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: OL Marcus Henry
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: LB Emmanuel Ellerbee, OL Jason Spriggs
- Cut: RB Tony Brooks-James
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: WR Reece Horn
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: CB Kyron Brown
Denver Broncos
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: S Jamar Johnson, CB Kary Vincent
Houston Texans
- Placed on PUP list: OL Marcus Cannon, OL Lane Taylor
- Cut: LS Mitchell Fraboni
Indianapolis Colts
- Placed on IR: DT Rob Windsor (out for year)
Kansas City Chiefs
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: LS James Winchester
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: P Corliss Waitman
- Cut: K Dominik Eberle
Los Angeles Rams
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: WR Tutu Atwell
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: TE Carson Meier
- Cut with injury settlement: TE Jibri Blount
Minnesota Vikings
- Placed on PUP list: K Riley Patterson
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: DE Kendall Donnerson
- Placed on PUP list: WR Michael Thomas
- Placed on NFI list: OL Derrick Kelly
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: DE Eddie Yarbrough
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: WR Darece Roberson
- Cut: CB Saivion Smith
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: DB Chris Cooper
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: DL Kyle Peko, Anthony Rush,
- Cut: DL Bruce Hector
Saints To Audition Chris Hogan
The Saints will work out a group of wide receivers on Monday, including veteran Chris Hogan (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo). Hogan, who most recently played for the Jets, could help fill in for Michael Thomas as he recovers from his ankle injury. 
[RELATED: Michael Thomas To Miss Time]
Hogan has been spending his summer in the Premier Lacrosse League, reliving his days at Penn State. Hogan played only played one season of college football at Monmouth before transferring to the Nittany Lions where he played lacrosse. Then, he hooked on with the Bills practice squad and eventually became a well-known figure with the Patriots from 2016-2018.
The two-time Super Bowl champ has since spent time with the Panthers and Jets, but injuries slowed him at both stops. With Gang Green last year, he recorded 14 catches for 118 yards.
At the age of 33, Hogan doesn’t profile as a perfect replacement for Thomas. However, the Saints hope to have Thomas — with healthy ligaments — on the field sooner rather than later.