Category: 2022 free agency

CBS Sports predicts Jameis Winston for Comeback Player of the Year

CBS Sports HQ believes Jameis Winston could be Comeback Player of the Year. Here’s why they’re right. – via @RossJacksonNOLA

The last four NFL Comeback Player of the Year winners have been quarterbacks. According to CBS Sports HQ’s Ryan Harris, New Orleans Saints signal caller Jameis Winston could be the fifth in a row. Winston is considered the odds-on favorite to win the award this year as he returns from a season-ending ACL injury in last year’s Week 7 matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Harris, a former NFL offensive tackle who has protected the likes of Ben Roethlisberger, Alex Smith and Peyton Manning recently shared why he’s “fired up” about Winston’s return:

“I’ve got Jameis Winston as the Comeback Player of the Year. Last season, the Saints had over nine starters at different times on the (injured reserve list), and two of them were quarterbacks. So this was a championship-now team. They have a championship focus this year. Plus, they (add Jarvis Landry). They secure Michael Thomas long-term. I think Jameis Winston could be playing in that NFC Championship, they could even be hosting that game. So, look for Jameis Winston to have an amazing season after that surgery and the talent that’s around him. Plus a defense that even got improved. I really like the Saints and what Jameis Winston has as an opportunity.”

Winston certainly has the cast of characters around him to help support his revenge tour throughout the 2022 season. The Saints invested a lot to make sure they snagged wideout Chris Olave in this year’s draft in addition to the return of Thomas and addition of Landry. The question will be whether or not the absence of Sean Payton will factor in negatively to Winston’s progress.

He certainly looked good with his 14 touchdown passes to only 3 interceptions last year while not lacking in any big time throws. Last year, Winston ranked second in the NFL amongst qualifying passers (more than 100 dropbacks) in Pro Football Focus’ “Big Time Throw” metric. The rate measures accurately thrown passes downfield and in tight windows. Sure, Winston did not get to throw a ton of passes last year, but the quality of those he did let loose speak in his favor. Not to mention a defense that looks ready to put the ball back in his hands as often as possible.

The next level will be to see if Winston’s 2022 success translates in additional awards across the team. A great year by the former first-overall selection could translate into end-of-year recognition for receivers like Olave and Thomas. The last five quarterbacks to play a full season and win the comeback player award averaged over 4,600 passing yards, 36 touchdowns thrown and fewer than 14 interceptions surrendered. If Winston is able to hit around those marks, it’s not out of the question to assume he won’t be the one accepting an award at next year’s awards ceremony.

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Von Miller reveals just how short Cowboys’ offer was to bring him home

The Texas native would’ve given Dallas a hometown discount, but what they offered didn’t come close to that threshold. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys had egg on their faces following the fiasco with Randy Gregory. After trading away Amari Cooper to the Cleveland Browns on March 12, for a fifth-round pick, it looked like the team was going to be able to retain their biggest free agent. Only things fell apart after the sides agreed on five years, $70 million, over some language within the specifics of the deal. Gregory ended up in Denver with the Broncos for the same contract, minus the testy clause.

Trying to rebound from the loss, Dallas turned their attention to trying to acquire free agent Von Miller, two-time Super Bowl champion and Texas A&M alum. Miller was interested in signing with the Cowboys to return home, only the offer wasn’t close to what it would take. According to Miller, Dallas offered the same deal it offered Gregory, five years for $70 million according to an in-depth piece in The Athletic. That paled in comparison to the deal Miller signed with the Buffalo Bills, six years for $121 million.

Miller says Dallas then offered him the same contract they had negotiated with Gregory — a reported five-year, $70 million deal with two years guaranteed.

“I told them I was ready to come to the Cowboys,” Miller says. “I would have taken less to go to Dallas because it’s Dallas. But I wouldn’t take that much less.”

According to Miller, he actually few into Buffalo to turn the Bills down, but they were able to convince him that was the place the free agent needed to be.

Dallas is well known to not be willing to pay outsiders, a ton of money, but offering Miller the same amount they were offering Gregory seems ridiculous. Miller has only missed more than two games in a year once in his career. Gregory only has one season in which he’s missed two games or less.

Miller has nine seasons with at least eight sacks, including 9.5 in 2021. Gregory matched his career high of six in 2021. The age factor certainly plays a part, as Miller’s deal with Buffalo caused a ton of jaws to hit the floor.

It isn’t seen as a wise investment, until fans remember Jerry Jones’ own words that the investments that have worked out for him have all been seen as overpays at the time.

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Ranking NFC South quarterbacks after Panthers’ Baker Mayfield trade

After the Panthers’ trade for Baker Mayfield, where does Jameis Winston rank among the NFC South quarterbacks? via @RossJacksonNOLA:

The 2022 offseason has seen a lot of movement at quarterback for each and every team across the NFC South. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers watched Tom Brady retire and then promptly un-retire about 40 days later. The New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons, and Carolina Panthers all pursued Deshaun Watson, but he ultimately ended up elsewhere with the Cleveland Browns.

The Saints re-signed Jameis Winston with little to-do as that was always expected to be the team’s signal-caller until the Watson news started up. The Falcons soiled the relationship with their franchise’s best player in Matt Ryan and were forced to trade him to the Indianapolis Colts. Atlanta instead will head into the 2022 season with Marcus Mariota and rookie Desmond Ridder at quarterback.

The Panthers drafted Matt Corral to prepare for life post-Sam Darnold (though the Darnold era never took off). But followed that up most recently by trading for Browns former first-overall selection Baker Mayfield. Mayfield will now be the presumed starter in 2022 while the team works with Darnold and Corral.

It will be interesting to see what the Panthers do with Sam Darnold now, especially with PJ Walker also on the roster. With those signal callers now all in the same division, where do they all rank amongst their NFC South rivals? Here is my NFC South quarterback ranking ahead of the 2022 season.

Saints’ roster ranked 11th best ahead of 2022 by Pro Football Focus

The Saints had a very eventful 2022 offseason building a roster that was ranked just outside the top-10 in PFF’s rankings, via @RossJacksonNOLA:

After a very eventful offseason, many fans are curious where things are headed with their team’s roster. For the New Orleans Saints, while there are some questions left to answer and some training camp battles to watch, the roster is mostly filled out. A roster that Ben Linsey of Pro Football Focus ranked just outside the top-10 in the NFL ahead of training camp.

Linsey built his rankings by looking at projected starters, PFF’s grades from 2021, and also listed each roster’s strength, weakness, and X-factor. Coming in at No. 11, the team’s secondary is what brings the most confidence.

“Impact players at all three levels should make (New Orleans) one of the stingier defenses in the league again this season,” Linsey wrote. “Particularly against the run. The only team to allow fewer yards per run play than the Saints since 2019 is Tampa Bay.”

The Saints have hung their laurels on neutralizing opponents’ running games and forcing them to play through the air. Something that an improved, playmaking secondary will look forward to seeing. The additions of Tyrann Mathieu and Marcus Maye at safety will headline most conversations around this unit. But the team also took time to increase competition at cornerback opposite four-time pro bowler Marshon Lattimore. Look for last year’s starter Paulson Adebo to find competition in second-round rookie Alontae Taylor and veteran Bradley Roby throughout camp.

The teams ranked ahead of New Orleans all make sense to an extent. My biggest question marks ahead of them would be the Philadelphia Eagles (7) and Miami Dolphins (10). Both of which have major questions at quarterback while the Saints biggest question mark surprisingly didn’t fall into that category.

Instead, it was about the protection in front of quarterback Jameis Winston. The Saints invested their second first-round selection in this year’s draft in Northern Iowa’s towering left tackle Trevor Penning.

Penning has some things to improve upon but what generates confidence around the raw prospect is simple. He’s excellent when it comes to elements of the game that can’t be taught (size, athleticism, and tenacity), and needs help in areas that can be taught. With a premier developer like Doug Marrone now coaching the offensive line, there’s reason for optimism there.

Being ranked just outside the top-10 is not a bad place for this Saints roster as we project it. The return of Michael Thomas alone could push this roster into top-5 conversation if he returns to even just his rookie year level of production. Specialists were not considered in this exercise, but some might even say that the Saints special teams unit could help to push this team into a higher standing. At least on paper. How they perform on the field in 2022 will be the ultimate test of how successful this exciting offseason has actually been.

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Saints’ free agents who remain unsigned after minicamp

Kwon Alexander among Saints’ free agents who remain unsigned after minicamp:

The biggest waves of NFL free agency are well behind us, but some former New Orleans Saints players are still looking for a team in 2022. We last surveyed the field back in April, before the NFL draft and a second wave of free agent activity shook up the league’s landscape, but the close of Saints minicamp practices is a good opportunity to check in on everyone.

There have been some changes in recent months: the New York Giants signed defensive lineman Jalyn Holmes, center/guard Will Clapp joined the Los Angeles Chargers, and linebacker Chase Hansen ended up with the Atlanta Falcons, while defensive tackle Ethan Westbrooks is now playing with the USFL’s Michigan Panthers.

That leaves ten unsigned free agents who finished the 2021 season with New Orleans, with the most notable name on the list being linebacker Kwon Alexander (who totaled 538 snaps played last year, 535 of them on defense and 3 on special teams). Let’s run through the list:

Former Saints WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey to sign 1-year deal with Patriots

Former Saints WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey to sign 1-year deal with Patriots

A former New Orleans Saints wide receiver is on the move: NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that the New England Patriots are signing Lil’Jordan Humphrey to a one-year contract after wrapping up their minicamp practices, adding some more depth to their receiving corps.

Humphrey, 24, made the jump to the NFL with the Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2019. He spent a couple years bouncing on and off of the practice squad while managing injuries, and was expected to return to the team this year after his first contract expired. But as NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill observed, his delayed recovery from an ankle injury kept a second deal from materializing, and now he’s landing in New England.

The good news is the Saints have added enough players to their depth chart to take the hit. Chris Olave and Jarvis Landry are at the top, while undrafted rookies like Dai’Jean Dixon and Rashid Shaheed are in the mix for what would have been Humphrey’s roster spot.

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Veteran RB David Johnson taking free agent visit with the Saints

Veteran RB David Johnson is taking a free agent visit with the Saints. The 2016 All-Pro was teammates with Mark Ingram on the Texans in 2021:

This is interesting: NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill reports that free agent running back David Johnson is visiting the New Orleans Saints, which was confirmed by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The Saints have been linked to free agent running backs before, making a strong push to sign undrafted rookie Abram Smith (out of Baylor) while also meeting with 2021 Los Angeles Rams rushing leader Sony Michel (who signed with the Miami Dolphins on a league-minimum deal).

Johnson, 30, spent the last two seasons with the Houston Texans after a five-year run with the Arizona Cardinals in which he won first-team All-Pro recognition in 2016. He struggled to make much headway behind one of the NFL’s worst offensive lines last year, picking up nearly as many yards as a receiver (225) as a runner (228). An injury prevented him from stepping into a larger role once Mark Ingram II returned to the Saints in a midseason trade, but Johnson could still have some gas left in the tank. He led Houston in rushing in 2020 (with 147 carries for 691 yards, with 6 touchdown runs) while catching 33 passes for another 314 receiving yards and 2 touchdown receptions.

So Johnson could be a nice backup for Alvin Kamara once we know whether the Saints will be without their star running back, and for how long. If Kamara misses the expected six games following his arrest in Las Vegas earlier this year, having an accomplished veteran with experience on passing downs like Johnson could be big. It helps that he and Ingram are already used to working in tandem with each other. We’ll be on the lookout should Johnson and New Orleans agree to cut a deal.

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Report: Free agent linebacker Joe Schobert visiting the Saints

Free agent linebacker Joe Schobert is visiting the Saints. The 2017 Pro Bowler and former teammate of Jarvis Landry could add a lot to the LB room:

This is interesting: the New Orleans Saints are hosting veteran linebacker Joe Schobert on a free agent visit, as first reported by NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill. The 2017 Pro Bowler started for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Jacksonville Jaguars the last two years after starting his career with the Cleveland Browns, where he was teammates with Saints free agent pickup Jarvis Landry.

Linebacker isn’t seen as a high-priority need for the Saints right now given how well Demario Davis has played in recent years and the strong expectations Pete Werner earned off of limited snaps as a rookie, but Schobert could add some experience and playmaking ability to the group. New Orleans rarely fields more than two linebackers at a time, but the slow development of 2020 draft pick Zack Baun does open an opportunity for Schobert to get snaps somewhere.

It’s unclear what sort of contract Schobert is looking for, though he’s unlikely to break the bank (he played on the veteran’s minimum salary for Pittsburgh last season). With former Saints linebacker Kwon Alexander still unsigned in free agency, it’s possible the team is looking at other options before settling for a player they already know well. This could also be a move to pressure Alexander’s agent into signing off on an offer from New Orleans by showing their willingness to go in a different direction. In any case, it seems clear we should expect an addition to the linebacker corps sooner or later.

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Offseason full of risks brings Cowboys to precipice of pivotal 2022 campaign

That’s thin ice the Cowboys are skating on by taking so many risks this offseason. @CDPiglet wonders just how sharp are those blades?

On October 17, 2021, the Dallas Cowboys walked into New England and beat the Patriots behind a record-breaking performance from quarterback Dak Prescott. The win improved the team’s record to 5-1, a streak of five straight victories that included two blowout victories over division opponents. Headed into their bye week, Dallas was flying high, however Prescott suffered a calf injury on the game-winning play, and the Cowboys’ season went downhill from there.

The Cowboys went on to go 7-4, but only 3-4 against non-division opponents. The better teams figured out they could stifle the Cowboys’ offense by playing a coverage shell and forcing Dallas to try and run the ball against lighter boxes. Dallas was unable to run efficiently though, and they struggled blocking four-man rush concepts. This spiral culminated with a disappointing home playoff lost to the San Francisco 49ers, and led to another offseason of decisions for the Joneses-led front offense.

ESPN picks Saints as the best landing spot for their top remaining free agent

ESPN’s Matt Bowen picked the Saints as the best landing spot for Ndamukong Suh, his top remaining free agent:

Who would have guessed that the New Orleans Saints would end up being one of the bigger players in the latest waves of free agency? Given how slowly the Saints moved on from their ill-advised pursuit of Deshaun Watson and the twin departures of Marcus Williams and Terron Armstead, you’d be forgiven for keeping low expectations as we moved further into the offseason.

That narrative’s since gone up in smoke with the big-time additions of Tyrann Mathieu, Jarvis Landry, and some bold moves in the 2022 NFL draft. And New Orleans remains an attractive free agent destination to ESPN staff writer Matt Bowen, who picked the Saints as an ideal fit for defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh — his highest-ranked player still available. Suh racked up 43 quarterback pressures last season, per Pro Football Focus charting, which would have outpaced every single Saints defender not named Cameron Jordan. He’s a player with a nasty reputation in the NFL, but Suh only drew 4 penalty flags for 30 yards in 2021 (3 of them coming pre-snap for neutral zone infractions and an offsides foul).

So, sure, Suh would be a good get for New Orleans, even after turning 35 back in January. Here’s what Bowen had to say about the match:

“I originally considered matching the veteran defensive tackle back with the Buccaneers, but with Tampa Bay signing Akiem Hicks, we should expect Suh to land with another contender during camp. Suh had six sacks in 2021 and put some good tape out there in the postseason.

“I really like the idea of Suh playing in Dennis Allen’s defense. Even in a rotational role, Suh can still create disruption, command two in protection and get home to the quarterback in schemed fronts. He’d be effective in New Orleans with interior stunts and loops that create A-gap pressure and eliminate the quarterback’s ability to climb the pocket. And you need that when you see Tom Brady twice a season.”

Suh would add a lot to New Orleans’ interior rotation, giving the team a true starter next to David Onyemata that they haven’t enjoyed since Sheldon Rankins totaled 600-plus snaps back in 2018 (the 2016 first rounder was limited by injuries in 2019 and 2020 before leaving in free agency last year). Right now, Onyemata is standing head-and-shoulders above a group that includes backups like Shy Tuttle, Albert Huggins, and Malcolm Roach plus a couple of veteran-minimum signings in Kentavius Street and Jaleel Johnson, as well as a late-round draft pick in Air Force product Jordan Jackson. That collection of players shouldn’t be much of a hurdle to signing Suh.

And New Orleans does have the money to go get him. The Saints are under the salary cap by about $10.6 million, and they could get creative in signing a high-end player like Suh to keep his 2022 cap hit modest. Hicks going to Tampa Bay (ironically taking Suh’s roster spot in the process) provides a nice blueprint: he signed a one-year, $8 million deal largely made up of a $6.1 million signing bonus, with four void years spreading out the accounting and bring his immediate cap hit to just over $2.3 million. It’s a move right out of New Orleans’ own playbook, and it’s one they could use in going after Suh.

You’ve just got to wonder if the appetite is there. The Saints had opportunities to add a high-profile defensive tackle earlier in free agency and through the draft but went with budget-conscious moves instead. It’s very possible that they see the position as more of a tertiary need and expect the position coach Ryan Nielsen (recently promoted to co-defensive coordinator) to keep elevating talent in the group. Signing Suh to a one-year deal would mean he and Onyemata would both be headed for free agency in 2023, with a lot of dead money left behind should they not be re-signed. It’s risky, but that’s every day in the NFL. The Saints have shown us they have a plan and are willing to roll the dice a bit to accomplish it. Maybe Suh can factor into that vision, too.

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