Category: Former Saints

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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Former Saints LB Vince Biegel turning into a bright spot for Dolphins

Few would argue that the New Orleans Saints made a bad move in swapping linebackers with the Miami Dolphins back before the NFL roster cuts deadline, shipping out a special teams ace and defensive reserve for a starting-quality veteran. Kiko Alonso …

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Few would argue that the New Orleans Saints made a bad move in swapping linebackers with the Miami Dolphins back before the NFL roster cuts deadline, shipping out a special teams ace and defensive reserve for a starting-quality veteran. Kiko Alonso has played well for New Orleans in his first few months on the job, gradually picking up more of the defensive playbook and earning increasingly-high snap counts.

But this is a case where both parties came away feeling good about what they’d gained. For Miami, it meant a talented pass rusher who’s just happy to have the opportunity. Vince Biegel has turned into a bright spot in a season that’s been tough to watch for Dolphins fans. He ranks second on the team in sacks (2) but leads the defense in hits (11) by a landslide. If he put up those same numbers for the Saints, he’d rank third-best in each category.

According to pressure rates charted by Pro Football Focus, Biegel places inside the top 10 for pass rushers league-wide, ranking just above Marcus Davenport. That shows that he’s performing well with consistency on a snap-to-snap basis, not just notching a few lucky plays.

And for Biegel and his family, the opportunity to start on a defense and make a career in Miami is something to be grateful for. Wins and losses are great (and his fortunes there would be widely reversed if the Saints hadn’t traded him), but the chance to write his own NFL story is something he appreciates.

“To be in (Dolphins coach Brian Flores) defense has been a blessing for me,” Biegel said earlier this season. “Coach Flo reminds me a lot of Dave Aranda, who was the defensive coordinator at Wisconsin, a guy who really loved to mix it up, a great defensive mind who really put guys in great positions to make plays.”

And he’s made some memorable plays for Dolphins faithful already, including his first career sack — which came against none other than New England Patriots legend Tom Brady. The list of players who can boast that kind of start to their career is brief, and it’s something Biegel takes pride in.

“For me, this has been the most comfortable defense I’ve been a part of so far in the league,” Biegel continued. “It’s been fun to be a part of this defense, make some plays, obviously for the team and continue to grow. As the season progresses, and hopefully (I) stay here for years to come I hopefully can grow and develop and to be a great, great player in this defense.”

So what does this mean for Saints fans? It’s certainly not something to complain about. Biegel was playing well in his role for New Orleans, but the opportunity to add someone as experienced as Alonso was too good to pass up, especially with Biegel buried on the depth chart. If anything, having someone to root for during Dolphins games is a plus for fans of the black and gold — so long as they aren’t the ones playing against Biegel and his new team.

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