Tyrann Mathieu hoping to retire with Saints, leave a strong legacy behind

Tyrann Mathieu hopes to retire with the Saints and leave a strong legacy behind, but says he’s ‘looking forward to the next two years’

The New Orleans Saints pulled off the rare deal that makes both sides happy in the NFL on Thursday by negotiating a contract extension with veteran safety Tyrann Mathieu. One of their best defenders will have the opportunity to close out his career playing for his hometown team, while the Saints get some much-needed salary cap flexibility in reworking his contract.

“It is a great opportunity for me, and I am looking forward to the next two years,” Mathieu told local reporters in a conference call.

When asked if he could potentially retire with the Saints when the time comes, Mathieu responded with “Hope so,” while reiterating that his focus is on winning games and leading the team to success: “I hope and pray I can continue to be a positive influence on the young guys.”

Mathieu acknowledged that the last two years had been “underwhelming” for Saints fans, who are currently tied for the fifth-longest active playoff drought around the league. But he expressed confidence that they can get where they want to go with what he believes is a quality roster and coaching staff.

And winning with the Saints matters to him. Mathieu knows exactly how passionate the fanbase is and he hopes to make them proud. He said he would’ve taken a pay cut to stay in New Orleans and continue giving back to the community, but getting more security for his future was a welcome bonus: “I’m from here. It’s a blessing to play here.”

But giving back to the city is what he’s looking forward to most. While he’s grateful for fans of his work on the field, the opportunity to be a positive influence on young people and give back to the community is his next ambition. That’s how he sees the path to establishing a long-lasting legacy.

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Saints reach agreement with Tyrann Mathieu on a contract extension

The Saints reached an agreement with Tyrann Mathieu on a new contract, keeping him in New Orleans through 2025:

This is good news: The New Orleans Saints reached an agreement with veteran safety Tyrann Mathieu on a new contract, which will keep him on the team through 2025. NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill first reported news of his Mathieu’s deal, adding that it will lower his salary cap hit in 2024 from $12,067,000 “to about $5.5 million.”

But this isn’t just a restructure. It’s an extension, which CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson reports that his new deal is valued at $13 million. Mathieu was already under contract for 2024 but it was the last year of his deal, so he and the Saints agreed to add another year to it. He will now be a free agent in 2026 with the option to continue playing after his 33rd birthday or call it a career.

He’s been a good pickup for New Orleans. Mathieu has played 100% of the team’s defensive snaps in 2022 and 99% of them in 2023 while being credited with 7 interceptions, 17 passes deflected, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery to go along with 166 combined tackles through two years. With Marcus Maye being released at the start of the new league year, Mathieu is going to have to take on even more of a leadership role in the Saints’ secondary. He’s done well in that role thus far, and can close out his career doing it for his hometown.

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Tyrann Mathieu is the Saints’ Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee

Tyrann Mathieu has been nominated for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award for the second time, this time playing for his hometown team

The New Orleans Saints have nominated safety Tyrann Mathieu for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award. For many around the league this is considered the most prestigious award the NFL hands out every year. The award is based on a player’s contributions in the community away from the field as well as their on-field production. This award is placed on a pedestal because it values who the player truly is.

This is Mathieu’s second time being nominated. In 2021, Mathieu was the Kansas City Chiefs’ nominee. Clearly, he ingratiates himself into the community he plays in. That was no hard task in New Orleans, as coming to the Saints meant returning to his hometown. His involvement and impact on the city has only grown since joining the Saints.

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Baldy’s Breakdowns highlights Tyrann Mathieu’s big game vs. Falcons

Baldy’s Breakdowns highlighted Tyrann Mathieu’s big game against the Falcons. The 11th-year pro is still a playmaker:

NFL analyst Brian Baldinger is known for his enthusiasm and keen eye, and he knows a great player when he sees one. The New Orleans Saints may have fallen short against the Atlanta Falcons last week but Baldinger made time to talk up Tyrann Mathieu’s performance.

The 11th-year safety is still making plays. Mathieu did his part to help the Saints compete in Atlanta by twice intercepting quarterback Desmond Ridder and coming through with some much-needed stops in the secondary.

“He’s still doing this kind of stuff,” Baldinger said, focusing on a touchdown-saving tackle against Falcons running back Cordarrelle Patterson, who had just bowled over one of Mathieu’s teammates. “He just finishes these plays. He’s always been an excellent tackler.”

Baldinger pointed to a big hit on tight end Kyle Pitts later in the game — which is no small feat considering Pitts outweighs Mathieu by about 60 pounds. Pitts didn’t catch another pass throughout the game.

And then there were the interceptions. As Baldinger put it, Mathieu was in the right place at the right time to make a play: “32 career interceptions, 150 starts. What a player. What a career.”

Mathieu has been a great signing for the Saints since he came home to New Orleans. Hopefully the team can do a better job capitalizing on the opportunities he’s giving their offense with these takeaways and stops in the open field. It would be a shame to waste his efforts in the twilight of his career.

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WATCH: Tyrann Mathieu sends the Saints into halftime with crucial interception

WATCH: Tyrann Mathieu sends the Saints into halftime with crucial interception vs. Falcons

The New Orleans Saints and the Atlanta Falcons had offensive issues define the first half. Right before teams took to the locker rooms, Desmond Ridder threw his first interception of the day.

The Falcons were driving down the field, looking to push their lead before the end of the half, before Tyrann Mathieu swooped in and took the ball away. It was Mathieu’s second interception of the season and his fifth in a Saints uniform.

The play ended in scuffle after emotions got raised during the drive. A couple of physical runs from Cordarelle Patterson had the two teams chippy already, then Jonnu Smith and Khlaen Saunders got into it. The two players had offsetting penalties and the Saints were able to knee the half out.

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Tyrann Mathieu thought Jimmy Graham was joining the Saints as a coach

When Tyrann Mathieu first ran across Jimmy Graham at the New Orleans Saints facility, he thought Graham was returning to coach like Ted Ginn Jr.:

Tyrann Mathieu, he’s just like us — the New Orleans Saints safety ran into 36-year-old tight end Jimmy Graham at the team facility Tuesday, he told Nola.com’s Rod Walker, and wrongly assumed that Graham had returned to coach the Saints, not catch passes against him in practice. Many fans and observers expected Graham would be signing a one-day retirement contract, or maybe joining the coaching staff as Mathieu did.

Mathieu recounted: “It was funny man, I was in the equipment room and he kind of walked by, and we had some words. You know Ted Ginn was here in the spring, and so obviously I played against both of those guys, I played with Ted in the past. As we’re talking I’m looking at (Graham) and I think he’s about to coach, I ask him what he’s coaching. He says, ‘Nah, I’m playing.’ He kind of surprised me with that one. He looks good. I definitely feel he can help us still.”

Ginn, 38, was invited to join the Saints at training camp as an assistant wide receivers coach, so it wasn’t an unfounded assumption on Mathieu’s part. We’ll see if Graham still has enough left in the tank to help the Saints offense put points on the board and win some games in the fall. That all starts with productive practices during the summer.

Graham was out of football in 2022, but there’s a precedent for late-career tight ends continuing to make an impact. In 2018, the 38-year-old Ben Watson caught 35 passes for 400 yards and a couple of scores with the Saints. Derek Carr completed a pair of touchdown passes to a 38-year-old Jason Witten with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020. Graham is younger than both of them with less wear and tear on his body. Maybe he can make the most of his opportunities in scoring position with the Saints this year.

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25 most important Saints of 2023: No. 10, Tyrann Mathieu

25 most important New Orleans Saints players of 2023: Clocking in at No. 10, Tyrann Mathieu is set to take a big role in the secondary | @DillySanders

The 2023 NFL offseason is in full swing, and with that, training camps edge ever closer to starting. We have seen a new wave of players enter the team both via the draft and free agency, but there is also a large group of returning players from last season as well. This has led to some debates to be had regarding which players will have the largest impact on the roster for the 2023 season.

Each day we will be counting down the 25 most important Saints for the 2023 season. This will be split up into the following categories:

  • Recap of their 2022 season
  • Projecting their 2023 success
  • What is the biggest question mark for them in 2023?

The 10th-ranked player by the Saints Wire staff is safety Tyrann Mathieu:

Tyrann Mathieu breaks down his top five LSU athletes of all time

Tyrann Mathieu breaks down his top five LSU Tigers athletes of all time, admits he’s ‘a little biased’ with top choice

Tyrann Mathieu’s presence on the New Orleans Saints has lived up to expectations — after leading the team in solo tackles and interceptions last season, the veteran safety has continued to lead the charge on and off the field. Mathieu recently coached up dozens of young athletes from the New Orleans community at his Heart of a Badger youth football camp at the Saints’ Metairie practice facility, and afterwards he fielded questions from the local media.

Here’s a fun one. Mathieu made some compelling arguments for his choices when asked to rank his top-five LSU Tigers by Jacob Verdin of The Verdin Verdict sports talk show:

CBS Sports ranks Tyrann Mathieu among NFL’s 10 best safeties

CBS Sports ranked Tyrann Mathieu among NFL’s 10 best safeties. He can continue to build on his Saints homecoming | @DillySanders

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The New Orleans Saints brought some hometown talent back in the 2022 offseason in Jarvis Landry and Tyrann Mathieu. Injuries spoiled Landry’s return home but after a rocky start Mathieu had a very good season back home. Garrett Podell of CBS Sports recently went through the safeties in the NFL and gave his top-10 for the 2023, which included Mathieu.

Here was Podell’s reasoning for ranking Mathieu at No. 9:

Tyrann Mathieu at age 31 doesn’t play quite like the whirling dervish of his early years that earned him the “Honey Badger” moniker and 2010s All-Decade Team accolades, but he still remains stout in coverage. Mathieu was Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded safety in coverage last season with a grade of  88.1. He earned the mark by only surrendering 7.6 yards per reception when targeted (tied for the fourth-fewest among safeties with a minimum of 500 coverage snaps), as well as just a 65.9 passer rating when targeted (the sixth-fewest among safeties with a minimum of 500 coverage snaps). The LSU product’s return home to Louisiana last season with the New Orleans Saints helped Dennis Allen maintain a top-10 scoring defense, 20.3 points per game allowed (ninth-fewest in the NFL), in his first season as New Orleans’ head coach. 

Mathieu, who led the team in interceptions last season (3), certainly deserves to still be ranked top-10 among his peers. His cohort Marcus Maye was not listed in the list or as an honorable mention, which is understandable (injuries limited him to 10 games) but he was still solid last year. Mathieu also made the list higher than former Saints safety Marcus Williams, who was just included as an honorable mention.

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Tyrann Mathieu makes the list of the NFL’s best safeties, but so do several ex-Saints

Tyrann Mathieu made the list of the NFL’s 11 best safeties, but so did several players drafted and developed by the New Orleans Saints:

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How do you feel about Tyrann Mathieu’s debut with the New Orleans Saints? The veteran safety experienced some hurdles and hiccups to start his 2022 season, but he settled in as the year progressed and, by campaign’s end, was easily one of their most reliable defenders. Mathieu led the team in solo tackles (64) and interceptions (3), and his 91 combined tackles were a personal best. He was also the only player to log at least one interception, forced fumble, and fumble recovery for New Orleans.

Expectations are higher for him going into 2023. Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar shared his list of the best safeties in the NFL, and Mathieu made the cut. Mathieu was listed at No. 5, with Farrar highlighting his ball skills and ability to tackle over the middle of the field:

After three seasons with the Chiefs in which he picked up a Super Bowl ring and firmly established himself as one of the NFL’s best hybrid safeties, Mathieu went back home to Louisiana, as the former LSU star signed a three-year, $27 million contract with the Saints, and got to work in Dennis Allen’s aggressive, man-heavy coverages. Mathieu played just 315 snaps at free safety last season as opposed to 525 in the box, 195 in the slot, 74 along the defensive line, and 19 at cornerback. But when defending passes in the deep third, he allowed just six catches on 14 targets for 71 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and a passer rating of 53.0.

But he isn’t the only safety with strong ties to New Orleans to make the cut. Former Saints second-round draft pick Vonn Bell was ranked at No. 11, having further developed his game in a three-year run with the Cincinnati Bengals that led to him signing a lucrative free agent contract with the Carolina Panthers offseason.

Another former Saints safety, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, was ranked above Mathieu at No. 3. He competed for the NFL lead with six interceptions last season, his first away from New Orleans, and his first campaign in which he primarily lined up at safety rather than in the slot. The trade that sent him away brought him everything he sought but a long-term contract — he ended up signing a prove-it deal with the Detroit Lions this spring.

That’s not all. Bell and Gardner-Johnson’s old teammate Marcus Williams was included as an honorable mention. Another former Saints second-round pick, Williams was one of the NFL’s best ballhawks (his 15 interceptions ranked 12th in the league), which helped him earn a substantial contract with the Baltimore Ravens last year as a free agent.

So what can we take away from this? The Saints know what they’re doing in evaluating the secondary, especially at safety. Few teams have drafted and developed talent with this kind of consistency. Between Dennis Allen’s coaching and Jeff Ireland’s eye for talent, as well as all the contributions of their position coaches, scouts, and support staff, the Saints are doing well in the defensive backfield even with so many of their former players suiting up on other teams.

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