Saints Make Two Moves At WR
- The Saints have waived/injured second-year receiver Jordan Williams-Lambert, tweets Joel A. Erickson of the Advocate. Taking his place will be fellow wideout De’Quan Hampton, an undrafted rookie from USC, per Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com (Twitter link).
Ryan Nassib "Longshot" For Saints Roster
- Chase Daniel will almost assuredly serve as the Saints‘ backup quarterback during the upcoming season, meaning the battle for New Orleans’ third signal-caller job will come down to Garrett Grayson and Ryan Nassib, as Nick Underhill of the Advocate details. Grayson, a third-round pick just two years ago, currently has the upper hand, per Underhill, as Nassib — a free agent addition who spent his first four NFL seasons with the Giants — is considered a “long shot” to earn a roster spot. Of course, the Saints could opt to keep only two quarterbacks, at which the team would likely attempt to sneak Grayson onto their practice squad.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/6/17
Here’s a list of today’s minor moves:
- A day after the Dolphins cut him, tackle Terry Poole landed with the Texans via waiver claim, Mark Berman of Fox 26 tweets. Poole was initially a Seahawks fourth-round pick but hasn’t yet played in an NFL game.
- The Saints worked out their longtime long snapper Justin Drescher this week and reached an agreement to bring him back on Sunday, Nick Underhill of the New Orleans Advocate reports. Sean Payton had been frustrated by the long snapping during camp recently, and the team made the decision to release veteran Thomas Gafford and Chase Dominguez on Sunday. Drescher returns to the Saints after spending the past seven seasons in New Orleans. The team did not re-sign the 29-year-old specialist after his contract expired following last season.
- Former VCU basketball player Mo Alie-Cox cleared waivers and will revert to the Colts‘ IR list, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
- The Titans have signed RB Brandon Radcliff, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). They waived/injured Victor Ochi to make room, Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com tweets. Ochi tore his ACL on Friday.
- The Steelers have signed cornerback JaCorey Shepherd and cut defensive end Nelson Adams. Originally a sixth-round Eagles selection in 2015, Shepherd followed Chip Kelly to San Francisco and played in 11 games for the 49ers last season.
Saints Sign K Patrick Murray
The Saints have signed kicker Patrick Murray, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Rapoport says Murray will compete with incumbent Wil Lutz, but Josh Katzenstein of the Times-Picayune tweets that Lutz has looked great in camp, so New Orleans may have signed Murray simply to allow Lutz to save his leg. Nick Underhill of the New Orleans Advocate, meanwhile, says there is a kicking competition, though he still thinks Lutz is pretty safe (Twitter links).
Regardless, Murray is more accomplished than a camp fodder kicker that is often brought in just to spell the presumptive starter before the regular season begins. In 2014, Murray was the Buccaneers’ kicker and converted 20 of 24 field goals. He spent all of 2015 on IR before winning the Browns’ kicking competition last summer. Unfortunately, he played in only two games for Cleveland before landing on IR for the second consecutive year. He made one of his two field goal attempts and three of his four extra point opportunities.
Lutz originally signed with the Ravens as a UDFA last year, but he never had a chance to beat out Justin Tucker and was cut in late August. He caught on with the Saints a week later and spent the entire year as the club’s kicker, connecting on 28 of 34 field goal attempts and 49 of 50 extra points. He was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week in Week 6 and Week 8.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/5/17
Here are today’s minor moves.
- After working out tight end Emanuel Byrd, the Packers signed the talent out of Marshall, the team announced. They played cornerback Herb Waters on IR. The Chiefs initially signed Byrd as a UDFA in May but released him earlier this week.
- The Dolphins are signing guard Isame Faciane, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports (on Twitter). He’s spent time with both the Bills and Vikings, the Minnesota stint ending after the Vikes released him from their practice squad following a DUI arrest, per Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (on Twitter). Faciane finished last season on the Buffalo taxi squad. A biceps injury will sideline recently signed interior lineman Ted Larsen for a while.
- Miami also waived tackle Terry Poole, per Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald (on Twitter). Poole was originally a Seahawks fourth-round pick in 2015; he has yet to play in an NFL game.
- Wide receiver Rasheed Bailey will sign with the Browns, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports (via Twitter). Cleveland also signed tight end Nate Lese and waived defensive lineman Jamal Marcus and wide receiver James Wright with injury designations, Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal tweets. The Eagles cut Bailey in May. He’s been with the Eagles and Chargers and spent time in the CFL.
- The Texans signed wideout Marcus Leak, Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com reports. Houston won’t have the services of Will Fuller for months after the 2016 first-round pick broke his collarbone this week. The Colts waived Leak in June.
- Kansas City signed cornerbacks Jacoby Glenn and Larry Scott, Terez Paylor of the Kansas City Star tweets. The Chiefs waived Keith Baxter. Glenn spent parts of the past two seasons with the Bears, mostly on the practice squad before being waived in May. A Chargers UDFA addition out of Oregon State in 2016, Scott ended up with the Colts but was cut in May.
- Tackle Martin Wallace cleared waivers and will revert to the Saints‘ IR, Nick Underhill of The Advocate tweets.
Saints Claim Jerry Ugokwe From Colts
- The Saints claimed offensive tackle Jerry Ugokwe off waivers from the Colts, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. In a corresponding move, the Saints waived fellow tackle Martin Wallace with an injury designation, per Nick Underhill of the Advocate (on Twitter). Ugokwe is an undrafted free agent from William & Mary who was with the Colts from May until Wednesday. Wallace, who joined the Saints in late July, has bounced around the league since going undrafted in 2013. He appeared in one game with Cleveland that year.
- Defensive end Rufus Johnson agreed to a deal with the Raiders, relays Rapoport (on Twitter). Johnson was involved in a “serious” car crash on Wednesday, notes Rapoport. The 26-year-old was previously with the Saints, Patriots and Redskins. His sole appearance came with New England in 2015.
Saints Could Re-Sign Orlando Franklin
The Saints released guard Orlando Franklin on Tuesday, less than a week after they signed him last Thursday. It turns out a knee injury may have been behind New Orleans’ decision to quickly cut ties with Franklin.
“The second day, he had some soreness in his knee,” head coach Sean Payton told reporters, including NOLA.com’s Herbie Teope, who notes that Franklin underwent knee surgery in January.
Payton later suggested the Saints could re-sign a healthy Franklin, saying: “I think one of the big things with us being down on the offensive line — and I’m not saying it’s not going to work out with him possibly later for us — but we needed healthy bodies.”
Health is indeed an issue along New Orleans’ offensive line, where stalwarts Terron Armstead (left tackle) and Max Unger (center) are nursing injuries. If the Saints do bring back Franklin to compete for a job when his condition improves, it wouldn’t be the first time an offensive lineman has yo-yoed between their organization and unemployment. New Orleans has signed and released Khalif Barnes on numerous occasions dating back to last season. For the moment, Barnes is on the Saints’ roster as a reserve tackle.
Franklin also worked as a second-teamer during his few practices with the Saints in training camp, which represented new territory for the longtime starter. The 29-year-old started in all 89 appearances with the Broncos and Chargers from 2011-16, but he didn’t turn in a No. 1-caliber performance in San Diego last season. Pro Football Focus ranked Franklin an ugly 65th among 75 qualified guards in 2016, and he then went without a team between his release from the Chargers in mid-May and his short-lived union with the Saints. Franklin drew interest from the Jaguars and Jets in recent months, but it doesn’t seem as if he’ll land anywhere again until he progresses physically.
“I think he’s still trying to get strength back in that knee,” Payton said.
Saints Sign Darius Victor
- The Saints are signing running back Darius Victor, per his representatives at Players First Sports Agency (Twitter link). Victor, a Towson product, left the collegiate ranks early in order to enter the NFL draft but ultimately wasn’t selected. Although he played in only four games in 2016, Victor had topped 200 carries in the each the prior two years, averaging five yards per carry from 2014-15. In order to create a roster spot, New Orleans waived/injured linebacker Sae Tautu, who has a sprained MCL, per Nick Underhill of the Advocate (Twitter link).
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). 
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.