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New Orleans Saints News & Rumors

Breer: Saints Logical Landing Spot For Peterson

October 23rd, 2018 at 9:52pm CST by Ben Levine

Since we learned that Cardinals defensive back Patrick Peterson asked for a trade, we’ve heard that both the Eagles and Saints have inquired on the Pro Bowl cornerback. Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News has a new name to add to the list of suitors: the Jets. The reporter tweets that the Jets reached out to the Cardinals about Peterson, but New York isn’t expected to pull off a trade.

[SOURCE LINK]

  • Albert Breer of SI.com doesn’t believe the Cardinals are motivated to move Peterson, and the recent trade request won’t force their hand. The veteran is still one of the top coverage cornerbacks in the NFL, and his salary over the next two seasons doesn’t break the bank. If the team were to make a move, Breer points to the Saints and Chiefs as logical landing spots.
  • Despite the Giants‘ trade of Eli Apple earlier today, head coach Pat Shurmur wanted to make it clear that the team wasn’t giving up on this season. “We’re not throwing in the towel,” Shurmur said (via Ralph Vacchiano of SNY on Twitter). “This will give an opportunity for some young players and newer players to have an opportunity to play.” The Giants sent the cornerback to the Saints earlier today, receiving a 2019 fourth-round pick and 2020 seventh-round pick in return.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/23/18

October 23rd, 2018 at 7:24pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Oakland Raiders

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Giants Trade CB Eli Apple To Saints

October 23rd, 2018 at 11:47am CST by Zachary Links

The Giants traded cornerback Eli Apple to the Saints, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. In return, the Giants will receive a 2019 fourth-round pick in 2019 and a seventh-round pick in 2020. 

The Saints secondary now features three former Ohio State stars in Marshon Lattimore (2017 first-round cornerbacks), Apple (2016 first round cornerback) and Vonn Bell (2016 second-round safety).

The third-year cornerback was inconsistent in his first two NFL seasons, but has been playing a bit better in 2018. In his five games (all starts), Apple has five pass deflections, one forced fumble, and 22 total tackles. On the flipside, the numbers at Pro Football Focus indicate that his performance has been roughly comparable to last year. Apple is ranked as PFF’s No. 55 cornerback through seven weeks.

Many expected the Saints to explore a trade for Patrick Peterson, but that would have required a much greater expenditure of draft capital. The Saints don’t have much to offer in that regard anyway after sacrificing their 2019 first-round pick in the Marcus Davenport deal and their 2019 third-rounder in the Teddy Bridgewater trade.

In Apple, the Saints get a former No. 10 overall pick who could be a contributor with the right direction. The Giants, meanwhile, get to unload an unwanted salary over the next two years while adding assets to fuel their rebuild. With that in mind, the Giants probably aren’t done dealing and could make more moves between now and the Mischief Night deadline.

Saints, Eagles In On Patrick Peterson

October 22nd, 2018 at 2:44pm CST by Sam Robinson

Two NFC teams are attempting to pry Patrick Peterson away from the Cardinals. The Saints and Eagles have been calling the Cards for weeks about the three-time All-Pro cornerback, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets.

The Saints, in particular, may be a team to watch. Former NFL cornerback Bryant McFadden, Peterson’s cousin, said New Orleans is the preferred destination (Twitter link). Peterson, of course, went to college at LSU en route to becoming a top-five pick.

New Orleans has 2017 defensive rookie of the year Marshon Lattimore anchoring its cornerback corps but has not received much in the way of consistency on the other side. Patrick Robinson is expected to miss the rest of the season, and Ken Crawley and P.J. Williams are two of Pro Football Focus’ 10 lowest-graded full-time cornerbacks. Peterson sits fourth on this list through seven games.

Philadelphia is obviously not averse to splashy moves, either, and the defending Super Bowl champion is reeling after dropping to 3-4 on Sunday. Ronald Darby is in a contract year, and younger Philly corners Sidney Jones and Rasul Douglas have not exhibited much consistency this season.

The Eagles sit 24th in pass defense; the Saints 28th. Philadelphia restructured Fletcher Cox‘s contract with the purpose of adding 2019 funds to potentially keep more in-house talent long-term. However, that reworking now has the team holding $10MM-plus in 2018 cap space. The Saints have less than $2MM, which would make fitting Peterson’s $6.47MM remaining ’18 cap figure more difficult.

Saints, Eagles Could Be Aggressive At Trade Deadline

October 21st, 2018 at 9:42am CST by Rory Parks

The Saints and Eagles are expected to be among the most aggressive teams in advance of the October 30 trade deadline, per Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, who adds that the two clubs are interested in a few of the same players.

Interestingly, La Canfora writes that Philadelphia is still monitoring the trade markets for Le’Veon Bell and LeSean McCoy, though recent reports surrounding both running backs suggest that they will be staying with their current teams. Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer says it would not cost much to get McCoy, despite what the Bills have been saying, but it does not seem likely that the Eagles will reunite with their former star. Instead, in keeping with previous reports, it sounds as if the Eagles are content with their running back situation, and Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets that the team sees a defensive tackle, secondary help, and a field-stretching wide receiver as bigger priorities.

La Canfora also writes that the Eagles are seeking another receiving option and a quality corner, and he says the Saints are looking for upgrades at the same positions. The Raiders are said to be shopping Amari Cooper, who is probably the best wide receiver who could be had at the deadline, but Larry Fitzgerald and Emmanuel Sanders may also be in play. Meanwhile, Eli Apple, Gareon Conley, and Bradley Roby are some of the corners who have been attracting the interest of rival clubs.

The Saints are currently 4-1 and are atop the NFC South, and they are clearly in win-now mode as they hope to bring home another Lombardi Trophy before Drew Brees, 39, hangs up the cleats. The defending champion Eagles are just 3-3 but are very much alive in the wide open NFC East.

Katzenstein: Saints Unlikely To Retain Teddy

October 20th, 2018 at 6:57pm CST by Sam Robinson
  • Teddy Bridgewater is also in a walk year, and the timing of the Saints‘ trade to acquire the Jets reserve passer suggests they’ll be interested in attempting to convince the former first-round pick to stay as Drew Brees‘ successor. But next year’s quarterback market doesn’t look to be as strong as this year’s, and Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com doesn’t expect Bridgewater to be with the Saints in 2019. Bridgewater signed with the Jets for one year and $6MM, with an incentive package that can now be classified as NLTBE. Prior to any major cuts, Bridgewater and Tyrod Taylor stand to be the centerpiece attractions in the 2019 free agent quarterback class. Katzenstein expects Bridgewater to wait and sign for far more money than the Saints, with Brees still operating in high gear, will be willing to pay him.

Saints View Ted Ginn As IR-Return Option

October 20th, 2018 at 2:49pm CST by Sam Robinson

Ted Ginn‘s season may not be over. The Saints view the veteran wide receiver as a player who has a good chance of returning from injured reserve.

Sean Payton said (via NOLA.com’s Josh Katzenstein) the possibility of Ginn coming back this season is “very realistic.” A Ginn knee injury prompted the Saints to move him to IR, but he’s already undergone arthroscopic surgery, Katzenstein notes.

Ginn played through the injury early in the season before inflammation shelved him, and he now won’t be able to return until Week 15. The Saints can attempt to rely on Cameron Meredith and Tre’Quan Smith as their top Michael Thomas sidekicks, but Ginn played well in this role a season ago. New Orleans has not brought anyone off IR yet, making the 33-year-old wideout a logical choice to be one of the two players that resurfaces in 2018.

The 12th-year veteran posted 787 yards last season, his most since 2008, and caught four touchdowns. He’s in the second season of a three-year, $11MM deal. With the Saints having returned to the playoffs last year and being on a four-game win streak, it would be shocking if they weren’t in position to contend for the NFC South title again this season, so veteran IR-return candidates would make sense for the reigning division champs.

Saints Place Ted Ginn On IR

October 18th, 2018 at 4:28pm CST by Zachary Links

Ted Ginn‘s season may be over. On Thursday, the Saints placed the wide receiver on injured reserve, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. 

Ginn missed the Saints’ Week 5 win over the Redskins with a knee injury, apparently, did not recover much over the Week 6 bye. It’s a bad blow for the Saints, but they got by just fine against Washington thanks to rookie Tre’Quan Smith, Cameron Meredith, and the return of pass-catching tailback Mark Ingram. The Saints would prefer to have Ginn on the field, but they certainly have enough weapons to survive.

Ginn, 33, never quite justified his selection at No. 9 overall in 2007, but he has been a valuable receiver and return man since joining the Saints in 2017. Last year, the speedster had a career-high 787 yards off of 53 catches, plus four touchdowns. In four games this year, Ginn had 12 grabs for 135 yards and two touchdowns.

Ginn, in theory, could return after eight weeks of inaction, but that will all depend on his recovery and whether or not he needs surgery. The Saints’ first game without the veteran will come on Sunday against a resurgent Ravens defense.

Saints To Re-Sign Michael Ola

October 18th, 2018 at 1:39pm CST by Zachary Links

The Saints re-signed veteran offensive lineman Michael Ola, according to a league source who spoke with Josh Katzenstein of the The Times-Picayune. The deal may be an indication the Saints will be without a lineman or two this week.

Left tackle Terron Armstead (knee) and left guard Andrus Peat (head) were both limited in practice on Wednesday, so the status of one or both players may be in doubt for Sunday’s late slate tilt against the Ravens. The Saints, ideally, do not want to shuffle a front five that has been among the league’s best this year.

The 4-1 Saints lead the league in scoring with 36 points per game and the O-Line has allowed quarterback Drew Brees to get sacked just eight times so far. Meanwhile, Alvin Kamara and the recently activated Mark Ingram have been the beneficiaries of wide running lanes, resulting in a team average of 4.1 yards per carry.

Ola, 30, was with the Saints this offseason and was a backup with the team in Week 1. This time, he’s hoping to take off his coat and stay a while.

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