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Saints Place RB Jamaal Williams On IR

September 23rd, 2023 at 6:23pm CST by Adam La Rose

Already without their top running back for one more game this season, the Saints will be particularly thin in the backfield tomorrow. Jamaal Williams was placed on IR Saturday, per a team announcement.

Williams has been dealing with a hamstring injury, one which forced him to leave the team’s Monday night win early and miss the subsequent week of practice time. He will be sidelined for at least the next four games as a result of this move. With Alvin Kamara still required to miss one more contest as a result of his three-game suspension, New Orleans will be lacking in experience at the running back spot on Sunday.

With Kamara’s early-season availability in the air, the Saints added Williams on a three-year, $12MM deal in free agency. The latter enjoyed a career-year in 2022 with the Lions, rushing for 1,066 yards and leading the league with 17 touchdowns on the ground. Detroit elected to sign David Montgomery as their early-down and goal line replacement, though, leaving Williams to venture outside the NFC North for the first time in his career.

The former Packers fourth-rounder got off to a slow start to begin his Saints tenure, turning 27 carries into 74 scoreless yards. That 2.7 yards per carry average falls well short of his previous performances, and an improvement will be expected upon return. With Kamara set to resume lead back duties by the time that is possible, though, Williams will no doubt see a reduced role when he next sees the field.

With neither Kamara nor Williams available, New Orleans will look to third-round rookie Kendre Miller and former UDFA Tony Jones Jr. in the backfield in Week 3. The former has yet to see game action in his inaugural season, while the latter scored a pair of touchdowns and received 13 carries in the team’s win over the Panthers on Monday night. Swiss Army knife Taysom Hill is, as always, another option at the Saints’ disposal with respect to the ground game.

Bringing back Williams will require the usage of one of the Saints’ eight IR activations available throughout the campaign. His return will be welcomed, but it will be interesting to see how the team’s backfield pecking order shakes out over the course of his absence.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/21/23

September 21st, 2023 at 7:19pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad moves:

Houston Texans

  • Signed: CB D’Angelo Ross

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Rams

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

The Patriots are struggling with injuries in their cornerbacks room, so the organization added two players to the practice squad for reinforcement. Borders has the most experience, with the veteran appearing in 32 games since entering the league in 2017. He only got into a single game for the Bears in 2022, but he did appear in 12 games with the Titans and Cardinals in 2021. Hearn had a stint with the Chargers after going undrafted out of UCLA in this year’s draft.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/21/23

September 21st, 2023 at 4:42pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Thursday’s minor moves:

Chicago Bears

Houston Texans

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

San Francisco 49ers

The Bears released Peterman on Wednesday, but Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times notes the team was planning to use the roster spot to poach a player off a another team’s practice squad. Chicago’s effort did not produce a signing, however, leaving Peterman’s spot vacant. When a team makes an effort to sign a player off another club’s P-squad, the team can promote the player to its 53-man roster to keep him from being poached. The seventh-year QB, who is in his second season with the Bears, again give the team three active-roster QBs — along with Justin Fields and rookie Tyson Bagent.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/20/23

September 20th, 2023 at 7:55pm CST by Ely Allen

Wednesday’s practice squad transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

  • Signed: RB Carlos Washington Jr.

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/20/23

September 20th, 2023 at 4:01pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Wednesday’s minor moves:

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Steelers placing Anthony McFarland on IR left them with two active-roster running backs. Igwebuike will step in as Pittsburgh’s third-stringer behind Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren. Because the Steelers signed Igwebuike off another team’s practice squad, they must keep him on their active roster for at least three weeks.

Coming back to the Saints after spending the offseason and training camp with the Broncos, Jones scored two touchdowns in New Orleans’ Monday-night win over Carolina. But the Saints had used a gameday elevation transaction to bump the veteran backup to the active roster. Wednesday’s move makes Jones an official part of the Saints’ 53-man unit.

Knight caught on with the Lions’ practice squad shortly after the Jets waived him. With David Montgomery likely to miss time, Knight will join Jahmyr Gibbs and Craig Reynolds as the backs on Detroit’s 53-man roster. A 2022 UDFA, Knight saw time following Breece Hall‘s ACL tear last season but could not stick on the Jets’ roster after the AFC East team’s Dalvin Cook addition.

NFL Suspends Saints S Marcus Maye

September 20th, 2023 at 1:22pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Saints will not have one of their starting safeties available for a bit. Marcus Maye received a three-game suspension Wednesday. This is in connection with Maye’s 2021 DUI arrest, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets.

Maye’s arrest occurred back in February 2021 in Florida, but the case continued until this summer. Maye, 30, received six months’ probation via a plea deal he accepted in August. The former Jets second-rounder is in his second season with the Saints.

This arrest occurred ahead of Maye’s final Jets season, when the team franchise-tagged him before an ACL tear ended the parties’ five-season partnership. Maye signed a three-year, $22.5MM deal with the Saints in 2022. A 31-month gap between an off-field incident and a suspension certainly represents a lengthy span. Maye had entered a not guilty plea initially before pleading no contest to the DUI charge this summer.

The February 2021 incident also brought charges of damage to property and person, along with leaving the scene of an accident. Maye also faced a civil suit stemming from the crash; that case is ongoing. Maye was also arrested on a charge of aggravated assault with a firearm in an alleged 2022 road rage incident, but the Jefferson Parish district attorney’s office cited a lack of evidence and refused charges. Players do not need to be convicted or even charged to receive NFL suspensions, but Maye’s current ban covers the 2021 incident.

New Orleans features a veteran secondary housing Pro Bowlers Marshon Lattimore and Tyrann Mathieu. The team assembled the Mathieu-Maye duo last year, adding Maye in March and then signing Mathieu after the 2022 draft. Maye missed seven games last season due to rib and shoulder injuries.

Maye has delivered early production this season, intercepting a pass in Week 1 and notching a sack in Week 2. The Saints have veteran Lonnie Johnson Jr., fifth-round rookie Jordan Howden and veteran special-teamer J.T. Gray as safety backups. Among this group, Howden’s 26 defensive snaps lead the way this season.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/19/23

September 19th, 2023 at 6:33pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

Tennessee Titans

Michael Dogbe, a former seventh-round pick, got into 40 games for the Cardinals through the first four seasons of his career. This included 2021 and 2022 campaigns where he appeared in 29 games, collecting 55 tackles and one sack. He caught on with the Texans last week and proceeded to appear in about 25 percent of the team’s defensive snaps this past weekend.

Kyle Peko will bring 31 games of experience to the Titans defensive line. The veteran has already been promoted by the Titans twice this season and started both of his appearances, collecting four tackles. He’ll be taking the spot of Jayden Peevy, who got into two games across two seasons with the organization.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/18/23

September 18th, 2023 at 6:06pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Monday’s minor moves:

Carolina Panthers

Denver Broncos

  • Signed off Patriots’ practice squad: DE Ronnie Perkins

New Orleans Saints

The Broncos will take a flier on a former third-round pick. Perkins arrived as a 2021 Patriots third-rounder, coming out of Oklahoma. Injuries intervened for the St. Louis native, who has yet to play in a regular-season game. After not playing for three-plus months to start his rookie season, Perkins landed on IR. The Pats then placed him on season-ending IR in August 2022. Perkins did not make New England’s 53-man roster this year but stuck around via a practice squad invite. Because the Broncos are poaching Perkins off a P-squad, they must keep him on their active roster for at least three weeks.

Saints Sign OL Cesar Ruiz To Extension

September 17th, 2023 at 1:29pm CST by Ben Levine

SEPTEMBER 17: Details on the Ruiz pact are in, courtesy of ESPN’s Katherine Terrell. The 24-year-old will see fully guaranteed base salaries of $1.33MM and $1.35MM over each of the next two seasons, along with an $8MM roster bonus in 2024. Ruiz’s 2025 salary ($9.15MM) will become guaranteed on the fifth day of the league year. Overall, his cap hits will remain flat beginning next season, ranging from $10.65MM to $11MM.

SEPTEMBER 9: Cesar Ruiz is sticking in New Orleans for the foreseeable future. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that the Saints have signed their offensive lineman to a four-year extension. 

[RELATED: Saints OL Cesar Ruiz Still Has Potential Future In New Orleans]

The contract is worth $44MM and has a max value of $46MM. The deal also includes $30MM in guaranteed money. Ruiz was set to hit free agency following the 2023 season after previously having his fifth-year option declined.

Ruiz hasn’t necessarily lived up to his first-round billing through three seasons in the NFL. He became a full-time starter during his sophomore season and has started all 31 of his appearances over the past two seasons. Pro Football Focus hasn’t been fond of his performance, never ranking him higher than 56th at his position (among 82 qualifying guards in 2021).

This past season, Ruiz ranked 59th among 77 qualifiers at offensive guard. He was sidelined for the final three games of the 2022 season after suffering a Lisfranc injury. The front office declined his fifth-year option back in May.

Despite his struggles and the Saints’ lack of commitment, general manager Mickey Loomis implied this offseason that Ruiz could still have a future with the team. The executive described the lineman as an “ascending player” and hinted that Ruiz could be a candidate for an extension. Mike Triplett of NewOrleans.football notes that the lineman was a standout during training camp and preseason, while Jeff Duncan of NOLA.com believes Ruiz “enjoyed one of the best camps of any player on the roster.”

Extra Points: Jefferson, Maye, International Pathway Program

September 14th, 2023 at 9:42pm CST by Ben Levine

An undrafted wideout is working his way back to the field following a tragic car crash earlier this year. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston, the 49ers worked out Louisiana receiver Michael Jefferson today.

Jefferson earned third-team All-Sun Belt honors in 2022 after finishing with 51 receptions for 810 yards and seven touchdowns. Thanks to his performance, the receiver was projected to be a mid-round pick in the 2023 draft. However, Jefferson was injured in a car accident in April that killed another driver, and the player required multiple surgeries.

He was expected to resume his career in 2024, but Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported earlier this month that Jefferson had been cleared by doctors to “fly, take physicals and join a team.”

It sounds like his first opportunity could come in San Francisco. The 49ers are currently stashing four receivers on their practice squad in Willie Snead, Chris Conley, Tay Martin, and Isaiah Winstead.

More notes from around the NFL…

  • Saints safety Marcus Maye got six months of probation stemming from a 2021 driving under the influence charge, per ESPN’s Katherine Terrell. Maye will have his drivers license suspended for six months as a result of the plea deal, and he was also given 50 hours of community service with the opportunity to buy them out. Maye allegedly crashed into another car while driving on the Florida Turnpike and was initially charged with driving under the influence, DUI/damage to property and person, and leaving the scene of the crash. The player also continues to deal with a civil suit from the driver of the other car who is seeking $30K due to injuries.
  • The NFL International Pathway Program has expanded in scope since it’s inception in 2016, with the 2023 iteration allowing teams from the AFC West and NFC North to allocate an extra roster spot to an international player. According to ESPN’s Kevin Seifert, the NFL will provide an international player exception to all 32 teams starting in 2024. There are currently 24 active players who participated in the International Pathway Program.
  • The NFL has established an ownership committee that will evaluate current ownership rules, potentially allowing “institutional capital” to invest in teams, per Ben Fischer of Sports Business Journal. As Liz Clarke, Nicki Jhabvala and Mark Maske of the Washington Post write, this committee could open the door to private equity firms buying stakes in teams, following the ownership rules previously established by the NBA, MLB, and NHL. Mike Klis of 9News in Denver reports that the committee includes Falcons owner Arthur Blank, Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, Chiefs owner Clark Hunt, and Broncos owner Greg Penner.
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