Manti Te’o is back in New Orleans. On Tuesday, the Saints signed the 28-year-old linebacker, according to Sean Fazende of FOX8 (on Twitter).
Te’o wrapped up a two-year pact with the Saints last year and did not sign on with another club for 2019, until now. He didn’t do a whole lot in 2018, but, in 2017, he started in eleven games for the Saints and played reasonably well.
For his career, the Notre Dame product has started in 47 contests, though he’s lost a good deal of time to injuries since entering the league as a second-round pick in 2013.
The Saints hope he can stay healthy, because he’s going to be relied upon for some badly needed depth in the linebacker group. There’s no word just yet on Kiko Alonso‘s status heading into Sunday’s game against the 49ers, but this probably isn’t a great sign for his availability.
The NFC’s contender class (non-NFC East contingent) has separated from the pack, giving the conference a clear top five going into December. With the NFC-leading 49ers set for a historically brutal late-season stretch, cases can be made for each of the top five moving to the home-field advantage bracket position.
While the Cowboys and Eagles are almost certainly vying for the conference’s No. 4 seed, the 49ers, Saints, Seahawks, Packers and Vikings comprise one of the more interesting pursuits of a conference’s No. 1 slot in recent memory. Week 17 in the NFC may not feature many starters resting.
Armed with the ninth-best defensive DVOA figure through 11 games in the Football Outsiders-developed metric’s 34-season history, the 49ers carry a 10-1 record into the regular season’s final month. They made a statement in the first leg of their difficult three-game stretch, a defensive line-keyed rout of the Packers, but still have games in Baltimore and New Orleans (both oddly staying in the early-Sunday time slot) on tap. The 49ers also conclude their season with a Seattle trip. They have not won in Seattle since 2011, when Tarvaris Jackson was at the controls for the Seahawks, and have not earned a playoff bye in seven years.
While the 49ers have the NFL’s second-toughest schedule remaining, the Seahawks’ remaining SOS is not much easier. Their final five games double as the seventh-most difficult stretch run. Seattle (9-2, No. 8 in DVOA) is 9-2 but won in San Francisco during a 6-0 road start. Following their home tilt against the Vikings, who lost in Seattle on a Monday night in December 2018, the Seahawks have a road Rams game scheduled before meetings with the Panthers and Cardinals.
New Orleans does not have it any easier, with the league’s fifth-toughest slate remaining. After the 49ers, however, the Saints (10-2, No. 6 in DVOA) face the Colts at home before outdoor games in Nashville and Charlotte. Since 1994, only the Seahawks (2013-14) and Eagles (2002-04) have earned the NFC’s No. 1 seed in back-to-back years. Illustrating the stakes for the Saints: they are 6-1 at home in the playoffs under Sean Payton, with the loss obviously coming in controversial fashion last season, and 1-5 on the road during the Payton-Drew Brees era.
The Vikings (8-3, No. 7 DVOA) sit 11th in the December SOS rankings but do have each of their divisional home games remaining, with a “road” game against the Chargers mixed in. Were they to stick the landing and reach the playoffs, it would mark an extraordinarily rare run. With no Viking quarterback helping the team to two postseason berths since Daunte Culpepper, Kirk Cousins guiding Minnesota to January football would make six different starting quarterbacks since Culpepper’s 2004 season to lead the Vikings to the playoffs.
With two of their worst offensive games of the decade occurring in November trips to Los Angeles and San Francisco, the Packers (8-3, No. 10 DVOA) have cooled off considerably. They do, however, have by far the easiest road to January among the NFC’s premier quintet. Only the Eagles and Browns face a worse run of opponents than the Packers, who draw the Giants, Redskins, Bears and Lions. The Packers have not earned a playoff bye in five years but appear a stealth threat to make such a push this season.
So which of the NFC’s powers will end up securing home-field advantage? Vote in PFR’s latest poll (link for app users) and weigh in with your thoughts on this race in the comments section.
The Saints have encountered more offensive line injury trouble, and it comes at a bad time. Left tackle Terron Armstead is believed to have suffered a high ankle sprain, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The standout blocker will miss Thursday’s game against the Falcons, and while New Orleans’ subsequent mini-bye would give the seventh-year blocker a chance to return against the 49ers, these are usually multi-week injuries. With left guard Andrus Peat sidelined with a broken arm, the Saints may be missing the left side of their high-end offensive line when they face the 49ers’ dominant pass rush in Week 14. Journeyman Patrick Omameh, whom the Giants cut after his short run as one of their guard starters, replaced Armstead on Sunday.
Holmes is a former rugby star who came over as part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway program. Interestingly, he is expected to “return to his native Australia to rejoin the National Rugby League,” reports Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. Ortiz had worked out for the Saints about a month ago, so the signing isn’t surprising.
November 13th, 2019 at 9:53pm CST by Dallas Robinson
The Saints have designated wide receiver Keith Kirkwood to return from injured reserve, according to Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Kirkwood, 25, suffered a hamstring injury in mid-September that knocked him to the sideline. He’s now returned to practice, opening a 21-day window during which New Orleans must either activate Kirkwood to its 53-man roster or leave him on IR for the remainder of the year.
A 2018 undrafted free agent out of Temple, Kirkwood spent the first half of his rookie campaign on the Saints’ practice squad before being promoted. He went on to play 44% of New Orleans’ remaining offensive snaps, posting 13 receptions for 209 yards and two touchdowns in the process.
The Saints’ wide receiver corps has mostly been a one-man show thus far in 2019 — Michael Thomas leads the club with 86 receptions, while Ted Ginn is second among wideouts with just 20. Kirkwood should factor in as back-of-the-roster depth while also playing on special teams.
November 13th, 2019 at 3:48pm CST by Zachary Links
Saints guard Andrus Peat will undergo surgery for a broken arm, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears. After the operation, he’s expected to miss six weeks of action.
Peat, 26, was a 2015 first-round pick and a Pro Bowler in 2018. He’s currently playing out his fifth-year option and is ticketed for free agency in March, so it’s an especially bad time for an extended absence.
Since ’15, Peat has appeared in 64 games, including 59 starts. He’s been playing reasonably well this season, though not quite at his previous Pro Bowl level.
The Saints offense, by and large, has been clicking tremendously. They’re 7-2, even after Sunday’s surprising loss to the Falcons. Next up: a shot at NFC South redemption against the Bucs, in Tampa.
In the interim, the Saints are expected to turn to Will Clapp as their new starter at left guard.
November 11th, 2019 at 10:34am CST by Zachary Links
Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore suffered a hamstring strain that has him considered week-to-week, a source tells NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). The injury forced Lattimore out of Sunday’s loss to the Falcons and it sounds like it may keep him out of action for additional games.
Soon after Lattimore exited Sunday’s game, Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones torched the Saints’ D for a 54-yard reception. Lattimore, 23, has 38 tackles and one interception through nine games and ranks as Pro Football Focus’ No. 31 CB in the NFL. The advanced metrics put him ahead of A.J. Bouye, Stephon Gilmore, Malcolm Butler, Darius Slay, Janoris Jenkins, and several other big names at the position.
The surprising loss on Sunday aside, the Saints are among the best in the league and continue to hold a solid lead in the NFC South. But, they have a critical stretch of games coming up against all three of their divisional rivals, including a grudge match against Atlanta on Thanksgiving. There’s no question that losing Lattimore would hurt as they look to lock down their playoff positioning, so the Saints will be keeping their fingers crossed today.
Lattimore, a 2017 first-round pick, is under contract through the 2020 season thanks to his rookie deal. The Saints can keep him through 2021 via the fifth-year option, but they’ll have to budget appropriately in order to keep him for 2022 and beyond.
