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New Orleans Saints News & Rumors

Saints Sign Entire Draft Class

May 10th, 2019 at 10:34am CST by Zachary Links

That’s a wrap! On Friday, the Saints announced that they have signed their entire draft class:

All players will receive four-year deals. But, naturally, McCoy gets the biggest payout of the bunch. His draft slot at No. 48 overall gives him almost $6.1MM in total, with a signing bonus of nearly $2.5MM.

McCoy spent three years as the Aggies’ starting center, but he also made a pair of starts at guard in 2017. With the Saints, McCoy is expected to compete for the starting center job, though he could theoretically see time at left or right guard.

The Saints had a condensed draft class this year, due in part to the two trades they made to land McCoy and Gardner-Johnson. Last year, Gardner-Johnson made 71 tackles, nine tackles for loss, three sacks, and came away with a team-high four interceptions. He already has a relationship with secondary coach Aaron Glenn and couldn’t be happier to be in New Orleans.

“It’s the best all around team from top to bottom, offense and defense,”Gardner-Johnson said recently. “I’m just coming into a system where everything has a standard. I’m just going to come in and live up to that standard so everyone on the team and in the front office upstairs can be proud of me and say these guys are set.”

 

 

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/7/19

May 7th, 2019 at 5:41pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Tuesday’s minor moves, with the list being updated throughout the night:

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Kansas City Chiefs

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

  • Signed: WR Deonta Harris

Philadelphia Eagles

Tennessee Titans

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/6/19

May 6th, 2019 at 3:31pm CST by Zachary Links

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

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Green Bay Packers

Kansas City Chiefs

  • Reserve/non-football injury list: DE Tim Ward

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants 

  • Signed: G Austin Droogsma

New York Jets

Oakland Raiders

San Francisco 49ers

Saints Sign 14 UDFAs

May 4th, 2019 at 8:11pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Saints became the latest team to announce their undrafted free agent class, inking 14 players. A couple received notable signing bonuses:

  • Carl Granderson, DE (Wyoming) ($15,000 signing bonus, $70,000 base salary guaranteed, per Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com. )
  • Ethan Greenidge, OT (Villanova) ($7,500 signing bonus, $30,000 base salary guaranteed, per Katzenstein)
  • Nick Moore, LS (Georgia)
  • Porter Gustin, LB/DE (USC
  • Lil’Jordan Humphrey, WR (Texas)
  • Derrick Kelly, OT (Florida State)
  • Darnell Holland, RB (Kennesaw State)
  • Jake Powell, TE (Monmouth)
  • Darrell Williams, LB (Auburn)
  • Emmanuel Butler, WR (Northern Arizona)
  • Chase Hansen, LB (Utah)
  • Mike Herndon, OG (Pittsburgh)
  • Corbin Kaufusi, DE (BYU)
  • Darius Williams, DB (Colorado State-Pueblo)

New Orleans gave Granderson, the Wyoming pass-rusher, a hefty sum of $85K guaranteed. Granderson is a talented player who almost certainly would’ve been drafted if not for his ongoing legal situation. Many analysts gave Granderson a mid-round grade, but he’s facing a July trial on sexual assault charges. Granderson has denied the charges, and it will be a situation worth monitoring this summer.

Greenidge also got significant guarantees, and the Saints could view him as a good longterm developmental option on the offensive line. Gustin was another player many thought had a chance to be drafted, and he was productive in college. In just six games at USC last season, he had 7.5 sacks. He’s struggled with injuries each of the past two seasons, but if he can stay healthy he should have a good shot at making the team.

The Saints sometimes struggled for consistent receiving options behind Michael Thomas last year, and Humphrey had 1,176 yards and nine touchdowns for Texas last season, so he could be worth a look.

Saints To Work Out Sam Young, Ulrick John

May 3rd, 2019 at 3:09pm CST by Sam Robinson

Although the Saints only had one pick in the first three rounds of last week’s draft, they used it on an offensive lineman, Erik McCoy. The team is still exploring veteran front-five depth, however.

The Saints will audition both Sam Young and Ulrick John, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk report (Twitter links). John’s workout is slated for May 10, when New Orleans will hold its rookie minicamp.

While Derek Newton is the most experienced Saints backup offensive lineman, he has played in one game since October 2016 due to the two patellar tendon tears he suffered in his Texans finale. Michael Ola also resides on New Orleans’ roster.

Young, 31, served as a swing option for the Dolphins the past three years. The 6-foot-8 tackle started eight games in that span and was a nine-game starter in Jacksonville between the 2014 and ’15 seasons. Also a tackle, John has not played since the 2017 season and has not seen action with the same franchise in consecutive years. His most relevant NFL work came in three starts for the 2016 Cardinals.

Additionally, the Saints will work out former Lions and Bears fullback Michael Burton, Herbie Teope of NFL.com tweets. That audition will also take place at next weekend’s rookie camp. Like Young and John, Burton is a former Day 3 pick. He played four seasons combined with the NFC North franchises. Burton played just 49 snaps last season in Chicago but graded out well, per Pro Football Focus.

Saints To Decline Eli Apple’s Option

May 1st, 2019 at 10:59am CST by Zachary Links

This will be a prove-it year for cornerback Eli Apple. The Saints will not exercise the former first-round pick’s option for 2020, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). 

The Saints had until Friday to exercise the 2020 option for Apple, which would have paid him $13.7MM (guaranteed for injury only) in the additional season. Given that Apple has missed time in the past, the extra year would have been a bit of a gamble.

Still, Apple has given the Saints reason to believe in his abilities. After coming over from the Giants in a midseason trade, the 23-year-old (24 in August) logged two interceptions and started in all ten of his games in New Orleans. Apple graded out as just the No. 64 ranked corner in the NFL, according to the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus, but it’s clear that the change of scenery has helped him.

For now, Apple will earn just $2.5MM in base pay for 2019, making him a solid value as a starter. If he takes another step forward in 2019, a more lucrative deal could be in his future.

Jets Trade No. 105 To Saints

April 27th, 2019 at 11:16am CST by Ben Levine

The Jets have acquired more picks. ESPN’s Field Yates reports (via Twitter) that the Jets have sent No. 105 to the Saints. New Orleans will send New York No. 116 and No. 168.

The Saints have used the selection on Florida safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson. The rangy nickel defensive back was expected to be drafted on Day 2, so it’s understandable that the Saints traded up to acquire him.

New Orleans has Marcus Williams and Vonn Bell slotted in as their starting safeties. Gardner-Johnson is unlikely to push either player for a starting gig, but he should compete with Chris Banjo and J.T. Gray for backup reps.

Dolphins Ship No. 48 Pick To Saints

April 26th, 2019 at 7:22pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Dolphins will acquire more draft capital, dealing the No. 48 overall pick to the Saints. This will involve three picks coming back to Miami.

Involved in dealing high draft choices in recent years, the Saints will send picks 62 and 200 in this draft to the Dolphins. New Orleans will also part with a 2020 second-rounder to move up 14 spots in this year’s second round. The Saints will also collect a Dolphins 2019 fourth-rounder (No. 116).

And the Saints will use this selection to add center Erik McCoy. Max Unger‘s retirement has now preceded New Orleans signing Nick Easton and using its only pick in the first four rounds to add one of this draft’s top interior linemen.

For the Dolphins, this may keep their Josh Rosen talks alive. They were reluctant to part with the No. 48 pick for Rosen, but with the team dropping in this year’s second round and adding a 2020 Round 2 pick, perhaps the Fins and Cardinals can come to an agreement.

Saints Pick Up Sheldon Rankins’ Option

April 24th, 2019 at 9:16am CST by Zachary Links

The Saints are picking up defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins‘ fifth-year option, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The money is guaranteed for injury, so, as Rapoport notes, it’s a sign they believe Rankins will make a full recovery from his Achilles injury. 

Rankins, one of the best young defensive linemen in the game, is likely to begin the 2019 regular season on the physically unable to perform list, which would force him to miss the first six games of the year. Rankins, 25, played the most snaps of any Saints defensive tackle in 2018, managing 40 tackles (12 for loss), eight sacks, and 15 quarterback hits in the process. Pro Football Focus, meanwhile, graded Rankins as the No. 23 interior defender among 119 qualifiers.

With the additional year, Rankins will be under contract through the 2020 season. And, when he takes the field this year, he’ll help anchor a D-Line that has been overhauled by the additions of Malcom Brown and Mario Edwards Jr. Meanwhile, defensive tackle Tyeler Davison and Alex Okafor will not return after signing with the Falcons and Chiefs, respectively.

Saints CB Ken Crawley Signs RFA Tender

April 23rd, 2019 at 9:39pm CST by Rory Parks

Saints CB Ken Crawley has signed his original round RFA tender, as veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer tweets. We learned last week that Crawley would be signing the tender, as he had not garnered any interest from rival clubs.

The lack of interest is not surprising, even though a team that signed Crawley to an offer sheet would not have needed to send any draft compensation to the Saints (since Crawley entered the league as an undrafted free agent). Crawley was demoted from his starting role prior to New Orleans’ Week 3 matchup last year, and although he was reinstated as a starter for the next three contests, he wound up appearing in only ten games and did not return to the starting lineup.

That was quite a contrast from his 2017 campaign, when he started all 13 games that he appeared in. But in 2018, Crawley finished as a bottom-three cornerback, per Pro Football Focus‘ advanced metrics, and although he is now under contract for 2019, his $2.025MM salary is not guaranteed, so he could be cut without any cap repercussions.

For his career, Crawley has 128 tackles, an interception, a forced fumble, and 31 passes defensed.

 

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