Category: Former Saints

Ex-Saints TE Dan Arnold catches his first touchdown for the Cardinals

Former New Orleans Saints tight end Dan Arnold made a huge impact for his new team, catching a touchdown for the Arizona Cardinals.

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One former New Orleans Saints player had a big day with his new squad on Sunday, when tight end Dan Arnold caught a touchdown pass from rookie Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray just before halftime in their game against the Cleveland Browns. Murray trusted Arnold to leap up high at the back corner of the end zone, and his new teammate came through — remembering to tap his toes into paydirt on his way back down to earth. Not bad for his first game in Cardinals red.

Arnold spent the better part of his first three years in the league with New Orleans, initially playing wide receiver as an undrafted prospect out of Wisconsin-Platteville before bulking up in a move to tight end. He was waived earlier this month to make room for backup linebacker Manti Te’o, and the Cardinals didn’t hesitate to snap him up off of waivers on Dec. 5.

While it’s a shame that things didn’t work out better for Arnold and the Saints, it’s great to see him thrive as he continues to find his way in the league. This was a huge play for Arnold, and bodes well for the next leg of his NFL career. See it for yourself:

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Watch: Jonathan Vilma addresses Saints before practice, on behalf of 2009 team

Super Bowl-winning LB Jonathan Vilma spoke to the New Orleans Saints ahead of their Monday Night Football game with the Indianapolis Colts

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The New Orleans Saints were joined by special guests at their Sunday practice, ahead of Monday’s game with the Indianapolis Colts. Members of the 2009 team that won Super Bowl XLIV were in attendance to observe the practice session and catch up with each other, as well as the players who are following in their footsteps.

Among them was former Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma, who was invited to open up practice with an impromptu speech. You can watch that speech where it’s been embedded below, or by following this link.

Surrounded by current and former members of the Saints, Vilma brought them all together and delivered a message on behalf of his teammates who won it all, ten years ago.

“Hey man, Coach isn’t lying,” Vilma began, referencing earlier comments from Saints coach Sean Payton. “We wanna see you guys be great, we wanna see you guys win. We do live vicariously through you. We hope that you win. We hurt just like you hurt last year. I hope you get it done this year. You’ve got all the tools and all the talent.”

It’s very cool to see Vilma surrounded again by black and gold, and for so many familiar faces to crowd the Saints practice facility. The Saints plan to honor the 2009 team during halftime of Monday night’s game against the Colts, and it won’t be something Saints fans want to miss.

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Saints mourn death of famed ‘Dome Patrol’ linebacker Vaughan Johnson

Former New Orleans Saints LB Vaughan Johnson passed away Thursday, leaving a legacy filled with ‘Dome Patrol’ memories and four Pro Bowls.

The New Orleans Saints lost a great member of the black and gold this week, after former linebacker Vaughan Johnson passed away after battling kidney disease. He was 57, and is survived by his wife and children.

Johnson was a key piece of the famous “Dome Patrol” Saints defenses of the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, having played alongside Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Rickey Jackson, Pat Swilling, and the late Sam Mills. Johnson represented the Saints in four Pro Bowl appearances, including the 1992 Pro Bowl in which all four linebackers were invited — the only time it’s happened in the history of the NFL’s all-star game.

Having starred at North Carolina State in college, Johnson was initially drafted not by the NFL, but by the then-competitor United States Football Legaue, joining the Jacksonville Bulls in 1984. The Saints claimed his rights in the NFL’s supplemental draft of USFL and Canadian Football League players, and he signed with New Orleans after the USFL folded in 1986.

While Jackson was the unquestioned star of the group and Swilling the most athletically-gifted, Mills and Johnson were the glue and no-nonsense pros who kept the group together. Denver Broncos head coach Vic Fangio was the Saints’ linebackers coach during the “Dome Patrol” era, and he described Johnson to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen as, “He was a great teammate, loved by everyone. He was a ferocious hitter and great all around ILB. And feared by the RBs in the league when he played. Ask Roger Craig.”

Johnson was remembered by other peers like Hall of Fame kicker Morten Andersen, who praised the linebacker’s kind nature off the field and ferocity during games in equal measure. Andersen bid his old teammate farewell and asked that Johnson greet Mills, who died in 2005, when they meet again.

It’s a sad day for the Who Dat Nation. But it doesn’t have to be. Johnson created many memories for long-time Saints fans, and it’s past time for the Saints to recognize their contributions. Late owner Tom Benson and living legend Steve Gleason have bronze statues in their likeness outside the Superdome, and an effigy of Mills guards the Carolina Panthers’ stadium (his second team) to this day. Renovations are already planned for the Superdome, set to begin in 2020; wouldn’t it be great if statues of Johnson, Mills, Swilling, and Jackson joined them to greet fans someday, sooner rather than later?

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Joe Horn among 10 ex-players charged with defrauding NFL health care plan

Former New Orleans Saints WR Joe Horn was charged with Pro Bowl RB Clinton Portis and several peers by the U.S. Department of Justice.

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Former New Orleans Saints wide receiver Joe Horn found himself in hot water on Thursday, when the U.S. Department of Justice charged a group of 10 retired NFL players with defrauding a league health care plan. Unlike the other former players in this group, Horn is being charged with a bill of information after agreeing to cooperate with government authorities. Other names on the list include former Pro Bowl running back Clinton Portis and his Washington Redskins teammates Carlos Rogers, Robert McCune and John Eubanks. A handful of other ex-NFL players round out the group.

According to the charges detailed in the DOJ report, retired NFL players including Horn submitted fraudulent claims totaling $3.9 million, with the league reimbursing $3.4 million of them between June 2018 and December 2018. Claims were made for expensive medical equipment in the range of $40,000 to $50,000 such as cryotherapy saunas, hyperbaric chambers, and electromagnetic therapy devices, but that equipment was never purchased.

Horn is charged along with the other defendants on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and health care fraud, but nine individual counts of wire fraud and nine different counts of health care fraud are also on the table. Penalties for these counts are as steep as 20 years in prison and up to $250,000.

It’s a developing story, and one worth watching as prosecutors proceed forwards. Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski held a press conference to announce the charges, saying, “Ten former NFL players allegedly committed a brazen, multimillion-dollar fraud on a health care plan meant to help their former teammates and other retired players pay legitimate, out-of-pocket medical expenses. Today’s indictments underscore that, whoever you are, if you loot health care programs to line your own pockets, you will be held accountable by the Department of Justice.”

This is certainly a disappointing turn for Horn, who played 103 of his 165 career NFL games with the Saints. He was one of the team’s most prominent players in the early 2000’s, though he lasted only 10 games once Saints coach Sean Payton was hired in 2006.

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Former Saints coach Joe Brady wins 2019 Broyles Award with LSU Tigers

LSU Tigers coordinator Joe Brady, formerly of the New Orleans Saints, won the 2019 Broyles Award for the nation’s best assistant coach.

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Big news broke Tuesday for a former New Orleans Saints coach, when LSU Tigers passing game coordinator Joe Brady was named the winner of the 2019 Broyles Award. Brady left Saints coach Sean Payton’s staff earlier this year to take a position under Tigers coach Ed Orgeron, and immediately made an impact in modernizing and diversifying LSU’s playbook on offense. With Brady’s influence, the Tigers jumped from an average of 402.1 yards per game (and 32.4 points per outing) in 2018 to eye-popping marks of 554.5 yards and 47.8 points per game in 2019.

The Broyles Award is handed out to the best assistant coach in the nation, who is chosen from a list of nominees submitted by college football teams. Brady is the first Tigers assistant to win this recognition since then-defensive coordinator John Chavis did so back in 2011. Saints defensive line coach Ryan Nielsen was twice nominated for the Broyles Award during his tenure with the North Carolina State Wolfpack, where he coached before New Orleans poached him.

Brady’s influence on the Tigers offense has been palpable, having introduced many concepts that are staples of the Saints’ playbook developed by Sean Payton while bringing in his on philosophies, tendencies, and play designs. He’s been instrumental in the Heisman Trophy campaign for Tigers quarterback Joe Burrow, as well as the team’s national title aspirations.

His next game will come against the Oklahoma Sooners in the Peach Bowl on Dec. 28, with the winner advancing to the national championship game against the winner of the Fiesta Bowl matchup between the Clemson Tigers and Ohio State Buckeyes. That title game will be played inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, the home of the Saints, creating an opportunity for the many fans with shared loyalty for the Saints and Tigers to take over a familiar venue.

Brady may be the fast-rising star in the college football ranks, and it’s a testament to the staff Payton has built in New Orleans that success stories like Brady have sprung from his coaching tree. He’s expected to be a popular name as new coaching staffs and hirings start filing in during the offseason, but for now, he’s laser-focused on winning it all for LSU.

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Roman Harper pushes back against ex-49er Donte Whitner’s trash talk

Former New Orleans Saints safety Roman Harper fired back after ex-San Francisco 49ers safety Donte Whitner took jabs at his team on Twitter.

The San Francisco 49ers are readying to kick off against the New Orleans Saints in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Sunday, leading former players from both teams to take to social media to reminiscence about their glory days, and maybe air some grievances ahead of this year’s Festivus celebration.

Former 49ers safety Donte Whitner fired the opening salvo, claiming his team delivered “karma for Bountygate” to the Saints in their infamous 2011 playoff game. In that matchup, Whitner got away with a dangerous helmet-to-helmet hit on Saints running back Pierre Thomas on the opening drive, knocking Thomas unconscious and concussing him. Whitner insisted that his tackle was made “The legal way,” which angered retired Saints safety Roman Harper.

“Bro what a joke,” Harper wrote, pointing out how the 49ers won that game after the Saints offense committed five turnovers, and giving Whitner’s defense credit for creating so many takeaways. He then warned Whitner against putting on a tough-guy act on social media.

At the time, Whitner’s hit on Thomas was ruled legal because Thomas not a defenseless player, having completed several football moves (catching a pass and running upfield) prior to being struck. But after increased public awareness about the dangers of concussions suffered in sports put pressure on the NFL, rules changes in 2017 and 2018 outlawed all helmet-to-helmet hits like this under a blanket policy. Thomas was lucky to not suffer line-changing effects from the brain injury Whitner inflicted on him; others haven’t been so lucky.

Harper was one of several Saints players involved in the NFL’s “Bountygate” scandal, in which league commissioner Roger Goodell used the testimony of a disgruntled former Saints team employee (who now works in the league office) as grounds to suspend multiple players and team personnel for much of the 2012 season. Upon reviewing Goodell’s evidence for the claims made against the Saints and the under-oath testimony of then-linebackers coach Joe Vitt and others implicated in the drama, NFL-appointed arbiter and former commissioner Paul Tagliabue overturned all player suspensions and later reprimanded his successor in an interview with Rolling Stone.

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Former Saints CB Jabari Greer shares his thoughts on always-evolving offense

Jabari Greer practiced against the New Orleans Saints offense every day for almost four years, and he’s noticed changes in today’s team.

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Jabari Greer was one of the unsung heroes of the 2009 New Orleans Saints squad, which won Super Bowl XLIV and brought the city its first Lombardi Trophy. The veteran cornerback started several years for New Orleans and consistently manned up against the best receivers in the league.

His playing career ended with a torn ACL, but Greer has found success in covering NFL games in Canada for TSN and contributing to the SEC Network as a college football analyst, a role he’s enjoyed as a proud Tennessee Volunteers alum.

When prompted by a fan to discuss the changes in the 2019 Saints offense against the unit Greer played alongside from 2009 to 2013, Greer acknowledged the differences seen today while praising Saints coach Sean Payton and his staff for creatively working with the personnel they have, and not trying to put players in positions they aren’t suited for.

“Great question! I believe the Saints have adjusted their offense based on the personnel they have available, and not draft based on the system that is in place,” Greer wrote from his official Twitter account. “That is good coaching! Humbly asking ‘Who do we have, and how can we make ‘em shine.'”

A great illustration of Greer’s point would be Taysom Hill. Nominally a quarterback, the Saints have developed Hill’s positional versatility to a point where he’s scoring multiple touchdowns (both on the ground and through the air) while making an impact on special teams with blocked punts, all in the same game.

Obviously it would be great if the Saints had the personnel to where Payton doesn’t have to scheme up so much smoke and so many mirrors. If they had, for example, another wide receiver to make plays opposite Michael Thomas then things would be going much more smoothly — but their best options, Ted Ginn Jr. and Tre’Quan Smith, have caught just 38% of their targets since the bye week.

The Saints will have opportunities to improve that position group in the offseason. But for now, it’s like Greer said — good coaching and creative adjustments to personnel are helping the Saints win the day, week in and week out.

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Steve Gleason taunts the Falcons after early gaffe: ‘Never punt’

New Orleans Saints legend Steve Gleason didn’t pass up the opportunity to taunt the NFC South-rival Atlanta Falcons after a botched punt.

No one was happier to see the New Orleans Saints block an Atlanta Falcons punt early in their game on Thanksgiving night than Steve Gleason, the living legend whose own block against the Falcons is immortalized with a bronze statue outside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Even though his playing days are long behind him, the Saints’ retired playmaker remains an avid fan of his old team and made sure to tune in for their game with his family After Saints quarterback Taysom Hill cut through the Atlanta line to deflect the punt away, giving his team the ball, Gleason took to his official Twitter account to taunt the Falcons:

Gleason has been battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) since 2011, a neurodegenerative disease that has confined him to a wheelchair and taken away his ability to speak. He now relies on cutting-edge software to type on an electric keyboard with his eyes, using a text-to-speech program  to communicate.

But he and his family haven’t let that condition prevent him from living his life to the fullest. The Gleasons continue to travel often, and they welcomed their second child to their family last year. He remains a common sight on the sidelines at Saints games and is actively involved in his Team Gleason Foundation.

So here’s to Steve Gleason, one of the greatest alumni of Saints coach Sean Payton’s management of the team. Despite all the adversity he’s experienced, he still has his sense of humor, and is eager to use it to dunk on the Falcons.

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Former Saints Mark Ingram, Willie Snead piledrive Rams with four Ravens TD’s

Two former New Orleans Saints, RB Mark Ingram and WR Willie Snead, scored 4 touchdowns when the Baltimore Ravens beat the Los Angeles Rams.

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The Los Angeles Rams needed to win on Monday night to keep their playoff hopes alive, but two former New Orleans Saints players weren’t about to let that happen. Now with the Baltimore Ravens, running back Mark Ingram and wide receiver Willie Snead scored four touchdowns on the overwhelmed Rams defense; three of those touchdowns were passes caught from breakout star quarterback Lamar Jackson. Baltimore won in a landslide, 45-6.

You love to see it. The Rams of course took advantage of an officiating gaffe in last year’s NFC championship game to advance past the Saints and into Super Bowl LIII; they lost that game in humiliating fashion, 13-3, and haven’t recovered. There was no one more suited to bury their hopes on a national stage than Ingram, who logged 15 rushing attempts to gain 111 yards and score a touchdown run, to go with his 7-yard touchdown reception. Snead only caught two passes against Los Angeles, but they both ended in the end zone from seven yards out.

Of course Saints fans would rather Ingram be scoring touchdowns in New Orleans; it’s a shame that they couldn’t work out a deal in free agency earlier this year. At least he’s having a blast and taking down teams that have given the Saints trouble. Ingram is averaging the second-most rushing yards per game of his career (70.7) with Baltimore, trailing only his 2014 season, in which he first reached the Pro Bowl.

As for the Rams: this loss lowered their record on the year so far to 6-5, putting them firmly in third-place in the NFC West behind the San Francisco 49ers (10-1) and Seattle Seahawks (9-2). Considering two different NFC North are currently in the playoff picture (the 8-3 Green Bay Packers and 8-3 Minnesota Vikings), the Rams can’t afford to lose another game down the stretch to even make it to the postseason. Meanwhile, the Saints are a game away from clinching their third consecutive NFC South title. Things are great.

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Former Saints players Delvin Breaux, Adam Bighill competing for CFL Grey Cup

Former Saints Delvin Breaux and Adam Bighill will compete in the 2019 CFL Grey Cup between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Winnipeg Blue Bombers

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The Canadian Football League is set to kick off its 2019 Grey Cup championship game, and two former New Orleans Saints players are set to compete for it — on opposing sidelines. Former Saints cornerback Delvin Breaux is leading the Hamilton Tiger-Cats while ex-Saints linebacker Adam Bighill is running the Winnipeg Blue Bombers defense.

While it’s a fascinating lens to view the game through, it’s great to see both players having success after their time with the Saints came to an end. A series of injuries forced Breaux, a New Orleans native, to return to the CFL. He’s since signed a three-year contract extension with Hamilton after joining Bighill on the 2018 CFL West All-Stars team. He’s still an ardent Saints fan to this day, and has recorded 26 tackles, an interception, and a forced fumble in 10 games.

As for Bighill: he went back to the CFL unsatisfied with his Saints experience, having spent extended time on the practice squad before getting a handful of snaps with the special teams units in his first year with New Orleans. His performance in 2018 earned the award for the CFL’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player, as well as a three-year contract extension that made him the CFL’s highest-paid player on defense. Bighill has appeared in 15 games this year, racking up 61 tackles, four sacks, two interceptions, and two forced fumbles.

Saints fans interested in watching Saturday’s Grey Cup finale between Breaux’s Ticats and Bighill’s Bombers can tune into ESPN2 at 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT. It’s a shame that neither Breaux nor Bighill had enduring, productive careers with New Orleans, but it’s terrific to see them still scuceeding.

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