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The New Orleans Saints worked out several veteran pass rushers on Tuesday, per a report from Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. Wilson reported that players involved in the tryouts included Noah Spence, Shane Ray, and Chris Smith. With two starting defensive linemen sidelined by injuries against the San Francisco 49ers last week (Sheldon Rankins and Marcus Davenport each exited the game) and a top backup on the mend after taking a painful shot to the knee (Trey Hendrickson), it makes sense for the Saints to consider their options.
Spence was frequently connected to the Saints ahead of the 2016 NFL Draft; the team met with him extensively before that year’s Reese’s Senior Bowl and hosted him in New Orleans on an official visit, which reportedly went well. Spence finished his college career at Eastern Kentucky after initially playing with the Ohio State Buckeyes, making him one of several prospects the Saints studied (they ended up drafting both Michael Thomas and Vonn Bell in the second round that year, each of whom played with Spence at Ohio State). However, Spence failed to gain traction after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected him, and was waived during roster cuts before the 2019 season.
Ray was a highly-touted former first-round draft pick by the Denver Broncos out of Missouri, but injuries and ineffectiveness resulted in him testing free agency after his contract expired. The Baltimore Ravens took a shot on him over the summer but waived him during roster cuts, and he hasn’t yet caught on with another team.
It’s a similar story for Chris Smith, who spent time with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Cincinnati Bengals before playing for the Cleveland Browns this season. The sixth-year pro was released in early December after signing a three-year contract with the Browns back in March.
At this point in their careers, each of these players are probably going to make their best impact at the end of a pass-rush rotation. Katherine Terrell of The Athletic reported that it doesn’t appear the Saints are looking to add any new players at this time, instead using these veteran workouts as an opportunity to update in-house scouting report.
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