New Orleans Saints Rumors & News - Pro Football Rumors

NFC Notes: Mincey, Eli, Bennett, Saints, Pack

July 31st, 2015 at 7:20pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Here’s a look at the latest from around the NFC:

Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett said the team and defensive end Jeremy Mincey, who is holding out from training camp over a contract dispute, have had some back and forth regarding a new deal, according to Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Twitter link). The 31-year-old Mincey started all 16 games last season and totaled 46 tackles, six sacks, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries. He’s due to earn $1.5MM this year.
Giants quarterback Eli Manning, who is entering the final year of his contract, hasn’t set a deadline on getting an extension done, tweeted the New York Daily News’ Ralph Vacchiano.
Bears tight end Martellus Bennett said in June that he’s “always working on a new contract,” but he changed his tune Thursday, per ESPN’s Jeff Dickerson. “I’m not even worried about a contract right now,” he said. “It’s just business. I have no hard feelings against anybody.” Bennett, who caught 90 passes and made his first Pro Bowl trip in 2014, has two years left on his contract and is set to earn a base salary of $4.9 million this season.
The NFL suspended Saints tight end Orson Charles for one game without pay for violating its personal conduct policy, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). The league’s discipline process is confidential, meaning it’s unclear what Charles was suspended for, but Evan Woodbery of NOLA.com wrote that Charles received diversion in February for a 2014 “road rage” incident. The 24-year-old has appeared in 29 NFL games, all with the Bengals (none since 2013), and caught nine passes.
Friday was rough for Washington cornerback Bashaud Breeland: The league suspended him one game for a past incident involving marijuana possession and he suffered an apparent right leg injury during practice. ESPN’s John Keim reports (via Twitter) that it’s an MCL injury and Breeland will miss 4-6 weeks.
The Packers worked out ex-Sacred Heart running back Keshaudas Spence on Friday, according to Weston Hodkiewicz of the Press Gazette (via Twitter).

NFC South Notes: David, S. Hill, Saints

July 29th, 2015 at 10:51pm CST by Luke Adams

Let’s wrap up Wednesday evening by taking a look at a few items from out of the NFC South….

Buccaneers GM Jason Licht says that he’s having “some healthy talks” with linebacker Lavonte David regarding a new contract, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. Licht said that a deal like this doesn’t get done overnight, but he’ll do “everything” he can “to make sure Lavonte is a [member of the Bucs] for a long time” (Twitter link).
Meanwhile, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times classifies the David extension talks as “amicable but not fruitful” in his look at the Buccaneers linebacker.
Panthers wide receiver Stephen Hill was issued a citation for a drug paraphernalia charge during a traffic stop in Concord, North Carolina on Tuesday afternoon, as Kevin Patra of NFL.com writes. According to the incident report, Hill was charged for knowingly possessing with intent to use drug paraphernalia, including two grinders with marijuana residue and a marijuana bowl. Hill was already a long shot to get a spot on the team with a significant role, but this incident hurts his chances even more.
Speaking today to reporters, including ESPN.com’s Mike Triplett, Saints GM Mickey Loomis admitted that he’ll have to re-examine the steps that led him to locking up Junior Galette last fall. “I’ve got to say, ‘Hey, what could we have done differently? What were the red flags that we missed or that I missed?'” Loomis said. “I thought this was a player that’s had a lot of production for us and felt like the arrow was pointing up. At the time, I thought this was a good deal for us.”

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/29/15

July 29th, 2015 at 9:39pm CST by Zachary Links

Here are today’s minor signings, cuts, and other moves from around the NFL…

AFC:

The Browns have re-signed undrafted rookie defensive back Landon Feichter, as Nate Ulrich of the Beacon-Journal writes. The 5’11”, 201-pound Feichter originally signed with the Browns on May 11 after participating in the team’s rookie minicamp on a tryout basis. He was waived on June 22. Feichter appeared in 45 games as a safety at Purdue University and tallied 234 career tackles, 10 interceptions and eight passes defensed.
The Steelers have removed linebacker Shawn Lemon from their roster, waiving him from the PUP list and signing defensive back Jordan Sullen to take his place, tweets PR man Burt Lauten.
The Ravens have waived undrafted rookie wide receiver Cam Worthy and signed Tom Nelson, who is converting from safety to wide receiver, Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com tweets.
The Colts have signed cornerback Raymon Taylor, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (on Twitter). Taylor played collegiately at Michigan.
The Chiefs have parted ways with running back Cyrus Gray, who finished last season on the team’s injured reserve list, tweets Wilson.
The Dolphins have signed defensive tackle Calvin Barnett, wide receiver Kai De La Cruz, offensive tackle Chris Martin, and waived defensive lineman Ellis McCarthy, according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald (on Twitter).
Fullback James Develin, who received an exclusive rights qualifying offer from the Patriots way back in March, has finally signed it today, according to Shalise Manza Young of the Boston Globe (via Twitter).
After clearing waivers, wide receiver James Wright has been placed on the IR by the Bengals, tweets Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

NFC:

The Falcons have signed offensive lineman Demarcus Love, bringing the roster up to 90 players, the team announced today in a press release. Love, who finished last season on the Broncos’ practice squad, worked out for the Browns yesterday, and inked a two-year deal with Atlanta, per Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com (Twitter links).
The Buccaneers, entering the day with one open roster spot, created two more openings by cutting defensive backs Deshazor Everett and Derrick Wells, according to a team release. To get back up to 90 players, the Bucs added rookie defensive backs Jude Adjei-Barimah and Al-Hajj Shabazz and free agent safety Kimario McFadden, who spent time on the Atlanta, Tampa Bay, and Carolina practice squads in 2014
The Bears announced that guard Chad Hamilton, who missed a lot of time in the spring, is retiring from football, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune tweets. Hamilton has been placed on the reserve/retired list.
The Saints have signed long snapper Chris Highland, according to Evan Woodbery of the Times-Picayune (on Twitter).
Having cleared waivers, Cameron Lawrence, and offensive lineman Ryan Miller have been placed on the Cowboys‘ injured reserve list, per Wilson (Twitter link).

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Saints Release Brodrick Bunkley

July 28th, 2015 at 4:10pm CST by Zachary Links

The Saints have terminated the contract of Brodrick Bunkley with a failed physical designation, according to Jayson Braddock of ESPN Radio (on Twitter). The nose tackle has been struggling with injuries as of late.

Bunkley, 31, agreed to a pay cut for the second year in a row, but it wasn’t enough to save his job in New Orleans. Bunkley’s pay cut, agreed to back in March, created about $3MM in cap savings for the club. Last November, he suffered a leg injury during a loss to the Ravens, ending his season. With 276 defensive snaps this year, Bunkley was New Orleans’ second-most-used defensive tackle, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

Saints Release Junior Galette

July 27th, 2015 at 3:52pm CST by Luke Adams

MONDAY, 3:52pm: After passing a physical earlier today, Galette has officially been released by the Saints, who also signed tight end Kevin Brock and guard Cole Manhart, waiving center Mike Brewster with an injury designation (Twitter link via Evan Woodbery of the New Orleans Times-Picayune).

According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the team waited as long as possible to cut Galette in the hopes that the NFL would take action that would allow the Saints to potentially recoup some of the signing bonus money they owed him.

FRIDAY, 1:50pm: Galette must take – and pass – a physical with the Saints before he’s officially released, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, adding that the physical will likely happen this weekend.

1:24pm: In a surprising roster move, the Saints are releasing pass rusher Junior Galette before their training camp gets underway, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter).

While Galette has provided plenty of value to the Saints on the field over the last two years, recording back-to-back seasons of double-digit sacks, his off-field behavior cost him his job. The former undrafted free agent was arrested on a domestic charge in January, and a report last month indicated that a video has surfaced of a man who appeared to be Galette using force against a woman in a beach brawl.

With Galette making the wrong sort of headlines, and New Orleans’ roster undergoing a significant offseason overhaul, it came as no surprise when winter reports suggested head coach Sean Payton and the Saints wouldn’t have been opposed to moving on from the pass rusher if they could find a taker. However, given the off-field red flags, and the significant chunk of guaranteed money still owed to him, it was equally unsurprising that the Saints were ultimately forced to bite the bullet and simply cut him.

Galette, who turned 27 in March, just signed a lucrative four-year extension with the Saints last September, and has already received more than $17MM in salary and bonus money from the team since then. Having converted Galette’s $12.5MM roster bonus to a signing bonus earlier this year, New Orleans will now have to eat a tremendous amount of dead money to make the 27-year-old go away.

Based on contract information provided by Over the Cap, Galette’s $5.45MM cap hit for 2015 figures to remain unchanged, with the remainder of his prorated bonus money accelerating to the 2016 league year — based on my math, Galette will count for $12.1MM against New Orleans’ ’16 cap.

While Galette will hit the free agent market, that won’t stop the NFL from looking into his off-field behavior and potentially handing out a suspension, which will adversely affect his chances of landing with a new team. Depending on the language of Galette’s contract, I’d also expect the Saints to make an effort to get back some of the bonus money they’ve paid him over the last 12 months.

Galette’s odds of signing with a new team figure to be negatively impacted by his health as well — he’s said to be recovering from a pectoral injury, and won’t go under the knife to repair the damage.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NFC Notes: Peterson, Panthers, Levy, Dez

July 27th, 2015 at 3:06pm CST by Luke Adams

A couple reports this offseason suggested that Adrian Peterson was at least briefly contemplating retirement, but it doesn’t sound like the Vikings running back is leaning toward leaving the game anytime soon. Speaking to Peter King of TheMMQB.com, Peterson said he feels like he can continue playing until he’s “36 or 37 years old — and at a high level.”

Here’s more from around the NFC:

The Panthers have finalized contract extensions for a number of key players this offseason, including quarterback Cam Newton, linebacker Thomas Davis, and tight end Greg Olsen. Linebacker Luke Kuechly appears to be next in line for a new deal, but if the two sides don’t reach an agreement within the next few weeks, it’ll have to wait until 2016. Panthers GM Dave Gettleman tells Bill Voth of the Black and Blue Review that he won’t negotiate extensions during the season: “Once the regular season begins, that’s it.”
Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link) believes there’s a good chance the Lions lock up linebacker DeAndre Levy to a new contract at some point before the season begins. According to Rapoport, Detroit views Levy as an “essential” piece.
One source tells Jason Cole of Bleacher Report that the way the Cowboys structured Dez Bryant‘s new contract to protect themselves is “brilliant.” However, Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News argues that Cole’s report overstates the concerns the Cowboys have about the star receiver’s off-field conduct.
Byron Maxwell‘s name usually doesn’t come up when NFL fans and observers debate the top cornerbacks in the league. But after the Eagles signed him to a deal that pays him like a top-five corner, Maxwell is confident that he can be in that mix, writes Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Following New Orleans’ release of pass rusher Junior Galette, Bill Barnwell of Grantland examines the Saints‘ cap situation, openly wondering about Drew Brees‘ future with the franchise.

Extra Points: Rule Changes, Vikings, Galette

July 26th, 2015 at 8:24pm CST by Ben Levine

There will be new procedures during the 2015 season for monitoring and preparing footballs prior to games, reports Mike Pereira of FoxSports.com. As the writer notes, there will be revisions to “the number of footballs prepared, random testing and changes in the oversight of the footballs once they’ve been checked by officials.”

The “properties” of a football will remain the same, meaning the infamous ball pressure will still be required to fall between 12.5 and 13.5 PSI.

Some assorted notes from the around the league as we wrap up the weekend…

The Vikings are likely waiting a year until they try to extend safety Harrison Smith, tweets Chris Tomasson of St. Paul Pioneer Press. The writer notes that the organization prefers to hand out extensions during the final year of a player’s contract.
Some of Junior Galette‘s former teammates are standing by the linebacker. Saints cornerback Keenan Lewis is hopeful that another organization will give the embattled player a second chance. “You know, that’s a guy who I think is a good guy. Probably made a couple of bad decisions lately, but I don’t want people to judge him,” Lewis told Joel A. Erickson of the Black and Gold blog. “Give him a chance, give him an opportunity. Wish the best for him. Don’t talk down on him and say this guy’s that. Like they say, don’t ever judge a book from the first two pages. Always read the middle.”
Safety Kenny Vaccaro echoed that sentiment. “I really didn’t follow all the stuff closely,” Vaccaro said. “Junior’s a great player, he played his heart out every game. It’s unfortunate that we can’t have him, because he’s a great pass rusher.”

NFC Notes: Cardinals, Galette, Holmgren, JPP

July 25th, 2015 at 12:28pm CST by Ben Levine

Cardinals wideout Damond Powell was shot Friday night at his home in Toledo, Ohio, the city police announced today (via Fox10Tv.com). The undrafted rookie was reportedly sitting in his driveway with friends when shots were fired from a car down the street.

Police do not believe the injuries to be life-threatening, and they’ve yet to make an arrest.

The Iowa star finished his two-year career with 31 receptions for 608 yards and five touchdowns. He also added three rushes for 23 yards. The 22-year-old was among 14 undrafted free agents to be picked up by the Cardinals in May.

Let’s check out some more notes from around the NFC…

Several Saints players told Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller that Junior Galette was a “cancer” in the locking room. The writer praises the Saints for the move, citing the team’s desire to change the culture of the franchise. Meanwhile, ESPN.com’s Mike Triplett says the Saints should be “ripped” for making a bad investment, but should also be “applauded” for not letting money cloud their judgement.
Mike Holmgren had reached out to the 49ers regarding their head coaching vacancy, but the 67-year-old was told the organization wanted someone younger. “I probably needed to hear that because you get your ego stroked and you’re flattered when people call you and you kind of get into a place where I’m not sure you’re making great decisions, but when I heard that I said, ‘Okay, I needed to hear that and now I’m going onto other things,’” Holmgren told CBS Sports’ Rich Eisen (via ProFootballTalk.com’s Mike Florio).
Giants legend Phil Simms told SiriusXM (via Ebenezer Samuel of the New York Daily News) that defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul should have trusted the organization following his firework accident. Simms cited the organization’s willingness to work with injured players, and Samuel notes that the team held on to David Wilson this past season despite the player suffering a career-ending injury.

Latest On Junior Galette

July 24th, 2015 at 6:44pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Saints’ eye-opening move to release pass rusher Junior Galette earlier today has drawn plenty of response, including from Gallette himself. Galette fired back at the team in the wake of its decision – which he called “terrible,” per Evan Woodbery of NOLA.com.

“Who else do they have?” he asked Woodbery, implying that the Saints don’t have anyone to replace the 22 sacks he provided the previous two seasons.

Per Woodbery, the Saints will try to fill Galette’s void with a slew of candidates – namely Anthony Spencer, second-round rookie Hau’oli Kikaha, fifth-rounder Davis Tull, Kasim Edebali and Ronald Powell. Whether any can adequately take over for Galette remains to be seen, but it doesn’t seem to matter to the Saints – who, despite his production and the four-year, $41.5MM contract they signed him to last September, were done with Galette months prior to today, according to Larry Holder of NOLA.com.

The Saints tried in vain throughout the offseason to trade Galette, who Holder reports was in a locker room fight with teammate Brandon Deaderick last year, and then video of him striking a woman with a belt in March 2013 came to the forefront in June. That was Galette’s second known domestic violence-related incident. The other came this past January, when he was booked on one count of misdemeanor simple battery (a domestic violence charge was subsequently dropped). A suspension may not be forthcoming, however, as Galette stated he met with league officials and said he was “in the clear” with respect to potential discipline, Lyons Yellin of WWL-TV tweeted. Holder wrote that the league’s investigation into both matters is “ongoing.” Galette expects to play somewhere, clearly, and said that he’ll be the top outside linebacker in the league in 2015, per Yellin (Twitter link).

Regarding which member of Saints brass was most influential in releasing him, Galette said, “Everything is Sean’s call,” referring to head coach Sean Payton. “He told me that himself. He’s the one who pulls the trigger,” Woodbery tweeted.

Payton axed Galette after the defender refused to go on season-ending injured reserve with a pectoral injury that he suffered last month, according to Yellin (Twitter link).

“I’m not hurt,” Galette told Payton. “Either play me or cut me.”

Payton’s move to get rid of Galette will have significant financial ramifications for New Orleans, as Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap detailed. In addition to having already paid Galette $17MM, the Saints won’t save any cap space this year and will be on the hook for a $5.45MM cap hit. It gets even worse in 2016, when the team will eat $12.1MM in dead cap space.

In his last parting shot (for now), Galette said on Snapchat, “They say don’t let business get personal. [Expletive] it,” Nick Underhill of the New Orleans Advocate tweeted.

His release will become official once he takes – and passes – a physical with the Saints, which is expected to happen this weekend.

Extra Points: Colts, Galette, Falcons

July 22nd, 2015 at 8:35pm CST by Zachary Links

Colts GM Ryan Grigson recently told Mike Chappell of CBS4 (Twitter link) that there were “language issues” to finalize when it came to deals for cornerback D’Joun Smith and defensive lineman Henry Anderson. Grigson added that there was no reason to believe those contracts wouldn’t get done for the two third-round draftees before August 1st. Smith and Anderson are the only remaining unsigned rookies now that Marcus Mariota and the Titans have reached agreement.

Here are a few more Wednesday evening odds and ends from around the league:

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told Evan Woodbery of The Times-Picayune that there is no update on outside linebacker Junior Galette‘s status with the Saints, just one week away from the start of training camp. McCarthy said the NFL would not comment or even confirm on whether there was meeting between Galette and league officials. “We consider a meeting a confidential part of the process between our office and the player,” he said.
This offseason, the Falcons moved on from veteran running back Steven Jackson and will go with a younger group at the position. D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution takes a look at the group, headlined by Devonta Freeman, a fourth-round pick in 2014 and Tevin Coleman, a third-round pick in 2015.
Commissioner Roger Goodell told Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Twitter link) on Tuesday that the NFL won’t expand past 32 teams. Interestingly enough, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred recently said that he will at least explore the idea of expansion.
The Raiders could use another young player to step up and create depth on the interior defensive line, Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com writes. Still, Oakland did add some size to its line this offseason with the signing of Dan Williams in free agency. C.J. Wilson, meanwhile, is expected to serve as a super-sub for the Raiders.

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