Saints Move Damian Swann To IR
- 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
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
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.
[RELATED: Saints Release Matt Shaughnessy]
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
- 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
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
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.
[RELATED: Saints Acquire Chris McCain From Dolphins]
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.
Saints Could Move Andrus Peat To Left Guard
- 2015 first-round pick Andrus Peat played primarily on the left side during his rookie year, so the Saints are now considering moving him from right guard to left guard, according to John DeShazier of the team’s website. If New Orleans does make the switch, veterans Tim Lelito and Senio Kelemete would keep competing for the right guard spot.
Saints Trim Roster To 77
The Saints haven’t officially announced their roster cuts tonight, but Nick Underhill and Joel Erickson of the Advocate have rounded up the club’s moves (unless noted otherwise). By our count, these transaction leave the Saints with 77 players on their roster, meaning they’ll need to make three more moves before 3pm CT Tuesday.
Waived:
- Reggie Bell, WR
- Jared Dangerfield, WR
- Kaleb Eulls, G
- Jamal Golden, S
- Chris Highland, LS
- Sione Houma, RB
- Dillon Lee, LB
- Cyril Lemon, G
- Jeff Schoettmer, LB
Waived/Injured:
- Jimmy Pruitt, DB (Twitter link via Kristian Garic of WWL 870)
Saints Sign OL Khalif Barnes
7:51pm: It’s a one-year, minimum salary benefit deal for Barnes, per Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
6:41pm: The Saints have reached an agreement with veteran offensive lineman Khalif Barnes, according to Nick Underhill of the Advocate (Twitter link). Barnes was part of a workout session in New Orleans earlier today.
Barnes, 34, offers two attributes in spades — experience and versatility. In 11 seasons, Barnes has appeared in more than 150 games (117 starts) with the Jaguars and Raiders. Moreover, Barnes is able to play both inside and out, so he could act as a backup at up to four offensive line spots. He lost his starting job in Oakland last season, but still appeared in 14 games, and could serve as depth in New Orleans.
Barnes wasn’t the only acquisition for the Saints today, as the club also sent a conditional seventh-round pick to the Dolphins in exchange for DE/LB Chris McCain.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Saints To Acquire Chris McCain From Dolphins
6:10pm: The Dolphins will receive a conditional seventh-round pick, tweets Jackson.
5:11pm: The Saints have struck a deal to acquire linebacker Chris McCain from the Dolphins, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). Rand Getlin of NFL.com (Twitter linknk) the first to report that a trade was in the works.
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.
In New Orleans, special teams will likely be the area of focus for McCain once again. The Saints have a decent crop of linebackers, with Stephone Anthony, James Laurinaitis, and Dannell Ellerbe making up the starting three, and McCain is unlikely to push free agent addition Craig Robertson for playing time. Given that he was an undrafted free agent, McCain is entering the final year of hi deal, but will only reach restricted free agency after 2016.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.