Saints Release C.J. Spiller
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.
The 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
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). 
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
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
- Signed: OL Chris Martin (Twitter link via agent Brett Tessler)
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: TE Jake Stoneburner (Twitter link via Joel A. Erickson of The Advocate)
New York Jets
- Signed: LB Victor Ochi, WR Wendall Williams
- Cut: RB Raheem Mostert, WR Myles White (via team press release)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: TE Alan Cross (Twitter link via Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times)
Saints’ Delvin Breaux Out Six Weeks
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. 
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
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
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.
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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.
Jets, Cardinals, Would Have Been Potential Landing Spots For Brees
- Drew Brees and the Saints agreed to an extension just a few days ago, but negotiations had stalled for months earlier this year prior to both sides finally striking an accord. During that time, Brees’ representatives began exploring potential suitors for 2017, and the Cardinals were the top team on their list (this was before Arizona inked Carson Palmer to his own extension). La Canfora’s sources also indicated that the Jets would have been interested in Brees had he hit the open market in 2017.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/9/16
Here are Friday’s practice squad signings and cuts from around the NFL:
Detroit Lions
- Signed: OL Chase Farris (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Michael Rothstein)
- Cut: RB George Winn
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: LB Earl Okine (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle)
- Cut: DB Julian Wilson
New Orleans Saints
- Cut: CB Taveze Calhoun (Twitter link via Nick Underhill of the New Orleans Advocate)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: TE Dan Vitale (Twitter link via Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times)
- Retired: WR Evan Spencer
Details On Jahri Evans' Contract
- Guard Jahri Evans’ one-year deal with the Saints is worth $1MM and contains no guarantees or signing bonus, Nick Underhill of The Advocate tweets.
Sean Payton On Sterling Moore
- Saints head coach Sean Payton says that he preferred cornerback Sterling Moore to Cortland Finnegan because he’s better in man coverage and a younger player, as Ed Werder of ESPN.com tweets. The Saints signed the 26-year-old Moore on Tuesday after releasing Finnegan, 32. Payton isn’t sure how much Moore will help in Week 1 against Oakland, but the coach likes his versatility, intelligence and short-area quickness (Twitter link via Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com).