Category: Saints on Social Media

WATCH: Saints party in the locker room after beating Bucs 34-23

The New Orleans Saints defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and celebrated with their signature dance battle amid a locker room party.

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Well that was an exciting one, wasn’t it? The New Orleans Saints players certainly thought so, taking time to celebrate a hard-fought Week 1 win over the upstart Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Saints wideout Emmanuel Sanders shared a look at their postgame antics in the locker room, complete with a D.J. and all the energy fans have gotten used to seeing in recent years.

Sure, it’s not the same as watching Teddy Bridgewater revive “Choppa Style” after decades at the bottom of party playlists. But there’s some real charm in seeing Jameis Winston awkwardly mimic Bridgewater’s signature “bike life” celebration while Alvin Kamara and Craig Robertson are locked in a dance-off.

This is a sign of what is meant when analysts refer to locker room culture; the ease everyone has in sharing camaraderie, and how eager they are to cut loose are leaving it all out on the field. These sort of locker room celebrations have become a staple of Saints postgame activities, and it’s great to see them return for 2020. Maybe next time their music choices will echo a little more cleanly into Sean Payton’s media conference call.

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LOOK: Margus Hunt shows off ‘battle scar’ from blocked field goal vs. Bucs

New Orleans Saints DL Margus Hunt showed off an impressive bruise from his blocked field goal against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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Margus Hunt was a call-up from the New Orleans Saints practice squad for Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and immediately proved why he earned it by blocking a critical Bucs field goal. He just may have gotten more than he bargained for in doing it, sporting a nasty bruise on his right arm after the game. The kick struck him on the inside biceps muscle, and while it looks painful, he’s apparently shaken it off.

But those special teams plays have been something Hunt is known for throughout his football career, in the NFL and at college. Hunt, a 6-foot-8 Estonian immigrant, starred at SMU while recording 17 blocked kicks (including an NCAA-record 10 field goal blocks). He’s kept it up since entering the NFL, blocking five kicks in eight years, including his big play on Sunday.

He also wasn’t the only member of the Saints practice squad to show up on special teams. Veteran wide receiver Bennie Fowler impressed by recovering a muffed kick, setting the Saints up in terrific scoring position late in the game. Both players can be promoted to a game-day roster just once more this season before they have to be signed to the roster full-time, but these early highlights just might have the Saints thinking it’s worth keeping them around.

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Report: Emmanuel Sanders, Chris Godwin plan postgame jersey swap

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers wideout Chris Godwin planned a postgame jersey swap, ESPN reports

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The NFL has banned typical postgame jersey swaps between players from opposing teams as an unnecessary risk during the COVID-19 pandemic, but plans are still being made for respect to be shown among peers. Tide has stepped in to sponsor these exchanges by handling the cleaning and shipping costs, and ESPN’s Jenna Laine reports that New Orleans Saints wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders will be participating in the program. He’ll be swapping jerseys with one of his Tampa Bay Buccaneers counterparts, Chris Godwin.

Sanders joined the Saints on a two-year free agent contract early this summer, while Godwin is a 24-year old entering the final year of his rookie contract. Godwin broke out with a Pro Bowl season in 2019, catching 86 of 121 targets to gain 1,333 yards and score 9 touchdown receptions (leading Tampa Bay in each stat). He’s a rising star in the league, and it’s great to see Sanders recognizing him.

At the same time, it’s a sign of respect for what Sanders has accomplished. Despite being stuck with a series of bad quarterbacks ranging from Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch to Jimmy Garoppolo and Brock Osweiler, Sanders has still averaged more than 50 yards per game each year he’s played (except for 2017, when he missed time with an injury). He’s a two-time Pro Bowler himself, a Super Bowl champion, and the best No. 2 receiver the Saints have paired with Michael Thomas since Brandin Cooks talked his way out of town.

Here’s hoping Sanders’ Saints get the better of Godwin’s Bucs on Sunday.

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Twitter erupts after Saints, Alvin Kamara reach $75M deal

The New Orleans Saints reached an agreement with Alvin Kamara on a huge contract extension, earning mixed reactions from NFL fans on Twitter

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Is the salary cap real? Maybe not in the sense most NFL fans think of it. Certainly not in the context of what it means to the New Orleans Saints, who view it as a problem worth solving rather than a box to work within.

That was proven when they reached an agreement with running back Alvin Kamara on a five-year, $75 million contract extension, earning a wave of reactions from across experts and fans on Twitter. Here’s the latest chatter:

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WATCH: Saints produce must-see video thanking fans for their support

The New Orleans Saints thanked fans for their support even if the Superdome is empty when they play Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints are set to kick off what may be the quarterback’s final season in the NFL, and against a rare opponent: Tom Brady and his new Tampa Bay Buccaneers teammates. But they’ll be playing in a too-quiet Mercedes-Benz Superdome without fans in attendance, as state and local governments work through their COVID-19 pandemic recovery plans.

So the Saints are as bummed as anyone to be playing without 70,000 roaring fans to back them up. But they took time to produce an epic video reflecting on the best in-game highlights from fans all across the Who Dat Nation, thanking them for their support and with a hopeful message — to welcome fans back to the Superdome as soon as possible. See it for yourself:

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Michael Thomas reacts to Deshaun Watson’s monster contract extension

The Houston Texans signed QB Deshaun Watson to a big contract extension, prompting New Orleans Saints WR Michael Thomas to congratulate him.

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Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson is easy to root for, even in the eyes of his peers. So when he earned a $40 million per-year contract extension on Saturday, he also earned words of congratulations from other young stars around the NFL — like New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas.

Thomas praised Watson from his official Twitter account, also offering a shoutout to Watson’s agent, David Mulugheta of Athletes First. Mulugheta once represented Thomas himself, though the All-Pro wide receiver has since signed with a different member of the same agency: Andrew Kessler, who helped secure a $100 million extension for Thomast last summer.

It’s a big win for Watson, who returned from an early-career knee injury to lead the Texans in several postseason runs. He’s one of the most exciting young quarterbacks in the game today, and memorable to Saints fans after taking them down to the wire in the 2019 season opener. For our part, we’re happy to see him stay in the AFC, where the Saints will only have to see him every four years.

That said: what could Watson’s contract extension mean for the Saints quarterbacks? Both Taysom Hill and Jameis Winston will be testing free agency in the next year or two, and this is the sort of tide that raises all ships. If either of them becomes the starter in New Orleans after Drew Brees, they should expect their salaries to take a big boost to keep up with the market. Now just how high they might claim remains to be seen.

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WATCH: Saints cap training camp with the best quarterbacks challenge of 2020

The New Orleans Saints capped off their 2020 training camp with the best quarterbacks challenge of the year, adding coach Pete Carmichael.

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There haven’t been many of the usual quarterback challenges after practice during this year’s New Orleans Saints training camp, but the passers made the most of their opportunity after their final day of work was in the books.

Drew Brees, Taysom Hill, and Jameis Winston were joined by a few new faces in their trick-shot competition on Friday, including a dark horse candidate to win it all: offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael. Carmichael may not pack quite as much star power as previous guest stars like Zion Williamson and Philip Rivers, but he might have the best arm of anyone on Airline Drive.

See it for yourself in the video we’ve embedded below:

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Saints support Jacob Blake protests in training camp practice

The New Orleans Saints added helmet stickers carrying Jacob Blake’s name during training camp practice, showing solidarity with protestors.

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The police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis., has resonated throughout the professional sports world. NBA players staged a strike during their Wednesday playoff series, with WNBA and MLB players also joining them in solidarity. The latest shooting of an unarmed Black person by police has been a tipping point after protests earlier this summer following the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and too many more.

In the NFL, some teams have chosen to postpone or cancel their training camp practice sessions and scrimmages on Thursday. While the New Orleans Saints will be working in their indoor practice facility due to inclement weather from Hurricane Laura, they’ll be making their own tribute to the protests following Blake’s shooting.

Saints cornerback Janoris Jenkins shared a photo on his Instagram account of his practice helmet, which features a sticker carrying Blake’s name. The Saints normally wear stickers listing their surnames in practice, but those appear to have been switched out.

Players also received a flier in their lockers with a photograph of Muhammad Ali, along with a quote from him. Larger posters of the same image have been installed throughout the Saints locker room, per Cameron Jordan’s Instagram account:

While the Saints have not joined other NFL teams in canceling practice on Thursday (and do not plan to, per a report from ESPN’s Dianna Russini), this is very much a developing situation in the sports world at large. Stay tuned for updates.

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Saints legend Marques Colston hired as UNO adjunct professor

New Orleans Saints WR Marques Colston announced that he accepted a position with the University of New Orleans as an adjunct professor.

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Here’s some big news for a fan-favorite former member of the New Orleans Saints: retired wide receiver Marques Colston announced Tuesday evening that he has accepted a position with the University of New Orleans as an adjunct professor, and will begin teaching in their fall semester.

It’s a big career turn for Colston, who hung up his cleats after the 2016 season. He owned every receiving stat in the team record books after a prolific 146-game stint with the Saints. It was enough for him to earn the fifth-best spot in our list of the 100 best players in Saints history last summer. Oh, and the Saints also inducted him to their Ring of Honor in 2019.

Since retiring from the NFL, Colston has been an active entrepreneur with minority ownership stakes in several arena league football teams while partnering with his old teammate Thomas Morstead as partial owners of a New Orleans-based smoothie bar franchise. Colston pursued an MBA at George Washington University and worked with Columbia Business School in creating opportunities for professional athletes. He’s put together quite a diverse portfolio between those interests and his investments in healthcare and technology startups.

Colston also delivered the keynote speech to UNO graduates at their Dec. 2019 commencement, telling them, “Your work ethic, your ability to overcome obstacles and your willingness to persevere are the real keys to success. My journey has embodied that belief. There was no way that a skinny kid from Pennsylvania, who could barely get recruited out of high school, should be here today as the Saints all-time leading receiver.”

While he didn’t announce which course he’ll be teaching, Colston has plenty of experience to offer his students. It’ll be interesting to see where he goes next.

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LOOK: Taysom Hill announces the birth of his son

New Orleans Saints quarterback Taysom Hill had a great explanation for missing two days of training camp practice: the birth of his son Beau

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The New Orleans Saints were without Taysom Hill for two days of practice in training camp, and now we know why: Hill’s family just added one more. Hill and his wife Emily announced the birth of their son Beau Nixon Hill on Saturday in a post from the quarterback’s official Instagram account.

It’s the latest and biggest move for Hill’s household, following the one-year contract extension he signed earlier this summer. Hill, who will be celebrating his 30th birthday on Sunday, spent his offseason preparing to compete with Jameis Winston for the right to back up Drew Brees, and maybe set himself up to start under center as soon as 2021.

But asking whether Hill will be up to the task is a question for another day. For now, he’s focused on being a great father, and we’re certainly wishing the best to him and his young family.

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