Tag: career

Patrick Robinson thanks the fans, says goodbye to the NFL in retirement

Patrick Robinson thanks the fans, says goodbye to the NFL in retirement

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Patrick Robinson has had his fill of football. After 11 years and 131 games played (including 8 playoff games) with a Super Bowl ring to his credit, the former New Orleans Saints first round pick called it a career. And he took time to express his appreciation for everyone who got him in here in a message from his official Instagram account.

Soon to turn 34, Robinson has his spot in Saints history as the 32nd overall pick in the 2010 NFL draft — a selection New Orleans earned following its first Super Bowl victory. He’s going out on his own terms and in good health. Here’s to a happy retirement for him.

While it remains to be seen how the Saints will move on in his absence, they’ve been hard at work in reinforcing the secondary. Trade talks have been ongoing for months with other teams, and a deluge of free agent tryouts have cycled through New Orleans early in training camp. Hopefully they find what they’re looking for sooner rather than later.

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Saints to sign veteran kicker Brett Maher following free agent tryouts

The New Orleans Saints are signing free agent kicker Brett Maher following a successful tryout on Monday, ahead of Wil Lutz’s surgery:

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News of Wil Lutz’s upcoming core muscle surgery meant that the New Orleans Saints would be trying out free agent kickers on Monday, and it didn’t take them long to choose which one to sign: Brett Maher, who last kicked for the Dallas Cowboys in 2018 and 2019. ESPN’s Mike Triplett first reported the signing, which was confirmed by NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill and Amie Just of the Times-Picayune | Advocate.

Maher, 31, first entered the NFL as a punter back in 2013 and has bounced all around ever since, working as a placekicker full-time in 2014. He’s spent time with six different NFL teams (twice with the Jets and Cowboys, plus stops in Washington, Cleveland, Houston, and Arizona) and three CFL teams over the years, though his only extended action came with Dallas.

He’s connected on 49 of 66 career field goal tries (74.2%) and missed just once on 69 extra-point attempts in 29 games. Maher also singlehandedly won the first victory in the Ottawa Redblacks’ franchise history by making all six field goals in an 18-17 surprise. So we’ve got that going for us.

He’s no Lutz, but Maher is an experienced leg who will get ample opportunity to make his case throughout the preseason. Hopefully he can hold down the fort until No. 3 is ready to return.

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NFL hires former Saints Pro Bowler LeCharles Bentley to senior player development role

Former New Orleans Saints Pro Bowler and Ohio State Buckeyes All-American LeCharles Bentley has taken a senior advisory role with the NFL.

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Here’s a familiar name for longtime Saints fans: LeCharles Bentley has been named the NFL’s Senior Advisor of Player Performance and Development, the league announced on Friday. New Orleans’ second round pick out of Ohio State in the 2002 NFL draft, Bentley was selected for two Pro Bowls until a 2006 knee injury with the Browns cut his career short.

He soon retired and began a career in coaching offensive linemen, with his private O-Line Performance Center in Arizona quickly becoming a priority destination for the nation’s best pros and top college prospects. He’s preached about rethinking the ways football players — especially the big men in the trenches — are developed and coached up, so it makes sense for him to take on this new role.

According to the NFL’s media release, Bentley’s responsibilities will include advising “on player performance and the development of resources, enhancements, metrics and best practices designed to enhance the game. Additionally, he will work closely with NFL youth and high school football and other key stakeholders to promote the growth of football across all levels.”

It’ll be fascinating to continue covering Bentley’s career as he takes this next step. He’s been an advocate of making the game safer and smarter, so look out for updates and changes he could help introduce in the years ahead.

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Drew Brees announces his retirement after 20-year NFL career

New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees announced his retirement after a storied 20-year NFL career that puts him on the road to the Hall of Fame.

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What’s been anticipated is now official: New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees confirmed that he is retiring from the NFL after appearing in 305 games over the last 20 years, including the playoffs and the start to his career with the then-San Diego Chargers back in 2001. He made the announcement on the fifteenth anniversary of his signing with New Orleans.

His accomplishments have put him on track to reach the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Brees owns the all-time record for career passing yards (80,358) and ranks second-best in league history in touchdown passes (571) and completion percentage (67.7%). He’s been nominated to the annual Pro Bowl 13 times while earning five placements on the Associated Press All-Pro teams. Oh, and he was also named Most Valuable Player after winning Super Bowl XLIV for New Orleans.

The impact Brees left on the Saints is, well, historic. It’s something Saints fans have recognized for years, but it might take those outside New Orleans some time to truly appreciate. Here’s hoping he enjoys a well-earned retirement and second career in broadcasting. Go get ’em, No. 9.

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Week 11 Saints win was Alvin Kamara’s first NFL game without a catch

The New Orleans Saints defeated the Atlanta Falcons during Week 11 without a single reception for Alvin Kamara, his only catch-less NFL game

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Something happened on Sunday that has never happened before: Alvin Kamara played an NFL game without catching a single pass, including the playoffs. The New Orleans Saints running back has been a prolific receiver through the first four seasons of his pro career, averaging 5.7 receptions per game while setting records and earning Pro Bowl nods year after year.

So it’s more than a little odd that it took this long for a team to hold him without a catch. He’s come close before, catching just one pass in four different games, but he’s always managed to make a contribution in the passing game.

Ironically, Kamara’s biggest assist as a receiver against the Atlanta Falcons may have been the pass he dropped to set up a Wil Lutz field goal. The Falcons defense read the designed screen to Kamara perfectly, and a flock of defenders had already converged on him when Taysom Hill lobbed the ball his way. Instead of catching it on 3rd-and-13 for a likely loss of yards, Kamara dropped the ball instead for an incomplete pass.

Sure, Lutz botched the 53-yard field goal try anyway, but you have to like his chances of nailing a kick from that distance rather than from 56 or 57 yards (if not more). Kamara gets a ton of credit from his teammates and coaches for the intelligence he uses to thrive on the field, but this decision may have been another example of his high football I.Q. — just, in a different sense.

What’s interesting is that Hill connected with six different receivers in his first start, though Kamara wasn’t one of them. That suggests an entire dimension of the Saints playbook is waiting to be accessed, when Kamara can become as valuable a run-after-catch threat for Hill as he’s been for Drew Brees. The Saints seemed to pointedly funnel touches to Michael Thomas in his first 100-yard receiving game against Atlanta, so maybe the big Kamara game is coming while Hill holds down the fort for Brees.

And there is another silver lining here: Kamara checked off one feat he hadn’t accomplished yet with his first career touchdown scored against Atlanta, a 3-yard sprint into the end zone. He had previously faced the dirty birds in six different games, totaling 96 combined touches as a runner and receiver for 563 yards of offense, but that first touchdown had always eluded him. Here’s hoping it’s the first of many more.

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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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All-Time Gators Men’s Basketball Bio: Richard Glasper (1976-78)

Richard Glasper was a great guard on a very mediocre Florida squad in the mid-to-late 70s known for his elite vertical leap and quick hands.

Richard Glasper (1976-78) – Guard

Richard Glasper was a great guard on a very mediocre Florida squad in the mid-to-late 70s known for his elite vertical leap and quick hands.

Perhaps one of the greatest JUCO transfers in program history, he played in Gainesville for two seasons averaging double digits in points both years while setting a still-standing school career record for steals per game (1.83). He earned All-SEC honors in 1978 when he led the team in both steals and assists and his career average of 4.26 assists a game still stands as second-best in school history.

During the 1976-77 season, Glasper averaged 11.9 points per game making 53.5 percent of his shots, along with 2.1 rebounds; the following year, he averaged 13 points on 48.5 percent shooting from the field, along with 3.1 rebounds.

Despite Glasper’s innate athletic ability, his 6-foot frame limited his prospects in the professional ranks and he went undrafted after leaving school, never playing in the NBA.

Saints use their final roster spot on slot receiver Austin Carr

The New Orleans Saints re-signed veteran slot receiver Austin Carr to a one-year contract, checking all 90 spots on their offseason roster.

The New Orleans Saints had just one spot left on their 90-man offseason roster, leading to some fun speculation among fans. Would the team use that vacancy to target one of the many veterans out there in free agency, going for broke on another pass rusher like Everson Griffen or Jadeveon Clowney?

No, it turns out. ESPN’s Field Yates reported Thursday that the Saints re-signed veteran slot receiver Austin Carr, which the team confirmed to be a one-year deal. Carr will be the thirteenth receiver to compete for five or six roster spots in training camp later this summer.

While he’s played often in his first three years with the team (averaging 22 snaps per game), Carr has rarely gotten open and drawn just 19 targets, including the postseason. He’s parlayed those opportunities into 11 catches to gain 111 receiving yards, scoring two touchdowns and converting six first downs.

We’ll see if Carr is able to make the roster again in 2020. He faces steep competition, but carries an edge as someone experienced in the Saints’ system. That could give him a leg up over undrafted rookie free agents like Oregon’s Juwan Johnson or Tennessee’s Marquez Callaway.

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Retired Saints fullback, old SMU teammate Zach Line helped recruit Margus Hunt

The Saints added a veteran in Margus Hunt, who said his chat with retired Saints fullback and old SMU teammate Zach Line helped win him over

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The New Orleans Saints have been known for the pipeline that runs to Columbus, Ohio, funneling Ohio State Buckeyes star talents like Malcolm Jenkins, Michael Thomas, Marshon Lattimore, Vonn Bell, and Eli Apple down south, but the team has an even stronger connection running out west, into oil country — where the SMU Mustangs play in Dallas.

In fact, former Mustangs now outnumber the three Buckeyes in New Orleans (with Bell and Apple trying their luck in free agency). Punter Thomas Morstead, long snapper Zach Wood, and wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders were recently joined by another familiar face in defensive lineman Margus Hunt.

While Morstead only played with Sanders in college, during the 2008 season, Hunt joined the squad during Sanders’ senior year in 2009. So did former Saints fullback Zach Line, who retired earlier this year. Line and Hunt were teammates for four years at SMU, and remained close enough all these years later for Hunt to ask for advice when the Saints expressed interest in him as a free agent.

“The first thing I did was reached out to Zach Line,” Hunt said during his introductory conference call with New Orleans media. “I have a great relationship with him and he told me so many positive things about the organization and the locker room and everything. He told me basically if this is serious, by all means take it because you don’t want to miss out on this opportunity.”

Hunt was drafted highly by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2013, and had his best year as a pro with the Indianapolis Colts in 2018. While he’s comfortable with his scheme fit in New Orleans as a versatile lineman who can play anywhere from nose tackle to defensive end, Line’s praise for the Saints team culture won him over.

He continued, “Well, for me right now too, with being married with two kids, he just said from that point of view it’s very family-oriented. They do a huge deal about family and kids and everything. That was one of the reasons.

“Another one was obviously the locker room. Great guys, all pros, they do the right things. They work hard, practice hard. They teach each other hard and they work every day to get to that title. That was one of the big things.”

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