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The New Orleans Saints secondary isn’t in great shape. Starting strong safety Vonn Bell has been on the mend for a few weeks now with a knee injury, and he was joined on the sidelines when starting cornerback Eli Apple (ankle) and free safety Marcus Williams (groin muscle) each exited Sunday’s win over the Tennessee Titans with their own injuries. Altogether, Bell, Apple, and Williams account for three of the Saints’ four leaders in defensive snaps played this season.
All of those issues snowballed and forced the Saints to move starting slot corner P.J. Williams first into Apple’s spot, and then into the other Williams’ post at free safety. Rookie defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson slid over to strong safety, and reserve cornerbacks Patrick Robinson and Janoris Jenkins (signed last Wednesday) each had to take the field. That’s not ideal.
To help combat all of these losses, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday that the Saints signed veteran free agent Deshawn Shead. Shead previously worked out for the Saints back in June, and had been on their radar as they considered their options earlier in the season. He spent the 2018 season with the Detroit Lions after starting 54 games for the Seattle Seahawks over his first six years in the NFL, but didn’t land with a new team in 2019 until the Saints picked him up.
Shead can play all over the secondary as a cornerback in the slot or outside, but he probably (and hopefully) won’t get on the field any time soon. It’s going to take him some time to pick up the playbook. That’s also true for Jenkins and the other veteran defensive back signed recently, strong safety D.J. Swearinger. This isn’t the best position to be in, but it’s in arguable that the Saints are doing their best to add players with experience and who can help right away.
With a banged up secondary, the #Saints are signing versatile DB DeShawn Shead today, source said. Some reinforcements.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 24, 2019
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