Tag: deonte harty

Who is Deonte Harty? Saints Wire dishes intel on new Bills WR

‘He should be a nice complement to Stefon Diggs.’ – @TheSaintsWire on new #Bills WR Deonte Harty 👀👀👀👀

The Buffalo Bills have signed former New Orleans Saints wide receiver Deonte Harty.

The question at the top of the list: Who is Deonte Harty?

For more on Harty and his game, Bills Wire reached out to our friend John Sigler, editor of Saints Wire, to learn more about the new Bills receiver:

Bills reach agreement with Saints free agent WR Deonte Harty on 2-year deal

The Bills reached agreement with Saints free agent WR Deonte Harty on a two-year deal worth up to $13.5 million:

There’s another New Orleans Saints free agent going out the door. ESPN’s Adam Schefter first reported that wide receiver and returns specialist Deonte Harty reached an agreement with the Buffalo Bills on a two-year deal; NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport adds that the contract will bring in $5 million in guarantees, with a base value of $9.5 million. If Harty can stay healthy and hit all of his bonuses and incentives it carries a max value of $13.5 million.

Harty was embroiled in a contract dispute with the Saints last summer and struggled to find his footing in training camp, only to go down with a serious turf toe injury early in the regular season. It’s a shame things didn’t work out. He won Pro Bowl and All-Pro recognition with the Saints for his efforts in the return game as a rookie in 2019, and he ranked second on the team in receiving in 2021 as a vertical threat for Jameis Winston. But now he’ll be moving on.

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Comparing contract projections for the top Saints free agents

Comparing contract projections for the top Saints free agents, from Marcus Davenport to Kaden Elliss and David Onyemata:

What sort of market will the top New Orleans Saints free agents command once they’re able to talk shop with other teams? That’s what the analysts at Pro Football Focus and Spotrac set out to examine, and we’ll be examining their findings to see whether the Saints could make competitive offers in holding onto these talented players.

Starters like defensive linemen Marcus Davenport and David Onyemata are headed for free agency, as are top backups like linebacker Kaden Elliss, defensive tackle Shy Tuttle, returns specialist Deonte Harty, and quarterback Andy Dalton. Here’s what the salary cap experts have to say about each of their fortunes:

4 free agents the Saints should let walk away in 2023

Marcus Davenport and Mark Ingram II are among 4 pending free agents the New Orleans Saints should let walk away in 2023:

It’s shaping up for another busy New Orleans Saints offseason, and they’ll have plenty of difficult decisions on their 28 pending free agents. Some players are easy choices to re-sign with the team, but there are some others on the list who probably shouldn’t return for 2023. Here are four pending free agents the Saints should let walk away in the spring:

28 Saints who could be free agents at the end of 2022 season

Things haven’t gone as expected for the Saints this year, so some eyes are already being drawn to 2023. These 28 players could be free agents at the end of the 2022 season:

Things haven’t exactly gone according to plan for the New Orleans Saints this year, so it makes sense that some fans are already looking ahead to 2023. And the outlook isn’t pretty: New Orleans will be over the projected salary cap by more than $50 million, with 28 players whose contracts are up at the end of 2022 season.

Many of those free agents will be unrestricted, meaning they can entertain all offers, while some are going to carry restricted status (meaning the Saints will have a right to match any contract offers) and a few carry exclusive-rights status, which limits their options to playing for New Orleans or not at all.

That group includes starters like defensive end Marcus Davenport, defensive tackle David Onyemata, quarterback Andy Dalton, and veterans such as running back Mark Ingram II, slot receiver Jarvis Landry, and returns ace Deonte Harty. It’ll be tough for the Saints to re-sign everyone, but in some cases they may opt to just part ways. Here’s the list of pending Saints free agents headed for the open market in 2023:

6 takeaways from the Saints’ 39-32 win over the Seahawks

Here are our 6 biggest takeaways from the Saints’ much-needed victory against the Seahawks, via @RossJacksonNOLA:

Finally snapping their three-game losing streak, the New Orleans Saints earned a much-needed win at home against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. With quarterback Andy Dalton again at the helm and several injuries around the roster, it was an informative win in regard to how the Saints may turn their season around. However, there are still clear improvements left to be made as well. Especially as the schedule gets much tougher. Here are our biggest takeaways from the 39-32 win over Seattle.

Saints fear ‘significant’ turf toe injury for WR Deonte Harty

Saints fear ‘significant’ turf toe injury for returns specialist Deonte Harty

There’s bad news for Deonte Harty. NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill first reported that Harty was diagnosed with a turf toe injury after exiting Sunday’s win against the Seattle Seahawks, and it might end his season. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport adds that Harty will receive a second opinion on the injury, but it’s believed he’ll be facing a months-long recovery.

If that’s the case, it sounds like a similar injury to what rookie left tackle Trevor Penning suffered in the preseason, which has sidelined him until at least November. It’s a really tough break for Harty in a contract year. He hasn’t found much success on special teams (returning 3 punts for 8 yards, and 6 kicks for 137 yards, an average of 22.8 yards per kick return) or offense (catching 2 receptions for 13 yards), but it’s not for lack of trying — if anything, he’s been trying too hard to make something out of nothing. Hopefully his injury isn’t as severe as feared and he’s able to return to good health soon.

So how do the Saints adjust without him? It probably isn’t sustainable to keep asking Taysom Hill to return kicks, entertaining as that has been; Jarvis Landry and Marquez Callaway have helped field punts, but neither has been particularly effective in the role. The only other Saints player to return kicks in the preseason was wide receiver Kirk Merritt and running back Tony Jones Jr., who was waived Saturday and could re-sign with the practice squad.

But the smart pick may be Rashid Shaheed. The undrafted rookie out of Weber State was unavailable for most of the season while recovering from an ACL injury but he brings an impressive college resume with a school record in kickoff return yards per try (29.1) and the all-time FCS record for kickoff return touchdowns (7). He’s the only player in school history to earn All-American recognition four times, largely for his efforts in the return game. If he’s healthy, he should get called up from the practice squad to try his hand on special teams.

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Dennis Allen shares injury updates to multiple Saints players after Week 3’s loss

Dennis Allen shared injury updates to multiple Saints players after Week 3’s loss, including four of their top five wide receivers:

New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen shared injury updates to multiple players after Week 3’s loss to the Carolina Panthers, including four of their top five wide receivers, a starting guard, and of course quarterback Jameis Winston. It’s not the worst possible outcome — several of these injuries appear to be minor and should be behind them sooner or later — but it’s close. And the proliferation of injuries on offense is exactly what the Saints can’t afford given their issues on that side of the ball. Here’s what we learned after Sunday’s game:

Which Saints players could be next for an extension after Erik McCoy?

Which Saints players could be next for an extension? Starting defensive linemen Marcus Davenport and David Onyemata are among 27 pending free agents in 2023:

A lot has changed since we last examined the list of New Orleans Saints players headed for free agency in 2023. The top two players on our list have seen things go in vastly different directions — starting center Erik McCoy reached an agreement on a five-year contract extension, while fan-favorite nickel corner C.J. Gardner-Johnson was traded to the Eagles after talks broke down. So what’s next for everyone else?

Many of these players are going to be unrestricted free agents who can field offers from other teams, unless the Saints sign them to an extension ahead of time (or issue the tag for a franchise or transition player). Some of them will have restricted status, which basically ensures New Orleans will get the right of first refusal on opposing offers, and maybe bring in some compensation should the player leave. And a few are stuck as exclusive-rights free agents who will have to choose between playing for the Saints or not playing at all, unless the team relinquishes the opportunity.

And a handful of pending Saints free agents will be in position to cash in. Market value estimates from the team at Spotrac suggest defensive end Marcus Davenport could reel in as much as $23.2 million per year on the open market; others like wide receiver Deonte Harty ($9.8 million per year), defensive tackle David Onyemata ($7.8 million per year), and defensive lineman Shy Tuttle ($6.3 million) are also seeing high estimates. But those are just one projection from a single outlet, and a lot can change in the months ahead. So don’t take those numbers as facts. They’re just something to note in looking ahead.

But that’s all a story for another day. Here is the full list of 27 pending Saints free agents for 2023: