New Orleans Saints Rumors & News - Pro Football Rumors

Saints Move Roster To 53

September 3rd, 2016 at 6:42pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Saints have now announced their full list of transactions that bring them down to 53 players.

Cut:

OL Khalif Barnes (Twitter link via Nick Underhill of the New Orleans Advocate)
OL Tyrus Thompson (Twitter link via Herbie Teope of NOLA.com)
OT Tony Hills (Twitter link via Underhill)
FB Austin Johnson (Twitter link via Underhill)
S Trae Elston (Twitter link via Joel Erickson of the Advocate)
DE Bobby Richardson (Twitter link via Underhill)
CB Brian Dixon (Twitter link via Mike Triplett of ESPN.com)
C Jack Allen (Twitter link via Underhill)
K Connor Barth (Twitter link via Underhill)
RB Travaris Cadet (Twitter link via Underhill)
TE Garrett Griffin (Twitter link via Erickson)
DE Darryl Tapp
DL C.J. Wilson
WR Jordan Williams-Lambert
G John Fullington
LB Jeff Schoettmer
WR Jake Lampman
C Marcus Henry
LB Davis Tull
DE Chris McCain (story)

Placed on IR:

TE Michael Hoomanawanui

Barnes signed with the Saints last Sunday, meaning his stay in New Orleans lasted less than a week. In 11 NFL seasons, the 34-year-old has seen action in more than 150 games (117 starts) with the Jaguars and Raiders. Barnes lost his starting job in Oakland last season, but still appeared in 14 games.

Saints To Waive Chris McCain

September 3rd, 2016 at 2:30pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Saints will cut defensive end Chris McCain, a source tells Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com (Twitter link). New Orleans had just acquired McCain from the Dolphins days ago.

McCain, 24, is entering his third season in the NFL, but hasn’t contributed much during his first two years in the league. He’s appeared in 19 games, but he’s been more of a special teams player than a defensive stalwart. McCain picked up a sack and a forced fumble in 2015, but only played on 113 total snaps (43 on defense), and wasn’t ticketed for a larger role this year.

The Dolphins will not acquire a conditional draft pick from Miami given that McCain did not make the roster.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Saints Waive Dillon Lee

September 2nd, 2016 at 8:29pm CST by Zachary Links

The Saints waived linebacker Dillon Lee, as Nick Underhill of The Advocate tweets.

Details Emerge On Saints' Paul Kruger Deal

August 31st, 2016 at 8:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Saints‘ deal with Paul Kruger is a one-year, $3MM pact worth up to $5MM with incentives, a league source told ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter. Before his release, he was under contract through next season at $6.5MM this year and $7MM next year with Cleveland. The Saints will have to carve out some cap space to make way for Kruger’s deal and they’ll likely do that through contract restructuring.

Saints Move Damian Swann To IR

August 31st, 2016 at 8:12pm CST by Sam Robinson

Continuing a busy day for their secondary, the Saints waived/injured rookie DB Jimmy Pruitt, Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com reports (on Twitter).
The Saints also moved cornerback Damian Swann to IR, Nick Underhill of The Advocate reports. A second-year cornerback who played in seven games with New Orleans last season and started two, Swann went down with an undisclosed injury this month. Paul Kruger will take his roster spot after signing today. This strips another corner from the Saints’ depth chart due to injury; the team recently cut Keenan Lewis, who remains unsigned.

Saints Re-Sign C.J. Wilson

August 31st, 2016 at 4:50pm CST by Sam Robinson

A day after releasing him, the Saints moved to re-sign defensive tackle C.J. Wilson, Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com tweets. Wilson comprised part of New Orleans’ cuts to 75 on Tuesday, but for now the veteran will stay in Louisiana.

It might not be for long since the team still has to pare its roster down to 53 by Saturday afternoon.

The Saints signed Wilson earlier this summer during a busy transaction period for the team with regards to veteran-minimum-type players. Wilson suited up for both the Raiders and Lions in 2015. His most notable NFL contributions came with the Packers in the early part of this decade. The former Green Bay seventh-round pick started 11 games for the Packers from 2010-12, including a seven-start season in ’12.

The Lions released the 29-year-old Wilson in February.

Saints Place Hau’oli Kikaha On PUP

August 30th, 2016 at 6:10pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Saints still had a bit of work to do in order to comply with the league’s 75-man roster limit, and they’ve made a few final moves today. The club announced that it’s released defensive tackle C.J. Wilson; waived linebacker Tony Steward, tight end RaShaun Allen, and cornerback Brandon Dixon; placed defensive end Hau’oli Kikaha on PUP; and placed offensive lineman Avery Young on NFI.

Wilson, 29, agreed to a one-year deal with New Orleans earlier this summer. The veteran defensive lineman has78 career games under his belt, with most of that time coming as a rotational option with Packers from 2010-2013. Wilson played in 12 contests in 2016 (eight with the Lions, four with the Raiders), and picked up nine total tackles to go along with one sack.

Kikaha, meanwhile, appeared in 15 games and made 11 starts for New Orleans in 2015. In that time, the 24-year-old racked up 4 sacks, 50 total tackles, two passes defended, four forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Saints Not Cutting Schoettmer

August 30th, 2016 at 5:15pm CST by Zachary Links

Contrary to previous reports, the Saints are not cutting linebacker Jeff Schoettmer (Twitter link via Josh Katzenstein of The Times-Picayune).

Saints Cut Matt Shaughnessy

August 30th, 2016 at 12:19pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Saints have parted ways with veteran defender Matt Shaughnessy after a short stay on the roster, as the club has released the DE/LB, tweets Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com. Shaughnessy had just signed with New Orleans earlier this month.

Shaughnessy, 29, didn’t appear in the NFL last season after spending the first six years of his career with the Raiders and Cardinals. In 75 career games (48 starts), Shaughnessy has picked up 144 tackles, 18.5 sacks, four fumble recoveries, and three forced fumbles. The Saints got an up-close look at the veteran edge defender, having auditioned him in both May and June.

The Saints are slated to meet with another versatile front seven defender — former Brown Paul Kruger — later today.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Paul Kruger To Visit Saints, Chiefs

August 30th, 2016 at 7:36am CST by Zachary Links

Paul Kruger might not be out of work for long. The defensive end/outside linebacker is slated to visit the Saints today, as ESPN.com’s Mike Triplett tweets. After that, he’ll visit the Chiefs.

Kruger, released yesterday, was courted heavily by the Saints before he signed a free agent deal with the Browns in 2013. Now, New Orleans has renewed interest years later as their pass rush is lacking. The season hasn’t started yet and the Saints are already missing two key players in their front seven. Defensive end Hau’oli Kikaha, a 2015 second-round pick and defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins, this year’s first-round choice, are both sidelined as the season approaches. Kikaha’s torn ACL rules him out for the season while Rankins will hopefully rejoin the team this fall.

The Saints’ lack of an pass rush was glaring in Friday night’s preseason contest against the Steelers and signing Kruger could go a long way towards fixing that problem.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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