Kenyon Coleman To Retire

7:50pm: Coleman is planning on retiring after having missed the entire 2013 season, reports ESPN.com’s Mike Triplett. As mentioned below, it was reported earlier that the Saints had no intention of re-signing the 12-year veteran.

4:18pm: The Saints don’t intend to re-sign defensive end Kenyon Coleman this offseason, reports Katherine Terrell of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. New Orleans signed Coleman to a one-year deal a year ago, but he spent the year on injured reserve after suffering a torn pectoral muscle in August.

While Coleman has never recorded huge sack numbers, Saints defensive coordinator Rob Ryan had high praise for the veteran lineman last summer, calling him the “best run defender in football as a 3-4 end.” In his last two fully healthy seasons, with the Browns in 2010 and the Cowboys in 2011, Coleman ranked among the top 10 among 3-4 ends in Pro Football Focus’ run defense rankings (subscription required). Still, he’ll turn 35 in April, so a backup or part-time role is likely his best bet for 2014.

We also heard yesterday that the Saints won’t tender a contract offer to restricted free agent Tom Johnson, so it looks like at least two of the team’s defensive linemen will be hitting the open market.

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