Woof. Here’s a lesson in why you don’t count your chickens before they hatch. Despite early optimism in a report from ESPN’s Dianna Russini, both Anthony Barr and Kareem Hunt left the New Orleans Saints without signing contracts.
To be fair to Russini, she did include a couple of exit ramps — she specified that both players needed to pass their physicals and complete workouts with the team. Additionally, they needed to reach an agreement on a deal with the Saints. If New Orleans was confident in their offers (which, if we read the tea leaves from Russini’s report, they were), the Saints probably expected both players to sign right away.
They likely shouldn’t have felt that way about it. Hunt at least made clear his intentions of getting a good deal, not just the first one put in front of him, before he ever landed in New Orleans. Now he’s off to visit the Indianapolis Colts, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. His NFL Network colleague Mike Garafolo reports that Barr “has interest from other teams” and could make additional visits of his own. We’ll see how these situations develop in the days ahead.
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