This move has been in the making for quite some time. The New Orleans Saints are signing wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport. Valdes-Scantling won back-to-back Super Bowls with the Kansas City Chiefs, but before that, the Saints tried hard to recruit him in free agency. Now they’re getting him after all.
Valdes-Scantling’s arrival comes in the wake of season-ending knee surgery for Rashid Shaheed, one of the game’s brightest young stars. Like Shaheed, Valdes-Scantling is known as a deep threat, though he outweighs the injured Pro Bowler by 26 pounds. Valdes-Scantling is a bigger target at 6-foot-4 with a 78-inch wingspan compared to the 6-foot Shaheed’s 73-inch wingspan. He also clocked the 40 yard dash in 4.37 seconds coming out of college back in 2018.
But if those measurables were all that matters, Valdes-Scantling wouldn’t have been available. The Chiefs cut him earlier this year because his production didn’t match his contract. He initially signed with the Buffalo Bills but was let go after catching just two passes (on nine targets) through six games. So we should temper expectations for him in New Orleans.
Still, Valdes-Scantling does have a lot to offer. He’s competed in 11 playoff games and caught 188 passes for 3,181 yards before his 30th birthday, scoring 16 touchdowns. That experience matters, and the Saints clearly have a role in mind for him. Let’s see if it pans out.
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