New Orleans Saints Rumors & News - Pro Football Rumors

Saints Match Bears’ Offer Sheet For Josh Hill

March 28th, 2016 at 10:39am CST by Luke Adams

MONDAY, 10:39am: Ian Rapoport of NFL.com provides some specific details on Hill’s new contract, tweeting that it’s worth $7.1MM over three years, with a max value of $8.15MM via incentives. As noted below, it includes $3.25MM in guarantees.

FRIDAY, 3:13pm: The Saints have officially retained tight end Josh Hill, exercising their right of first refusal and matching the offer sheet he signed with the Bears on Tuesday, the team announced today (via Twitter). New Orleans will bring back Hill on the terms of that deal he signed with Chicago.

ESPN’s Mike Triplett and Adam Caplan provided several details on Hill’s offer sheet from the Bears earlier this week, reporting that the three-year deal can be worth up to $7.5MM, and features $3.25MM in guaranteed money.

Hill had already counted for $1.671MM on the Saints’ books for 2016, so if the first-year cap hit on his new deal is higher than that – as it almost certainly will be – it’s another contract New Orleans will have to squeeze under its cap. Having also confirmed a three-year deal for linebacker Craig Robertson, the team figures to announce a corresponding release or contract restructure soon, in order to create cap room for the new additions.

Hill, 25, is coming off a career-high 16-catch season, though he averaged just 7.5 yards per reception. The three-year veteran set personal marks in yards (176), YPC (12.5) and touchdowns (five) during a 14-catch showing in 2014. Prior to signing with the Bears, whom he met with Monday, Hill visited the Jets last week.

By bringing back Hill, the Saints have now signed three tight ends to new contracts this month — Coby Fleener inked a five-year deal to replace Ben Watson as the team’s No. 1 tight end, and Michael Hoomanawanui agreed to a three-year pact to return to New Orleans. Hill will join that duo to create plenty of pass-catching and blocking options for the Saints’ offense.

As for the Bears, they still have Zach Miller and Rob Housler among their tight end options, but the team may look to fortify the position in free agency and/or the draft.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Saints Expected To Extend Sean Payton Through 2020

March 27th, 2016 at 9:30am CST by Luke Adams

SUNDAY, 9:30am: John DeShazier of NewOrleansSaints.com is passing along news of the extension, as well as several quotes from Payton.

“We kind of knew that it was going to happen. Honestly, we’re in the middle of free agency and working on a few of these defensive players and at some point, (Saints General Manager) Mickey (Loomis) said, ‘Hey, I’ve got to get this to you.’

“I wasn’t, like, waiting every day like, ‘Where’s the paperwork?’ because there’s a protocol with the attorneys. I think, for us, it was a formality after that last week at the end of the season. It would get done.

“That stability, I don’t take for granted. I very much appreciate the opportunities we have to coach, and to work with players and to work within the framework of a good group, a good organization. We’re all fortunate to be doing something we love.”

When asked when the extension would be officially signed, Payton said, “I think soon. I just got it. I don’t walk around and carry it.”

WEDNESDAY, 7:42am: Payton’s new five-year deal will be worth a little more than $45MM, exceeding $9MM per year, tweets Ed Werder of ESPN.com.

7:34am: Although he arrived nearly a half-hour late at Wednesday morning’s NFC coaches breakfast in Boca Raton, Florida, Saints head coach Sean Payton found time to break some news. As Bob Glauber of Newsday tweets, Payton said he has agreed to a five-year contract through the 2020 season with the Saints. While he has yet to actually put pen to paper to make the extension official, he plans to do so soon.

News of an extension for Payton doesn’t come as a huge surprise. The veteran head coach indicated last month that he and the Saints were getting close to a new deal. At the time, I observed that Payton’s current deal is set to expire after the 2017 season, meaning he still has two years left on it. That contract is believed to be worth $8MM+ per year, which makes him one of the league’s highest-paid coaches. It’s unlikely that the new extension would pay him any less than that.

During Payton’s nine seasons with the Saints, the team has an 87-57 record during the regular season. Payton has also led the club to a 6-4 record in five playoff appearances, including a Super Bowl win following the 2009 season. New Orleans has now gone 7-9 in consecutive years after averaging 12 victories per season in Payton’s previous four years.

Rumors about Payton’s potential departure from New Orleans have swirled repeatedly in recent years, but even this winter, when it seemed as if the two sides may be set to part ways, they ultimately agreed to continue the relationship. Payton’s new extension doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be with the Saints through the 2020 season (or beyond), but at this point it doesn’t look like he’s going anywhere anytime soon.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Saints To Meet With Vonn Bell, Jayron Kearse

March 25th, 2016 at 7:18pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Browns, Buccaneeers, Lions and Saints are gracing Ohio State safety Vonn Bell‘s itinerary for workouts and/or meetings, Rand Getlin of NFL.com tweets. The early-entry Buckeyes safety already met with Tennessee.
Clemson safety Jayron Kearse will has summits and/or workouts with the Panthers, Saints and Titans on his spring docket, Getlin tweets. The 6-foot-5 safety registered 6.5 tackles for loss as a junior last season.

Saints Sign Jamarca Sanford

March 25th, 2016 at 6:02pm CST by Luke Adams

MARCH 25, 6:02pm: The Sanford signing became official today, according to Mike Triplett of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

MARCH 17, 10:53am: The Saints have struck a deal with veteran safety Jamarca Sanford, and will re-sign him to a one-year contract, according to Rand Getlin of the NFL Network (Twitter link). Sanford had been an unrestricted free agent.

Sanford, 30, was a full-time starter for the Vikings from 2011 to 2013, but has mostly settled into a special teams role since joining the Saints in 2014. Last season, he was New Orleans’ third safety behind Jairus Byrd and Kenny Vaccaro for the majority of the year, earning just over 100 defensive snaps and making one interception.

With Byrd and Vaccaro set to return for the 2016 season, Sanford doesn’t have a clear path to a starting job, but his spot on the depth chart may be a little more secure with Rafael Bush – who missed nearly the entire 2015 season with a torn pectoral muscle – having left New Orleans to sign with the Lions.

Saints Eyeing Jarran Reed, Tyler Ervin

March 25th, 2016 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Alabama defensive tackle Jarran Reed will visit the Saints in April, a league source tells Kristian Garic of WWL 870AM (Twitter link). Joel A. Erickson of The Advocate also provides an update on the Saints’ draft prospects, tweeting that San Jose State running back Tyler Ervin will privately work out for the team.

Saints Sign Craig Robertson

March 25th, 2016 at 3:14pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

FRIDAY, 3:14pm: The Saints have officially announced their three-year deal with Robertson (via Twitter).

WEDNESDAY, 8:54am: The Saints and Robertson are in agreement on a three-year contract, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The deal isn’t official yet, but word of the agreement comes as no surprise after Payton talked this morning as if Robertson would be on the team.

TUESDAY, 6:43pm: The Saints and free agent linebacker Craig Robertson are “working on” a deal, and head coach Sean Payton expects it to get done, according to Mike Triplett of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Katherine Terrell of NOLA.com corroborated Triplett’s report (on Twitter).

If the Saints sign Robertson, he’ll be the second notable addition to their linebacking corps since last week. New Orleans previously picked up James Laurinaitis, who is clearly the more established of the two. Nevertheless, Robertson has had a productive four-year career, all of which has been spent in Cleveland, and easily outdid Laurinaitis by Pro Football Focus’ standards last season. The site ranked Robertson 37th and Laurinaitis 83rd in overall performance among 97 qualifying linebackers.

For his career, Robertson – a former undrafted free agent from North Texas – has appeared in 58 of a possible 64 games and made 37 starts. Nine of those starts came in 2015, when Robertson amassed 59 tackles, a forced fumble and an interception in 12 appearances. Prior to that, Robertson racked up 85 or more tackles in three straight campaigns, including a personal-best 99 in 2014. He also has six career INTs.

Robertson was an inside linebacker in Cleveland, but the Saints already have both Laurinaitis and Stephone Anthony as middle men. It’ll be interesting, then, to see how the club deploys those three (if it signs Robertson) – not to mention OLBs Hau’oli Kikaha and Dannell Ellerbe.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Patriots Out On Nick Fairley; Saints Favorites

March 25th, 2016 at 11:24am CST by Luke Adams

The Patriots will drop out of the running for defensive tackle Nick Fairley, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Rapoport adds that it’s an indication Fairley is expected to sign with the Saints.

While there’s no official word yet that Fairley and the Saints have a deal in place, New England and New Orleans were reportedly the only two clubs to formally meet with the 28-year-old. The Jets and Eagles had also been viewed as teams with interest in Fairley, who said earlier this week that he was still talking to the Rams as well.

A free agent a year ago, Fairley signed a one-year pact with the Rams, and was a rotational piece on the team’s talented defensive line in 2015, appearing in less than 40% of the defensive snaps. Although he wasn’t a full-time player and his counting stats were modest (29 tackles and 0.5 sacks), the former first-round pick graded out as a top-25 interior defender, according to Pro Football Focus.

If the Saints do end up officially landing Fairley, the team will have to make at least one cap-clearing move to accommodate the signing. After the terms of the the club’s agreement with James Laurinaitis were confirmed today, the NFLPA now lists New Orleans as having less than $1MM in cap space, and that count doesn’t include the Saints’ deal with linebacker Craig Robertson.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Saints Sign James Laurinaitis

March 25th, 2016 at 9:55am CST by Connor J. Byrne

MARCH 25, 9:55am: Laurinaitis’ three-year deal has a base value of $8.5MM, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (all Twitter links). More details on the deal:

Signing bonus: $1.8MM
Workout bonus: $50K annually
Roster bonuses: $250K in 2017 and 2018 (due on third day of respective league years)
Incentives: Up to $500K annually via playing time and team ranking
Annual base salaries $900K (2016), $2.45MM (2017), $2.45MM (2018)
Annual cap hits: $1.55MM (2016), $3.35MM (2017), $3.35MM (2018)

MARCH 17, 3:35pm: The Saints have officially confirmed their agreement with Laurinaitis, announcing that it’s a three-year contract for the veteran linebacker (Twitter link).

MARCH 16, 8:30pm: The Saints and free agent linebacker James Laurinaitis have agreed to a deal, tweets Rand Getlin of NFL.com. Details of the contract aren’t yet available.

After the Rams released Laurinaitis last month, the 29-year-old made two confirmed visits. One was with the Saints, who beat out the other – the NFC South rival Falcons – for his services.

Laurinaitis will add durability and productivity to a Saints defense that ranked 31st in the NFL last season. The ex-Ohio State standout has never missed a game or a start since entering the league in 2009, suiting up 112 consecutive times. He’s also fresh off his seventh 100-tackle campaign in a row and has racked up 16.5 sacks and 10 interceptions during his career.

Laurinaitis added 109 tackles, an interception, a sack and a forced fumble last season, but Pro Football Focus (subscription required) rated his performance a below-average 83rd out of 97 qualifying LBs. He graded out especially poorly against the run, which doesn’t seem to bode well for the Saints – who allowed the league’s highest yards-per-carry average last season (4.9).

In New Orleans, Laurinaitis will join a corps of linebackers that was likely to feature Stephone Anthony, Hau’oli Kikaha and Dannell Ellerbe in starting roles. It’s unclear how the addition of Laurinaitis – a middle linebacker who played 99.7 percent of the Rams’ defensive snaps last season – will impact Anthony. After the Saints took him in the first round of last year’s draft, Anthony started all 16 of their games, made 112 tackles, forced two fumbles, and added a sack and an interception while manning the middle of their defense.

In addition to Laurinaitis, the Saints inked linebacker Nate Stupar on Wednesday. He’s mainly a contributor on special teams, however. Previously, the Saints made changes to their LB group by releasing David Hawthorne and Ramon Humber in February.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Saints Looking At Su'a Cravens

March 24th, 2016 at 6:00pm CST by Zachary Links

Clemson DE Shaq Lawson has (or has had) visits/workouts with the Cowboys and 49ers, per Rand Getlin of NFL.com (Twitter links). The Jets, Titans, Saints, Panthers, and Browns have also linked up with Lawson, per previous reports. Matt Miller of Bleacher Report (on Twitter) opines that Lawson is a top 10 talent.
USC linebacker/safety Su’a Cravens will visit/work out for the Falcons, Panthers, Colts, Bills, Patriots, Saints, and Chargers, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (on Twitter).

Saints Met With Campbell DT Greg Milhouse

March 24th, 2016 at 10:40am CST by Luke Adams

Before his pro day, Campbell defensive tackle Greg Milhouse had a dinner meeting with the Saints, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Head coach Sean Payton said this week that adding to the defensive line is a top priority for New Orleans heading into the draft.

New Orleans Saints News & Rumors