Tag: Darren Rizzi

Saints assistant Darren Rizzi puts Syracuse punter Nolan Cooney through his paces

New Orleans Saints special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi got a close look at Syracuse punter Nolan Cooney, a 2021 NFL draft prospect.

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Blake Gillikin is expected to be the New Orleans Saints punter of the future, but the Saints won’t just give him the job. The second-year pro spent his rookie season studying under Thomas Morstead, which could give him a leg up on any competition. That’s not going to stop the Saints from scouting out their options.

Saints special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi was spotted by NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill at Syracuse’s NFL pro day working out punter Nolan Cooney, an All-ACC selection in 2020. A fifth-year senior with just one season of punting experience, Cooney led the nation with 74 punts for an NCAA-most 3,314 yards (a clip of 44.8 yards per punt), with a net yards per punt of 41.7. 25 of his punts traveled 50 or more yards, and 24 landed inside the opposing 20-yard line.

And he has an inspiring backstory. Syracuse named Cooney their Jim DaRin Courage Award winner in 2019 after he survived a battle with testicular cancer. After redshirting the 2017 season, he worked as the team’s holder on field goal tries and extra-point attempts in 2018 and 2019 before earning the punting job in 2020.

He’d be an interesting option to bring into training camp to push Gillikin for the right to succeed Morstead. Even if the Saints ultimately don’t bring in Cooney, it’s still great to see his hard work paying off with attention from the NFL.

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Report: Saints working out free agent linebacker Curtis Akins

The New Orleans Saints scheduled a free agent workout with former Cincinnati Bengals LB Curtis Akins, after Stephone Anthony was injured.

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The New Orleans Saints may be considering their options at linebacker, at least near the bottom of the depth chart. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reported Tuesday that the Saints scheduled a workout with free agent linebacker Curtis Akins, a rookie out of Memphis who spent the summer on the Cincinnati Bengals’ 90-man roster. Akins is listed at 6-foot-1, 229-pounds and timed the 40-yard dash in 4.57 seconds at his pro day. He led the Memphis Tigers defense in total tackles in both 2017 (88) and 2018 (100).

NFL teams typically work out free agents on Tuesdays, giving them an opportunity to update in-house scouting reports and consider all available options. So don’t be shocked if more reports come in with other free agent linebackers making the trip to New Orleans.

What caused the Saints to go down this route? They’re set at the top of the depth chart with Demario Davis, Kiko Alonso, and A.J. Klein, but may have an opening among their backups. Linebacker Stephone Anthony has become a core special teams ace for the Saints (and first-year special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi, who he played for last year with the Miami Dolphins) but he limped off the field on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneeers. Anthony was spotted walking into the blue medical tent, leaning on teammates, though he later exited it and was seen running on the sideline.

If Anthony is hurt, it makes sense for the Saints to bring in free agent linebackers who would also help out on special teams. Whether Akins or someone else could resolve that issue is up in the air, but New Orleans is running short of options. They’ve lost four linebackers to injured reserve this year including a starter (Alex Anzalone) and a rookie backup (Kaden Elliss). Hopefully Anthony is fine; if not, Akins may end up being the best option.

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