Tag: Desmond Trufant

Raiders sign recently released veteran CB Desmond Trufant

Raiders sign recently released veteran CB Desmond Trufant

The Raiders took the field today to prepare for their week seven game against the Eagles. And they did so with a new player among them. It’s veteran CB Desmond Trufant.

The 22nd overall pick in the 2013 draft was signed by the team Tuesday according to his agent.

Trufant was one of four former first round picks to be considered by the Raiders on Tuesday, including two others from that same 2013 draft.

After spending the first seven years of his career with the Falcons who drafted him, Trufant has bounced around the past couple years, spending a season in Detroit, this offseason in Chicago, and the first part of this season in New Orleans.

The 31-year-old was released by the Saints on October 12 and finds a home with the Raiders a week later.

Currently the Raiders could use the depth at cornerback with injuries to starter Trayon Mullen and backup Damon Arnette.

Trufant has 14 career interceptions in 103 career starts.

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Raiders sign ex-Saints cornerback Desmond Trufant

The Raiders signed ex-Saints corner Desmond Trufant, while Brian Poole is trying out for the Patriots. A position that was once a weakness has turned into a strength for New Orleans:

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One former New Orleans Saints player is landing on his feet: cornerback Desmond Trufant signed with the Las Vegas Raiders after the Saints released him last week, his agent Doug Hendrickson announced. Trufant joined the Saints in training camp and played well enough to make the opening-day roster, starting Week 2’s game with the Carolina Panthers after an injury sidelined Marshon Lattimore.

He held his own as a backup — totaling 57 snaps in two games, only allowing 2 of 4 passes thrown into his coverage to be completed for 19 yards. Bradley Roby’s arrival pushed him down the depth chart as a healthy inactive on game days, and with Ken Crawley expected to return from injured reserve in the next few weeks, the Saints granted his release so he could pursue opportunities like this one with the Raiders.

Interestingly, Las Vegas tried out a couple of other notable free agent cornerbacks in D.J. Hayden and Darqueze Dennard after signing Trufant, so they’re obviously looking for help at the position.

And Trufant isn’t the only former Saints corner to earn a shot with another team this week. Brian Poole was also released a week ago (from injured reserve) and has scheduled a tryout with the New England Patriots on Wednesday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported. On Tuesday, second-year pro Keith Washington (who spent his rookie 2020 season on the Saints practice squad) worked out for the Indianapolis Colts.

A position that was once a serious vulnerability for the Saints is now so strong that players who couldn’t catch on with them are getting looks around the league. That speaks really well to how New Orleans has built its depth chart and what’s in store for them as the season continues.

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Saints roster moves: CB Desmond Trufant among multiple cuts on Tuesday

The latest Saints roster moves created practice squad vacancies and implications for injured players like Wil Lutz and Kwon Alexander:

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The New Orleans Saints filed a series of roster moves on Tuesday’s update to the daily NFL transactions wire, which carry interesting implications for the days and weeks ahead. One of them is the addition of a new kicker in Brian Johnson from the Chicago Bears practice squad (more on him in a bit), whose arrival suggests a longer recovery than anticipated for Wil Lutz.

Another is the release of cornerback Desmond Trufant, who had been a healthy scratch on game days for a few weeks now. All of these transactions leave the 53-man roster at capacity with three vacancies on the 16-strong practice squad. Players returning from injured reserve will push others down to the practice squad, so it makes sense to open some spots now. Let’s dig into each new roster move:

Stars, Studs, and Duds from Saints’ Week 1 win vs. Packers

New Orleans Saints vs. Packers: Stars, Studs, and Duds from Week 1 win

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Who stood out the most for the New Orleans Saints in their Week 1 upset of the Green Bay Packers — for good and bad? Well, to start with, there were many more positives than negatives. So much so that I’m adding a category to the usual “Studs and Duds” list to highlight the game’s best performers.

So let’s dig in. Here are your Week 1 Saints Stars, Studs, and Duds:

New Orleans Saints to release veteran backup RB Latavius Murray

The New Orleans Saints released veteran backup RB Latavius Murray, opening a roster spot for CB Desmond Trufant:

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We expected the New Orleans Saints to sign free agent cornerback Desmond Trufant after a successful tryout, but the corresponding roster move is a little surprising. ESPN’s Adam Schefter first reported that the Saints will release backup running back Latavius Murray on Tuesday, which was confirmed by NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill.

It’s surprising because Murray had played well in his first few years with New Orleans, and the decision to keep him during final roster cuts last week suggested the Saints thought he still had something left to give. Schefter adds that the Saints approached Murray about a pay cut, but he declined — which makes sense considering how few slices of the pie are left to go around just days before the season starts. It’s a shame the Saints didn’t get a draft pick or any other compensation before letting Murray go, but his poor performance in preseason likely quieted any interest.

So now Murray will go looking for a new team. Maybe he ends up following the path of the player he replaced by signing with Mark Ingram’s old Baltimore Ravens squad, which has dealt with a rash of injuries at the position in recent weeks. There are other openings around the league.

As for New Orleans: it’s the Tony Jones Jr. show behind Alvin Kamara. They also have Dwayne Washington and Ty Montgomery on the roster if more backs are needed down the line. Cutting Murray at this point saves more than $3.1 million in salary cap, but it remains to be seen what Trufant signed for, which help balance that out. Stay tuned for additional roster moves in the days ahead.

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Saints host CB Desmond Trufant for free agent tryout

Saints host 2015 Pro Bowl cornerback Desmond Trufant for free agent tryout:

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In addition to the flurry of roster moves they reported to the daily NFL transactions wire on Monday, the New Orleans Saints also brought in a familiar face for a free agent meet-and-greet: cornerback Desmond Trufant.

Trufant, who turns 31 on Sept. 10, spent the 2020 season with the Detroit Lions after playing his first seven years with the Atlanta Falcons, where he won Pro Bowl recognition back in 2015. But injuries slowed him down and he’s only appeared in 15 or more games twice in the last five years.

Still, the Saints are running so thin at cornerback that he’s worth a look. They only have three true corners on the roster as it currently stands between Marshon Lattimore, Ken Crawley, and Paulson Adebo with four others milling around on practice squad. Having someone with Trufant’s experience might be beneficial after Patrick Robinson suddenly retired this summer.

We may just have to overlook him being a former Falcon should the Saints sign him, challenging as that may be. In other ex-Falcons news, running back Devonta Freeman tried out for the Baltimore Ravens on Monday after the Saints released him in final roster cuts last week. Baltimore is looking for help after losing backup Justice Hill to an unfortunate Achilles injury in practice.

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Desmond Trufant working out for Saints, Devonta Freeman for Ravens

Former Falcons CB Desmond Trufant is trying out for the New Orleans Saints, and RB Devonta Freeman is working out for the Ravens.

On Monday, two notable former Falcons worked out for 2020 playoff teams. Cornerback Desmond Trufant is trying out for the NFC South-rival New Orleans Saints, and running back Devonta Freeman is working out for the Baltimore Ravens.

The Saints have been searching for secondary depth and Trufant is one of the best remaining free agents on the market. Last season, the former first-round pick signed with the Detroit Lions following his release by the Falcons.

Freeman, who’s working out along with Le’Veon Bell in Baltimore, had previously signed with New Orleans but didn’t make the 53-man roster.

Atlanta selected Freeman in the fourth round of the 2014 draft, where he would rush for 3,972 yards and 32 touchdowns over six seasons.

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Bears showing interest in free agent CB Steven Nelson

The Bears appear to be eyeing one of the better free-agent cornerbacks still on the market in Steven Nelson.

The Chicago Bears appear to be eyeing one of the better free-agent cornerbacks still on the market.

According to ESPN NFL reporter Jeremy Fowler, the Bears are interested in former Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Steven Nelson. Fowler mentioned the Bears, along with 13 other teams including the Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles, Houston Texans and Cincinnati Bengals, who were monitoring the veteran defensive back.

Nelson, a six-year veteran in the league, was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft. After a career year in 2018 when he recorded four interceptions and defended 15 passes, Nelson signed a three-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He started all but one game in both the 2019 and 2020 seasons.

Last year, Nelson picked off two passes, both against the Eagles, and had one fumble recovery. He was released earlier this offseason due to salary cap constraints. Still just 28 years old, Nelson has plenty left in the tank and would certainly provide a boost to a team’s secondary.

The Bears cornerback position has seen plenty of movement this offseason. They waived goodbye to veterans Kyle Fuller and Buster Skrine in an effort to shed salary, and signed former Atlanta Falcon and Detroit Lion Desmond Trufant, who has the inside track to start opposite second-year starter Jaylon Johnson. Should the Bears sign Nelson, he would likely take over that starting job from Trufant.

With so many teams interested in the former Steeler, the Bears have their work cut out for them if they want to make a deal. But Bears head coach Matt Nagy was with Nelson for his first three years in Kansas City so there is some familiarity there.

Time will tell where Nelson ends up, but he would add a boost to the Bears defense that could more veteran leadership at the position.

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WATCH: Highlights of Bears CB Desmond Trufant

Highlights of Chicago Bears free-agent signing, cornerback Desmond Trufant.

Veteran cornerback Desmond Trufant has some big shoes to fill. He’ll be expected to step in and replace 2014 first-round pick, Kyle Fuller, who emerged as one of the defense’s most indispensable parts over the last few seasons.

Trufant is a quality player in his own right and is a former first-rounder too (one year earlier, in 2013). He has a resume of production with the Falcons and even in a short sample size with the Lions last year, and is a sneaky-good signing by GM Ryan Pace if there was no choice but to move on from Fuller.

Check out some of the top moments in Trufant’s career in this highlight video:

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Bears CB Desmond Trufant says opportunities to play with guys like Khalil Mack are rare

New Bears cornerback Desmond Trufant said Khalil Mack is a big reason why he chose to sign with Chicago.

The Chicago Bears’ decision to release cornerback Kyle Fuller last week left them with little choice but to add a veteran free agent to replace him in the starting lineup.

Enter Desmond Trufant, the former 2013 first-round pick of the Atlanta Falcons, who said one of the main reasons he inked a one-year deal with the Bears was the opportunity to play with a generational talent like Khalil Mack.

“You don’t get too many opportunities to play with a guy like him,” Trufant said. “He’s a Hall of Fame-type of player. And then the respect, what he’s been able to do. And I know he’s going to continue to do what he does. That makes my life easier as a corner. You got guys up front that are getting pressure like that. I’m really excited for this opportunity. I’m going to take advantage of it, for sure.”

Trufant should have little trouble wrestling the starting job away from youngsters like Kindle Vildor and Duke Shelley. In fact, the only way he doesn’t line up with the first team is if the Bears end up drafting a prospect like Greg Newsome II in the first round of April’s 2021 NFL draft.

Trufant’s battled health issues the last two seasons, appearing in just 15 games since 2019. He managed four interceptions in just nine games in 2019 with the Falcons and secured one pick last season as a member of the Lions.

Trufant’s started 97 games since 2013 and has 14 interceptions and 83 passes defended during that time.