New Orleans Saints News & Rumors

Saints Release OL Orlando Franklin

Orlando Franklin‘s time with the Saints is over after less than one week. The Saints released him on Tuesday afternoon, per the NFL’s transactions wire (Twitter link via Josh Katzenstein of The Times-Picayune). "<strong

Franklin, 29, signed a deal with New Orleans on Thursday. It’s not clear what exactly went wrong, but the team quickly realized that he would not be cut out to make the 53-man roster.

The veteran played in all 16 games last season – something he didn’t do in the previous year – but he also graded out as one of the seven worst qualified guards in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus. He was released by the Chargers in May and sat on the market until his late July deal.

Meanwhile, the Saints are presumably still on the hunt for offensive line help. Left tackle Terron Armstead and center Max Unger are both currently injured, meaning New Orleans may not reconfigure its front five to include rookie Ryan Ramczyk.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/31/17

A roundup of today’s minor transactions:

  • The Cardinals signed cornerback Jarell Carter and waived/injured linebacker Alani Fua (knee) and cornerback Ronald Zamort (knee). Zamort appeared to be ahead of Brandon Williams on the Cardinals’ depth chart at the time of his season-ending ACL tear.
  • The Bengals waived kicker Jonathan Brown, which means the team’s kicking competition is down to Jake Elliott and Randy Bullock. To fill his roster spot, the Bengals signed safety Cedric Thompson.
  • The Colts claimed former Denver tight end Henry Krieger-Coble on waivers. To make room, the Colts waived tight end Colin Jeter.
  • The Eagles signed cornerback Tay Glover-Wright to a one-year contract, per a club announcement. Glover-Wright is an undrafted free agent with Utah State with just two games of NFL experience on his resume.
  • Wide receiver K.J. Maye, who played in college at Minnesota, has been signed to the Patriots‘ 90-man roster.
  • The 49ers announced that they’ve claimed wide receiver Tim Patrick off waivers from Baltimore and waived/injured fellow wideout B.J. Johnson.
  • The Chiefs have signed free agent wide receivers Corey Washington and Rob Wheelwright, and waived wide receiver Antwan Goodley and tight end Emanuel Byrd.
  • The Saints have signed former South Carolina linebacker Jonathan Walton, tweets Nick Underhill of the Advocate.

Orlando Franklin Had Knee Surgery In January

  • New Saints offensive lineman Orlando Franklin started all 16 games for the Chargers last year after an injury-plagued 2015, but he graded out as one of the seven worst qualified guards in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus. However, Joel Erickson of the New Orleans Advocate writes that Franklin had knee surgery in January, and Franklin says he was never fully healthy during his time in San Diego. This year, he expects to return to the form he displayed during his best seasons in Denver.

Saints Waive Justin Thomas

  • Signed by the Saints and converted to wide receiver earlier this year after a run as a dual-threat quarterback at Georgia Tech, Justin Thomas will need to find another team if he’s going to catch on in the NFL. The Saints cut the rookie wideout, Nick Underhill of The Advocate reports (on Twitter).

Drew Brees Not Pushing For Contract Extension

  • Quarterback Drew Brees signed a one-year extension before last season to remain with the Saints through 2017, but he’s not pushing for another deal this summer, writes Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com. When asked Wednesday whether the Saints have approached him about a new contract, Brees said: “I don’t expect them to I don’t really desire them to. I just want to play football. I want to help this team.” Theoretically, New Orleans is at some risk of losing the soon-to-be 39-year-old Brees after next season, though it seems he expects to eventually ink a new deal with the club. “I know that that stuff takes care of itself,” he commented. “It takes care of itself when it’s supposed to. That shouldn’t be a priority right now.”

Saints Sign OL Orlando Franklin

Orlando Franklin is now a member of the Saints. The former Chargers offensive lineman has inked a one-year deal with New Orleans, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). "<strong

Franklin, 29, came to the Chargers as a free agent prior to the 2015 season, but he did not live up to his five-year, $35.5MM contract. He played in all 16 games last season – something he didn’t do in the previous year – but he also graded out as one of the seven worst qualified guards in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus. In May, the Bolts cut him loose.

With a number of injuries on the offensive line – including starters Terron Armstead and Max Unger – adding depth was a major priority for the Saints. They’ve now added a veteran in Franklin, an interior lineman who also experience playing tackle from his days with the Broncos.

Franklin also met with the Jets on Tuesday, but it’s not clear whether the Jets made him an offer before his trip to New Orleans.

Saints, Orlando Franklin Discussing Deal

Former Chargers guard Orlando Franklin visited the Saints on Wednesday and is discussing a deal with them, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Orlando Franklin (vertical)

[RELATED: Saints Don’t Expect Nick Fairley Return]

Franklin would be a logical fit for the Saints given the injuries they are dealing with on the offensive line. Left tackle Terron Armstead still has 3-5 months to go in his recovery after undergoing surgery on his torn labrum. It’s also not a certainty that center Max Unger will be ready for Week 1 after he had surgery earlier this year to fix a lingering foot issue. Both players are currently on the PUP list along with guard Senio Kelemete, a leading candidate to fill in for Unger if he misses time.

Franklin also met with the Jets on Tuesday.

Saints Don’t Expect Nick Fairley Return

The heart condition that will shelve Saints defensive tackle Nick Fairley this year seems increasingly likely to end his career. Saints doctors don’t expect Fairley to return to the field, according to Joel Erickson of the Advocate, and head coach Sean Payton said Wednesday that the defender’s condition will not improve over time. Further, Payton added that he’s not aware of any procedure capable of fixing it.

Nick Fairley (Vertical)

Payton stopped short of declaring that’s Fairley done for good, saying: “I would never sit at this table and use that word never. As we sit here today, though, we’ve prepared ourselves for him not playing this season. … The good side to that is, fortunately, this was discovered not the hard way.”

It’s possible the Saints will attempt to recoup some of the money they awarded Fairley in free agency, when they re-signed him to a four-year, $28MM contract that includes $9MM in guarantees and an $8MM bonus. Speaking Wednesday, general manager Mickey Loomis didn’t rule out trying to recover some of Fairley’s contract.

“I’d rather not answer that, because I don’t know yet,” Loomis said. “I don’t know how it’s going to resolve itself. Those are difficult questions there. … We’re a lot more concerned about Nick himself than we are about that, although that is a concern.”

It could hurt New Orleans’ cause that its concerns over Fairley’s heart cropped up before the team handed him a new deal, and all 32 NFL clubs have been aware of his condition dating back to 2011. That was Fairley’s draft year, when the Lions chose him 13th overall. Fairley has been effective with the Lions, Rams and Saints over his six pro seasons, but it appears we’ve seen the last of the 29-year-old on the gridiron.

Saints Cut Marcus Murphy, Move Chris Watt To Reserve/Retired List

  • The Saints have waived running back Marcus Murphy and moved offensive lineman Chris Watt to the reserved/retired list, tweets Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com. Murphy, whom the Saints chose in the seventh round of the 2015 draft, served almost exclusively as a return man over his first two years, but he became superfluous to the team thanks to its offseason additions of Ted Ginn Jr. and Alvin Kamara. Watt signed with the Saints just over a month ago and looked like a candidate to function as interior O-line depth. That won’t be the case, though. The 26-year-old entered the NFL as a third-rounder of the Chargers in 2014 and started in eight of 17 appearances with them through last season.

Saints Had Interest In Lucky Whitehead

  • Before he was claimed by the Jets, other teams that expressed interest in Lucky Whitehead were the Colts, Chiefs, and Saints, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (on Twitter) hears from one source. The Bears showed a little interest as well. Reading between the lines, it sounds like the Colts, Chiefs, and Saints may have placed waiver claims on Whitehead while the Bears were on the fence about it as Wednesday approached. Of course, after finishing with a 5-11 record last year, the Jets had higher waiver priority than most.