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New Orleans Saints News & Rumors

Saints Audition Khalif Barnes

September 14th, 2016 at 4:40pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

For the second time since last week, the Saints tried out free agent offensive lineman Khalif Barnes on Wednesday, according to Nick Underhill of the New Orleans Advocate.

Khalif Barnes (Vertical)

The Saints are familiar with Barnes, having employed the 34-year-old briefly toward the end of the preseason before releasing him as part of their final cuts on Sept. 3. New Orleans head coach Sean Payton said after the club cut Barnes that he wasn’t in football shape, per Underhill, so it’s possible it will bring the tackle/guard in as depth if it feels his conditioning is now up to par.

“I think (well) considering this is a player that really hasn’t been in an offseason plan,” Payton said. “He is overweight right now, he’s big and that will be a process of him gradually cutting his weight down, but to sign him early in the week and play 20 something snaps, we wanted to make sure we didn’t give him too many snaps and risk any type of injury for a player that really hadn’t had the training camp and offseason program. I think he handled it pretty well.”

Barnes, who went in the second round of the 2005 draft, racked up a combined 151 appearances and 117 starts as a member of the Jaguars and Raiders over his first 11 NFL seasons. Barnes suited up for 14 of the Raiders’ games last year, but he made a career-worst one start.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Payton On Cutting C.J. Spiller

September 14th, 2016 at 3:34pm CST by Zachary Links
  • Coach Sean Payton said the Saints waited to release running back C.J. Spiller because they were looking for a potential trade partner, Mike Triplett of ESPN.com tweets. New Orleans couldn’t wait any longer, however, after cornerback Delvin Breaux went down with an injury and the team needed a roster spot.

C.J. Spiller Discusses Release

September 13th, 2016 at 9:01pm CST by Ben Levine

Former Saints running back C.J. Spiller told ESPN.com’s Josina Anderson that he was surprised by his release earlier today, but he insisted that he was leaving the organization on good terms.

[SOURCE LINK]

  • Following the release of Spiller, the Saints now have $40MM of dead money on their 2016 salary cap, tweets ESPN’s Field Yates. Meanwhile, Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com notes that Spiller’s contract included offset language, so the team “will get credit for the first $1.6 million he earns in 2016 salary elsewhere.”

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/13/16

September 13th, 2016 at 6:55pm CST by Zachary Links

Here are Tuesday’s practice squad signings and cuts from around the NFL:

Atlanta Falcons

  • Signed: RB Blake Sims (link via Matt Zenitz of AL.com)
  • Cut: RB Gus Johnson (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle)

Arizona Cardinals

  • Signed: WR Marquis Bundy (via team announcement)
  • Cut: WR Chris Hubert (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle)

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Indianapolis Colts:

Jacksonville Jaguars

  • Cut: WR Shaq Evans (Twitter link via Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com)

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Oakland Raiders

  • Signed: OT Takoby Cofield (Twitter link via reps at Precision Sports)
  • Cut: LB Jason Fanaika (Twitter link via Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com)

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

  • Signed: QB Alex Tanney (Twitter link via Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com)
  • Cut: OL Ronald Patrick

Washington Redskins

Saints Release C.J. Spiller

September 13th, 2016 at 4:25pm CST by Ben Levine

C.J. Spiller‘s tenure in New Orleans appears to be over. According to Rand Getlin of NFL.com (via Twitter), the Saints have released the veteran running back. The reporter notes that the 29-year-old is healthy and should land on a new team relatively quickly.

Spiller joined the Saints last offseason after having spent the first five seasons of his career with the Bills. The former first-rounder inked a four-year contract worth $18MM, with $9MM guaranteed. As the Boston Globe’s Ben Volin notes on Twitter, the Saints had already paid Spiller a $1.55MM roster bonus and guaranteed his $1.7MM salary for 2016.

C.J. SpillerThe running back appeared in 13 games for the Saints in 2015 before being placed on the injured reserve. Spiller struggled during his only season in New Orleans, compiling only 112 rushing yards on 36 carries. However, he did continue to show flashes in the passing game, hauling in 34 receptions for 239 yards and a pair of scores. Spiller’s best professional season came in 2012, when he finished with 1,244 rushing yards and six touchdowns (along with 43 receptions for 459 yards and two scores).

Spiller’s time with the Saints seemed to be running short after this weekend’s game against the Raiders. The veteran back was inactive for the contest, and replacement Travaris Cadet ended up appearing in 26 offensive snaps (three less than starter Mark Ingram). Coach Sean Payton cited a roster crunch when it came to Spiller being inactive.

“It was just one of these games we knew (Travaris) Cadet was going to have a big role in his position and it really came down to the numbers,” Payton said (via Herbie Teope of NOLA.com). “(Daniel) Lasco is playing on all special teams, it’s really one of the challenges with six running backs on the roster.”

Saints To Sign CB B.W. Webb

September 13th, 2016 at 8:36am CST by Zachary Links

After losing Delvin Breaux for several weeks, the Saints had to go out and sign a cornerback. They did that today as they have agreed to terms with B.W. Webb on a one-year deal, according to agent Sunny Shah (on Twitter). B.W. Webb (vertical)

Webb was a part of a massive audition by New Orleans last Tuesday. The Saints auditioned receivers, offensive linemen, long snappers, and tight ends in the event of an injury and after Breaux suffered a broken fibula, they’re glad they did.

Webb, 26, was a fourth-round draft pick of the Cowboys in 2013. Things didn’t go as planned in Dallas, however, and he wound up hooking on with the Steelers the following year. Last season, he found his way to the Titans and appeared in nine games as both a cornerback and a strong safety. With Tennessee, he totaled 22 tackles, two pass deflections, and one interception.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/12/16

September 12th, 2016 at 5:45pm CST by Zachary Links

Here are Monday’s practice squad signings and cuts from around the NFL:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Signed: CB Trevon Hartfield (Twitter link via Mike Jurecki of FOX Sports 910)
  • Cut: QB Aaron Murray

Buffalo Bills

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Signed: TE Alan Cross (Twitter link via Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times)

Saints’ Delvin Breaux Out Six Weeks

September 12th, 2016 at 12:09pm CST by Zachary Links

The Saints’ worst fears were confirmed today with regards to cornerback Delvin Breaux. The 26-year-old suffered a broken fibula and will be sidelined for six weeks, as Josh Katzenstein of the Times-Picayune tweets. Delvin Breaux (vertical)

Breaux was carted off the field during the second quarter of Sunday’s contest against the Raiders. The Saints had to go the rest of the game without their best cornerback and they could have more high-scoring affairs in their future if he is sidelined. Without Breaux, the Saints are left with P.J. Williams, Sterling Moore, and a pair of UDFAs. It stands to reason that the Saints will explore their options at cornerback in the coming days.

Breaux, a New Orleans native and CFL import, started 15 games for New Orleans last season and had 19 pass deflections with three interceptions.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Saints Fear Delvin Breaux Broke Fibula

September 11th, 2016 at 5:35pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Saints could be without their best cornerback for some time, if their worries are proved justified. The team fears Delvin Breaux suffered a broken fibula during Sunday’s 35-34 loss to the Raiders, Nick Underhill of The Advocate reports.

Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link) confirms Underhill’s report and notes the 26-year-old corner will miss significant time.

Breaux suffered an injury during the second quarter, requiring the standout coverage man to be carted off the field. His loss would leave a gaping hole in the secondary of a defense that’s attempting to shake off an ignominious 2015 performance. The Saints yielded an NFL-record 45 touchdown passes, besting the league’s second-worst mark by nine in 2015.

New Orleans cut former stalwart Keenan Lewis this offseason and parted ways with two-year contributor Brian Dixon. P.J. Williams, a 2015 third-rounder, Sterling Moore and two UDFAs — Ken Crawley and De’Vante Harris — comprise the remainder of the Saints’ cornerback contingent.

A former CFL talent, Breaux broke out in the United States last season and became the Saints’ most reliable corner. He started 15 games, deflected 19 passes and intercepted three.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Latest On Packers’ Release Of Josh Sitton

September 11th, 2016 at 1:48pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Packers shocked the NFL world by releasing Pro Bowl guard Josh Sitton during final cutdowns, and while there’s been some speculation as to what Green Bay was thinking with the move, confusion is still abounds regarding the club’s decision. However, Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel yesterday attempted to make some sense of the situation, and ultimately came to the conclusion that general manager Ted Thompson & Co. made a mistake by parting ways with one of its best players.Josh Sitton (Vertical)

[RELATED: Aaron Rodgers Wants To Play Past Age-40]

Sources tell McGinn that the Packers told Sitton is mid-August that extensions for David Bakhtiari, J.C. Tretter, T.J. Lang, and Eddie Lacy would be the priority, meaning Sitton wouldn’t be getting a long-term deal any time soon. While Sitton may have been upset at that news, he never showed, as far as McGinn could tell. And while Green Bay had mentioned a possible Sitton trade to at least one team, serious discussions didn’t occur until final cutdown weekend.

At that point, the Packers told Sitton he would be released if the club couldn’t find a trade partner. Green Bay, per McGinn, was “apoplectic” that it couldn’t locate another team willing to part with draft compensation in order to acquire Sitton. The Saints expressed some interest, but their cap problems and lack of a fifth-round pick prevented them from making a deal.

With a trade seemingly impossible, the Packers began to worry that Sitton would become a locker room distraction if he was kept on the roster, according to McGinn. If other Green Bay players began to sign extensions while Sitton remained in his contract year, the problem might only get worse, thought the club’s front office.

Still, there’s been no indication that Sitton planned to hold out or become any sort of pariah. And on the whole, McGinn seems correct — the Packers made a massive miscalculation by parting ways with Sitton. Green Bay likely would have recouped a compensatory pick by simply letting Sitton play out the season and find a new home in free agency. Now, the Packers will move forward with Lane Taylor in the starting lineup, and having received noting in return for Sitton.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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