New Orleans Saints News & Rumors

Saints Adjust P-Squad OL's Salary

Bruce Arians came up with the idea for the Cardinals to acquire Adrian Peterson, doing so after his team’s blowout loss to the Eagles. Arians was driving to the team facility when the concept emerged, Lars Anderson of Bleacher Report notes. The Cardinals coach watched every Peterson carry with the Saints to make sure the 32-year-old future Hall of Famer still had enough to be a solution for an Arizona rushing attack that still ranks last in the league because of its anemic start. Arians then took the idea to Steve Keim, who called Saints GM Mickey Loomis, Anderson reports.

  • Saints practice squad offensive lineman Cameron Tom recently had his salary bumped to $27K+ per week, according to a source who spoke with Nick Underhill of The Advocate. He was previously making $7,200 per week. Assuming he stays on the taxi squad through the end of the season, he’ll earn $344K as opposed to $122K. His weekly pay is now equal to a minimum salaried player on the 53-man roster ($465K). It’s a sign that the Saints think highly of Tom and that other teams have thought about signing him away.

NFL Workout Updates: 10/18/17

Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter:

Atlanta Falcons

  • DE Ricky Ali’ifua; TE Anthony Firkser; DT Nigel Williams, FB Malcolm Johnson; LB Kevin Snyder (link)

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

  • CB Josh Thornton; RB Marquez Williams (link)

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Chargers

  • S Malik Smith (link)

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

  • T Storm Norton (link)

NFL Workout Updates: 10/17/17

Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account unless otherwise noted:

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions 

Houston Texans

  • QB Taylor Heinicke (link via Caplan)

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Washington Redskins

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/17/17

Today’s minor moves:

Buffalo Bills

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Saints LB Nathan Stupar Done For Season

Saints linebacker Nathan Stupar will miss the remainder of the 2017 season after tearing his ACL on Sunday, according to Herbie Teope of the Times-Picayune (Twitter link).Nathan Stupar (Vertical)

[RELATED: Saints Audition RB Khiry Robinson]

Stupar injured his knee while covering a punt, and special teams were a key area of focus for him during his time with New Orleans. In fact, Stupar hadn’t played a single defensive snap this year. He’d seen action on nearly half the club’s special teams plays, however, and helped the Saints to the No. 17 ranking in ST DVOA, a massive improvement from 2016.

Stupar has plenty of NFL experience under his belt, as he’s appeared in 63 games and made nine starts during his five-plus year pro career. He’s under Saints control through 2018, but given his age (29) and his cap number ($2.125MM), it wouldn’t be surprising to see New Orleans cut ties this offseason, as doing so would save the club $1.725MM in cap space.

Not much should change on the Saints’ defense as a result of Stupar’s injury, as Craig Robertson, A.J. Klein, and Manti Te’o will continue to see the most snaps. On special teams, the newly-signed Gerald Hodges and/or Adam Bighill — who was promoted from the practice squad over the weekend — could be deployed more frequently.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/16/17

Today’s minor moves:

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

New Orleans Saints

Oakland Raiders

NFL Workout Updates: 10/16/17

Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account unless otherwise noted:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Detroit Lions

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

San Francisco 49ers

Saints Work Out Khiry Robinson

Days after shaking up their running back depth chart, the Saints are looking into some reinforcements. New Orleans worked out old friend Khiry Robinson on Monday, according to Nick Underhill of The Advocate (on Twitter). Khiry Robinson

The bulk of Robinson’s NFL experience has been with the Saints and he enjoyed best season with New Orleans in 2014. In that year, he had 362 rushing yards and three touchdowns off of 76 carries plus eight receptions for 63 yards.

Robinson hooked on with the Jets in 2016, but it proved to be a jinxed season. First, the running back broke his leg during the Jets’ preseason finale. Then, he returned to the field in December only to injure his leg yet again in his first game back.

If Robinson is healthy, coach Sean Payton & Co. may look to sign him as a backup to top runners Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara. Currently, UDFA Trey Edmunds is serving as the team’s No. 3 RB.

Cowboys To Host LB NaVorro Bowman

The Cowboys will host free agent linebacker NaVorro Bowman following his visit with the Raiders, which will take place on Monday, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Meanwhile, the Saints have also emerged as a possible suitor for Bowman, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (Twitter link).NaVorro Bowman (vertical)

Dallas recently witnessed linebacker Anthony Hitchens return from injury, but All Pro Sean Lee missed Week 5 with a hamstring issue and could potentially be sidelined going forward. Former second-round pick Jaylon Smith, meanwhile, has struggled in his first live action since suffering a devastating knee injury in his final collegiate game. The Cowboys rank just 29th in defensive DVOA and are dead last in rush defense DVOA, so adding a free agent of Bowman’s caliber should be able to improve those marks.

New Orleans’ defense isn’t much better than the Cowboys’, as the Saints ranks 30th against the run per DVOA. They’ve dealt with injuries at linebacker as well, as rookie Alex Anzalone was recently placed on injured reserve, while the team lost a bit of depth by trading Stephone Anthony to the Dolphins earlier this season. A.J. Klein and Craig Robertson are currently garnering most of the second level snaps for New Orleans.

Given the level of interest he’s generated, Bowman is expected to sign quickly — he hopes to have a new deal in place by Wednesday, reports Florio.

Ravens Had Interest In Adrian Peterson

The Ravens had interest in trading for running back Adrian Peterson before the Saints dealt him to the Cardinals, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (video link).Adrian Peterson (vertical)

New Orleans ultimately acquired a 2018 conditional sixth-round pick for Peterson, so it’s unclear if Baltimore simply didn’t want to meet that asking price, or if Peterson perhaps indicated he’d prefer to play for the Cardinals. Peterson claims he did not request a trade away from the Saints, but it’s entirely possible general manager Mickey Loomis & Co. allowed him some say on his destination.

Baltimore has dealt with a number of injuries at the running back position, as Kenneth Dixon and Danny Woodhead are both on injured reserve. While Woodhead is eligible to begin practicing again in late October, the Ravens don’t currently have a timeline for his return, reports Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com. Dixon, meanwhile, will miss the entirety of the season, while Terrance West will be sidelined for a few weeks with a calf injury.

Javorius Allen and Alex Collins have handled the bulk of the Ravens’ carries in recent weeks, and figure to do so going forward. After missing out on Peterson, Baltimore re-signed veteran journeyman Bobby Rainey, who has already earned his paycheck in Week 6 by returning a kickoff for a 96-yard touchdown against the Bears.