Saints Reach Injury Settlement With Alden Darby
- Four players were recently waived off their club’s respective injured reserved lists (all according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle unless noted): Chiefs DB Shannon Edwards (Twitter link); Packers linebacker Manoa Pikula (Twitter link); Dolphins receiver Tyler Murphy (Twitter link); and Saints safety Alden Darby (according to Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com).
- Meanwhile, defensive lineman D.J. Pettway cleared waivers after being waived with an injury designation, and has now reverted back to the Saints‘ IR, tweets Katzenstein.
Saints Waive-Injured D.J. Pettway
- To make room for fullback John Kuhn, the Saints have waived-injured defensive lineman D.J. Pettway, according to The Advocate’s Nick Underhill on Twitter. Following a tumultuous tenure at Alabama, Pettway joined the Saints as an undrafted free agent.
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Saints To Sign John Kuhn
Free agent fullback John Kuhn has agreed to a one-year deal with the Saints. The four-time Pro Bowler had been on the market since it opened in March, but he has finally found a new home just over a month before the beginning of the regular season.
Kuhn, 33, signed with the Steelers in 2005 as an undrafted free agent from Division II Shippensburg University. He appeared in nine games in Pittsburgh, all in 2006, before joining Green Bay. While fullbacks aren’t exactly high-impact players these days, Kuhn nonetheless factored into the Packers’ game plan during his nine years with the organization. All told, he appeared in 148 regular-season games (32 starts) and scored 23 combined touchdowns as a runner and receiver, adding seven more scores in 15 playoff contests.
The Saints rarely made use of a fullback last season, so they seem like a curious fit for Kuhn. However, starter Austin Johnson suffered a knee injury Thursday, the severity of which remains unknown.
New Orleans involved Johnson in its offensive attack on just 7.9 percent of snaps in 2015, though he did appear in 38.9 percent of special teams plays. Kuhn, on the other hand, partook in 26.6 percent of Green Bay’s offensive plays last year and lined up on special teams 34.7 percent of the time. He now joins the 27-year-old Johnson as one of two fullbacks on New Orleans’ roster, as its depth chart shows.
Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com first reported the agreement. Nick Underhill of the New Orleans Advocate reported the length of the deal. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Saints Interested In Cowboys OL Ronald Leary
Back in May, offensive lineman Ronald Leary requested a trade from the Cowboys. Months later, Leary remains in Dallas, but that’s not necessarily for a lack of interest. The Saints have been pursuing a Leary trade for months to no avail, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. 
[RELATED: Nick Foles Signs With Chiefs, Despite Cowboys Offer]
Meanwhile, NFL GMs hear that the Cowboys are thinking about trading La’el Collins somewhere in order to acquire a defensive end, Ed Werder of ESPN.com tweets. However, when Werder asked a Cowboys source about those rumblings, the team official replied, “That’s stupid.”
Leary started at left guard for the Cowboys in 2013 and 2014. In 2015, he started the season in the same role, but Collins – who was graded as a first-round talent before his infamous draft day slide – eventually took the job from him. The Cowboys are planning to start Collins at left guard once again in 2016, but they want all of the help they can get on the offensive line with Tony Romo returning from injury and rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott leading the team’s running back committee.
Leary was on the field for only 137 pass snaps and 84 run snaps in 2015, according to the stats compiled by Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Although he did not qualify to be ranked based on that limited sample size, Leary was given an overall grade of 72.2, which would have placed him among the top 30 guards in the NFL last season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Saints Sign Golden, Walsh
- The Saints announced that they have added UDFAs safety Jamal Golden and guard Jordan Walsh. In a corresponding move, the Saints waived defensive tackle Lawrence Virgil and waived/injured wide receiver Kyle Prater and safety Alden Darby.
Saints Notes: Nicks, Byrd
The Falcons and Saints have each added former Cardinals edge rushers over the past 24 hours, as Atlanta agreed to terms with Dwight Freeney while New Orleans inked Matt Shaughnessy. Both defenses were among the worst in the league at generating pressure last season, and the Falcons and Saints will hope that their new additions will help them get after opposing quarterbacks. For more on the Falcons, check back in with PFR later tonight for a recap of the Freeney signing and the rest of Atlanta’s moves in our latest Offseason in Review.
- Hakeem Nicks‘ one-year deal with the Saints is a minimum salary benefit contract and contains no guaranteed money, reports Nick Underhill of the Advocate. As such, Nicks is essentially joining New Orleans on nothing more than a tryout basis, and will seek to earn a role behind Brandin Cooks, Willie Snead, Michael Thomas, and Brandon Coleman. Nicks reportedly stayed in contact with Saints head coach Sean Payton after a workout earlier this year, texting Payton on a weekly basis and sending along workout videos.
- Former South Florida defensive back Jamie Byrd tried out for the Saints today, according to a source who spoke with Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). In his senior season with the Bulls, Byrd posted 80 tackles and finished second on the team with 11 tackles for loss, and said earlier this year that he had “no answers” for not being selected in the draft or being offered a UDFA deal.
Saints To Sign Matt Shaughnessy
The Saints will add a veteran defender to their front seven as training camp gets underway, as the club has agreed to terms LB/DE Matt Shaughnessy, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Terms of the deal haven’t been announced, but it’s likely for the veteran’s minimum.
[RELATED: No progress between Saints, Drew Brees]
New Orleans has signed a number of experienced options to aid a defense that ranked among the worst in league history in 2016, having inked deals with James Laurinaitis, Craig Robertson, Nick Fairley, and Nathan Stupar over the offseason. And more recently, the Saints have agreed to terms with veterans such as Roman Harper, Darryl Tapp, C.J. Wilson, and — on offense — Hakeem Nicks. Given New Orleans’ tight cap situation, the team is somewhat forced to rely on low-cost additions (specifically, minimum salary benefit deals) to augment their roster.
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 have already gotten an up-close look at the veteran edge defender, having auditioned him in both May and June.
In other Saints news, the team worked out free agent cornerback Kevin White today, reports Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com. White, an undrafted free agent in 2015, signed with the Falcons last summer but didn’t make Atlanta’s final roster.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Saints Sign Tony Hills, Waive Ryker Mathews
- The Saints announced that they have re-signed tackle Tony Hills and waived/injured UDFA tackle Ryker Mathews.
Hakeem Nicks On Signing With Saints
- Between auditioning for the Saints in May and signing with them Wednesday, receiver Hakeem Nicks stayed on the team’s radar by texting head coach Sean Payton on a weekly basis, the 28-year-old said Friday (via Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com). Some of those texts included workout videos, according to Nicks, which apparently paid off for the former Giant, Colt and Titan. “We were real familiar with him just because on two different occasions we had him in for workouts. Plus, he wouldn’t stop texting me,” commented Payton, who added that Hicks’ personality “could be infectious and help the room.”
Saints Notes: Brees, Edge Rushers
While extension talks between the Saints and future Hall of Famer Drew Brees haven’t yielded progress yet, the contract-year quarterback said Thursday that he harbors no ill will toward general manager Mickey Loomis (via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk). “Just to clarify, nothing is adversarial. I have a great relationship with Mickey Loomis and have for my entire time here,” stated Brees. “We’ll see how this shakes out over the next month and a half.”
Brees reiterated Thursday that the start of the regular season is his deadline for contract negotiations, so the two sides won’t talk again until the end of the campaign if they don’t reach an agreement by Week 1. To place the franchise tag on Brees next offseason would cost the Saints $43.2MM, so that probably won’t be an option. The only choice, then, would be a multiyear deal, and Brees, 37, believes he’s capable of lasting for a while longer. “I don’t see any reason why I can’t play at the highest level for the next five years minimum,” commented Brees, who threw for 4,870 yards and 32 touchdowns against 11 interceptions in 2015.
- After failing to add an edge rusher through either free agency or the draft and losing Hau’oli Kikaha to a torn ACL, the Saints are left to hope at least one of Kasim Edebali, Obum Gwacham or Davis Tull emerges as a viable complement to Cameron Jordan, writes Larry Holder of NOLA.com. The 26-year-old Edebali is the most proven of the three in terms of sack production, having tallied five last season, though his overall play earned him a 103rd-place ranking among 110 qualifying edge defenders at Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Gwacham impressively picked up 2.5 sacks in just 97 snaps as a sixth-round rookie. Tull, meanwhile, didn’t get into a game last year after the Saints selected him in the fifth round of the draft. The Saints’ woeful defense finished a bottom-of-the-barrel 25th in the NFL in sacks last season (31), and nearly a third came from Jordan (10).