Saints Notes: Brees, Breaux, Armstead
- Saints quarterback Drew Brees said Tuesday that he texted “Wow” to agent Tom Condon after Lions signal-caller Matthew Stafford signed a five-year, $135MM extension Monday (via Mike Triplett of ESPN.com). Stafford’s deal will pay him $27MM per year – a figure the highly accomplished Brees could rival when he signs a new pact in the next eight months or so. Of course, the 38-year-old Brees’ age will prevent him from approaching Stafford’s pact in length or total value. Brees, who’s on the one-year, $24.25MM extension he signed last summer, has indicated that he won’t worry about his next contract until after the season.
- Saints cornerback Delvin Breaux is likely to begin the season on injured reserve and come off IR later in the year, Herbie Teope of NOLA.com writes. Breaux, who fractured his fibula in mid-August, won’t be eligible to return until Week 9 if he does head to IR. Teams are allowed to designate two players to return from IR during the season. Meanwhile, it’s possible left tackle Terron Armstead will avoid spending the first six weeks of the season on the reserve/physically unable to perform list because he “might be ready earlier” than that time frame, head coach Sean Payton said Tuesday. Armstead went down with a torn labrum in mid-June and is currently on the active/PUP list.
Saints Place John Phillips On IR
New Orleans Saints
Saints Release DE Jason Jones
The Saints have released veteran defensive end Jason Jones, according to a source who spoke with Josh Katzenstein of The Times-Picayune (on Twitter). It was a short stay in New Orleans for Jones as he was signed roughly two weeks ago. 
Jones, 31, appeared in 14 games last season with Miami, racking up 22 tackles and 3.5 sacks. Late last year, he was slapped with a substance abuse violation that prompted the Dolphins to release him before their first-round playoff game against the Steelers. The unfortunate ending to Jones’ 2016 campaign might be the culprit for the lack of interest he received this summer. Jones sat on the market until the Saints came calling in August, and now he’s out of work once more.
The veteran, who has 109 career games (70 starts) under his belt, has also spent time with the Titans, Seahawks, and Lions.
Eagles Trade LS Jon Dorenbos To Saints
Monday’s been oddly populated by long-snapping news, and the Eagles and Saints jumped into the fray toward the end of the day.
Philadelphia traded long snapper Jon Dorenbos to New Orleans in exchange for a 2019 seventh-round pick, the Eagles announced Monday night.
Dorenbos spent 11 seasons with the Eagles and has been snapping since 2003. The 37-year-old figures to take over the Saints’ specialty snapping duties. The longest-tenured Eagle, Dorenbos made two Pro Bowls — in 2009 and 2014 — and made enough of an impact for owner Jeffrey Lurie to release as statement (via Geoff Mosher of FanRag Sports, on Twitter) thanking him for his contributions over the past decade.
The 15th-year snapper signed a three-year extension in 2016, and $500K of his $1MM base salary is fully guaranteed, as Adam Caplan of ESPN.com points out (on Twitter). Caplan adds (via Twitter) $500K of Dorenbos’ 2018 salary ($1.015MM) becomes fully guaranteed on March 18.
Rick Lovato will take over the Philly gig. The 24-year-old Lovato snapped in seven games with the Packers, Redskins and Eagles between 2015-16. The younger specialist was likely going to supplant Dorenbos, Jeff McLane of Philly.com tweets.
The Saints re-signed their longtime snapper, Justin Drescher, earlier this month. Dorenbos figures to be the favorite to win this job, though. Drescher, 29, has snapped with the Saints for seven straight seasons. Sean Payton said just before Drescher’s return he was unhappy with the team’s inconsistent long snapping but noted last week he was pleased with Drescher’s work during the preseason.
Drescher was outfitted with a walking boot on Monday, Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com reveals (on Twitter). That would help explain the decision.
This is the second trade involving a long snapper today. The Jets and Colts made a lower-profile swap earlier. The Ravens and Bears also signed long snappers today.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/28/17
Today’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: LS Taybor Pepper
Chicago Bears
- Signed: LS Jeff Overbaugh
- Waived/injured: Patrick Scales
Cincinnati Bengals
- Waived: P Will Monday
Cleveland Browns
- Waived: OL Gabe Ikard
Denver Broncos
- Waived/injured: DL Jimmy Bean
Detroit Lions
- Released: WR Keshawn Martin, TE Tim Wright
Green Bay Packers
- Waived: LS Derek Hart, WR Colby Pearson, RB William Stanback
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: S Earl Wolff
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: LB Akeem Dent
- Waived from IR: CB Ezra Robinson
Kansas City Chiefs
- Released: LB Josh Mauga
Los Angeles Rams
- Waived: K Travis Coons
New England Patriots
- Signed: DL Michael Bart, LB Christian Kuntz, LB Nick Usher
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: LB Audie Cole
- Placed on IR: TE Clay Harbor
New York Giants
- Signed: DB Daniel Gray
- Placed on IR: OL Adam Gettis
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: DE Mehdi Abdesmad, DL Hendrick Ekpe
- Waived: RB Blake Sims
- Placed on IR: Justin Trattou
Saints Release Dannell Ellerbe
The Saints have released linebacker Dannell Ellerbe from injured reserve, Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com reports (on Twitter). The move was expected after Ellerbe recently received medical clearance for the foot injury that sent him to IR a month ago.
Ellerbe, 31, will now seek out his fourth NFL employer since entering the league as an undrafted free agent in 2009. The former Georgia Bulldog has struggled with injuries throughout his career with the Ravens, Dolphins and Saints, having played in just 77 of a possible 128 regular-season games. Ellerbe missed 17 of 32 games in his two seasons in New Orleans, which acquired him and a third-round pick from the Dolphins for wide receiver Kenny Stills in 2015. That came after Ellerbe missed all but one game in 2014, his last of two seasons in Miami.
Ellerbe contributed 68 tackles, four sacks (all of which came last season) and a forced fumble during his 15-game, 12-start tenure with the Saints. His release leaves the team with $1.7MM in dead money.
Latest On Saints’ Dannell Ellerbe
An interesting name is about to enter the free agent linebacker market. Dannell Ellerbe has been cleared for football by Dr. Robert Anderson and he’ll be released from IR soon now that his foot has healed up, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. 
[RELATED: Saints Sign Zach Line, Bryan Braman]
The Saints were forced to shut Ellerbe down in late July after his latest ailment. The linebacker has struggled to stay healthy over the last three seasons, appearing in just 16 regular season games over that span. However, he has been productive when on the field. In 2016, Ellerbe racked up 44 total tackles and 4.0 sacks for the Saints across nine games. Before the foot problem, Ellerbe was expected to compete for the Saints’ starting weakside linebacker job.
For what it’s worth, the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus have never been all that high on Ellerbe. Last year, he graded out as the No. 60 ranked linebacker in the NFL out of 86 qualified players. He had respectable showings for his coverage and pass rush, but his run defense score was among the worst of any qualified LB.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/24/17
Today’s minor moves:
- The Steelers waived cornerback Antonio Crawford just one day after signing him. Crawford was a college teammate of Pittsburgh corner Artie Burns at the University of Miami, before transferring to West Virginia. The reasons for Crawford’s quick in-and-out are not clear, but the culprit is often a failed physical in cases like these.
- The Giants signed safety Tim Scott, who was waived by Washington last week. Scott was not on an NFL roster last year but he did start 45 of 50 games in his time at the University of North Carolina.
- The Saints waived waived wide receiver Xavier Rush and fullback John Robinson-Woodgett. Rush, a Tulane product, leaves the Saints after less than two weeks with the team. Some were surprised by his release given the way he had performed in practice. Robinson-Woodgett will try to make a late push as a reserve fullback, but he faces long odds of making the cut on September 2.
- The Cardinals waived cornerback Daniel Gray. He originally joined the team on June 6 as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Utah State.
Saints Sign Zach Line, Bryan Braman
The Saints made a series of moves Wednesday, bringing in three new players – fullback Zach Line, linebacker Bryan Braman and undrafted rookie defensive back Elijah Mitchell – and parting with offensive lineman Jack Allen, whom they waived/injured.
The most notable addition may be Line, who spent the first four years of his career with the Vikings and is coming off back-to-back 16-game seasons. Line totaled 339 snaps in Minnesota last year (210 on offense, 129 on special teams), but offseason hip surgery and a lack of demand for fullbacks likely combined to make it difficult for him to find employment. Before joining the Saints, who deployed fullback John Kuhn on 397 snaps last year (278 on offense, 119 via special teams), Line’s only known interest came from the Jets. It’s unclear whether Kuhn is now on the hot seat as a result of the Line signing.
Braman, meanwhile, has posted five 16-game seasons during his six-year career. His only missed time (two games) came as a member of the Texans in 2012, his second NFL season. Braman spent his first three years in Houston and the previous three in Philadelphia, where he functioned as a leading special teamer. The 30-year-old posted upward of 1,100 special teams snaps during his tenure with the Eagles and paced the unit in playing time in each of the previous two seasons. Thanks in part to Braman, the Eagles’ ST unit ranked as the NFL’s No. 2 group in 2016, per Football Outsiders. The Saints finished just 27th, on the other hand, so picking up Line and Braman could be the latest moves that improve the unit under new coordinator Bradford Banta.
Stephone Anthony Not A Saints Roster Lock?
Third-year linebacker Stephone Anthony‘s place on the Saints’ roster “appears to be in jeopardy,” according to Mike Triplett of ESPN.com.
Anthony, 25, was a full-time starter in 2015 after entering the league as a first-round selection out of Clemson. But his playing time dwindled last season, as he started only three games and played on just 133 defensive snaps before a knee injury ended his campaign in December. Anthony, who also played on roughly a quarter of New Orleans’ special teams snaps, managed just 15 tackles after posting 112 stops during his rookie year.
The Saints simply have too many linebackers on their roster, and Anthony doesn’t project as a starter, per Triplett. Instead, those starting jobs are expected to go to free agent acquisitions Manti Te’o and A.J. Klein and third-round rookie Alex Anzalone. With Craig Robertson, Michael Mauti, and Nathan Stupar also available in reserve, New Orleans has no place for Anthony.
Anthony is signed through the 2018 season, and the Saints wouldn’t realize any cap savings if they trade or waive him. In fact, Anthony will count for the same total — roughly $2.1MM — whether he’s on the New Orleans roster or not.