Tag: jordan howden

Dennis Allen keeping decision at strong safety ‘close to the vest’

Signs point to Will Harris as your starting strong safety next to Tyrann Mathieu, but Dennis Allen won’t confirm or deny:

When the New Orleans Saints waived Johnathan Abram, it seemed pretty safe to assume that Will Harris had won the starting strong safety role next to Tyrann Mathieu. Don’t look to Dennis Allen, however, to confirm or deny your suspicions. After roster cuts on Tuesday, Allen declined to answer what the plans were at that position.

He does make it clear the Saints do have the answer, but prefer to keep it to themselves at the time. Allen told reporters, “I know we know what we’re doing. I’m not going to make any declarations.” Heading into game week, Allen feels it’s best to “keep decisions like close to the vest” and hopes the media can appreciate that.

So for right now, all you have is your assumptions. Harris and Abram seemed to be clearly ahead of Jordan Howden. With Abram not on the 53-mann roster at the moment, that only leaves one viable option. Harris has impressed as training camp went on and earned his way into starting preseason games.

Dennis Allen may not confirm it, but all signs point to Will Harris starting at strong safety versus the Panthers.

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Saints cut Johnathan Abrams, a projected starter at safety

The New Orleans Saints released Johnathan Abrams, a projected starter at safety. But he won’t go on waivers and may return after roster cuts:

Here’s another surprising move from the New Orleans Saints. The team released Johnathan Abrams on Tuesday as part of their roster cuts, but he  had been a projected starter at safety before Will Harris pulled ahead in the last few weeks of training camp.

This may not be the end of the road. Abram won’t test waivers as a vested veteran and may return after roster cuts. Unless the Saints add more high-end help at safety, anyway. Their high-profile (and fruitless) pursuit of Justin Simmons suggests they’re at least open to making an upgrade.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports that the Saints “want him back on the practice squad” while Nola.com’s Luke Johnson quotes a team source as saying “We will see” whether Abram re-signs once the dust settles.

If preseason snap counts and performance are any indication, it won’t be Jordan Howden starting next to Tyrann Mathieu. The second-year pro missed too many tackles and blew too many opportunities this summer for the Saints to lean on him in the fall. He’ll have to earn back that confidence from the coaching staff. Stay tuned as the team’s plans materialize here.

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Will Harris elbows his way into Saints’ competition at safety

The New Orleans Saints started Will Harris opposite Tyrann Mathieu on Sunday. Here’s an update on their search for a starting safety:

The New Orleans Saints’ strong safety battle was believed to be between Johnathan Abram and Jordan Howden. At one point that may have been true, but it would be irresponsible to not insert Will Harris into the conversation after Sunday’s game with the San Francisco 49ers. Harris got the nod ahead of both players when the starting defense took the field.

With Dennis Allen’s lack of commitment to any player, this shouldn’t come as a surprise that players could make a late push to start next to Tyrann Mathieu.

There’s an argument to be made that Harris should be considered the frontrunner. He started the second preseason game, an honor that previously belonged to Abram the week before. Reports from camp have been that Harris was in the mix, and that was on full display on Sunday.

Howden looks to be firmly in last place, and he always felt like the odd man out. Howden is best suited to line up deep downfield, but that’s  a role manned by Mathieu. Howden played at free safety next to Abram with the second unit, a clear display of where he stands in the pecking order at strong safety.

Howden’s missed tackle against Joshua Dobbs at the goal line was the exact mistake he couldn’t afford to make. It was a miscue in tackling and physicality. These are two traits Allen specified he is looking for from the position.

With one preseason game to go, Harris and Abram seem to be the most likely starters. It’ll be interesting to see who gets the nod against the Tennessee Titans next Sunday. All of this uncertainty makes missing out on Justin Simmons sting just a little bit more.

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Saints need a starter to emerge at safety after missing on Justin Simmons

Justin Simmons going to the Falcons means Johnathan Abram or Jordan Howden needs to answer Dennis Allen’s challenge:

Losing out on Justin Simmons to the Atlanta Falcons was a swing and a miss. Sure, Simmons going to a rival made matters worse, but the Saints clearly felt there was a need there.

Simmons would bring an impact player to the secondary no matter who was at safety next to Tyrann Mathieu, so that isn’t a huge indictment on Johnathan Abram or Jordan Howden.

So far in camp, however, there’s no separation between the two players. It’s a tight race, and Dennis Allen affirmed this saying he is still waiting for a player to jump up and stake a true claim to this position.

Abram and Howden are both capable players. It feels like Abram’s skillset fits better within this role. Physicality is his trademark. Allen named tackles and physicality as two attributes that are important for that position in his defense.

Because Simmons is no longer an option, Abram or Howden now have to step up and do what Allen is calling them out to do, stake claim to the job instead of winning by default. If it remains close, it feels like Abram would walk away with the starting spot. But Howden still has time to win this job.

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Falcons signing Justin Simmons is a big swing-and-a-miss for the Saints

The Saints spent months recruiting Justin Simmons only for him to sign with their archrivals. Mickey Loomis has made another mistake in free agency:

There’s no other way to spin this than “disappointing.” The New Orleans Saints spent months recruiting Justin Simmons only for him to sign with their archrivals, the Atlanta Falcons.

Mickey Loomis, the longest-tenured general manager in the league, has made another mistake in free agency. Loomis is known for stubbornly sticking to his offers in free agency — letting good players like Marcus Williams and Carl Nicks walk away over the years. And his irresponsible spending at other positions has caught up to him.

Part of it is Derek Carr’s contract. The Saints overpaid him compared to what other washouts-turned-starting quarterbacks like Geno Smith and Baker Mayfield signed for in recent years. Another part is positional spending. Jamaal Williams looked like he was running in quicksand last season but he’s coming back with almost $4 million in guarantees anchoring him to New Orleans.

The Saints had the salary cap space to sign Simmons; Atlanta got him for a one-year, $8 million deal with $7.5 million guaranteed. Depending on where you look New Orleans is under the cap by at least $10 million, and they had a couple of levers to pull and open up more space if they really wanted to. But Loomis and his leadership group in the front office didn’t want to do that.

We should acknowledge that lines up with how the Saints have spoken about this situation. They viewed signing Simmons as an opportunity to upgrade, not necessarily a must-have asset. They’ve won games before with Jordan Howden and Johnathan Abram starting next to Tyrann Mathieu. It’s just discouraging when Dennis Allen is bemoaning how neither of those two guys are impressing him after training camp practice every day.

It’s still disappointing. The Saints had so many things working in their favor. They were Simmons’ first stop and first choice on his free agent tour. They had been in the longest contact with him. Two of his former position coaches are on staff, as are former teammates dating back to his college days. Ultimately none of that mattered because they refused to pay up.

If Loomis hadn’t spent so recklessly elsewhere maybe he could’ve bit the bullet and given Simmons what he wanted. Instead, he had less wriggle-room than he’d like, and his instincts told him to stand pat. Now the two-time Pro Bowl will be playing against the Saints twice this year. It’s a good thing he only intercepted Derek Carr once in their last dozen meetings.

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Countdown To Kickoff: Johnathan Abram is the Saints Player of Day 24

Countdown To Kickoff: Johnathan Abram is the New Orleans Saints Player of Day 24. He’s competing with Jordan Howden to start next to Tyrann Mathieu

Just 24 days are left until the New Orleans Saints officially kick off their 2024 season. The player of the day lies in the defensive back room with safety Johnathan Abram, who the Saints first signed in the 2023 offseason.

Here’s everything to know about Abram, who wears the No. 24 for the Saints:

  • Name (Age): Johnathan Abram (24)
  • Position: Running back
  • Height, weight: 5-foot-11, 205 pounds
  • Relative Athletic Score: 7.02
  • 2024 salary cap hit: $1,065,000
  • College: Mississippi State
  • Drafted: First round in 2019 (Oakland Raiders)
  • NFL experience: 6th season

Abram is a player the Saints added to fill some depth in the safety room behind Tyrann Mathieu and co. Abram began his career as a highly coveted player out of Texas A&M. After a slow start to his career, Abram came on to the scene in 2020 playing in 13 games for the now-Las Vegas Raiders. During that span Abram totaled 86 tackles and a career-high 6 pass deflections and two interceptions. Abram followed that up hitting another career-high with 116 tackles in 2021 before getting released by the Raiders in 2022. Abram would make two more stops to Green Bay and Seattle before heading to New Orleans in 2023.

With the Saints, Abram has spent most of his time playing a pivotal role on special teams while also providing needed depth in the backend. In his limited role, Abram was able to come up with 26 tackles in 9 games in 2023. His best performance came in Week 17 when he was given the start over rookie Jordan Howden against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In that matchup, Abram caught an interception and forced a fumble to keep the Saints playoff hopes alive going into the last week of the season.

In 2024, Abram is currently in a position battle with safety Jordan Howden for a starting role this season. Head coach Dennis Allen spoke recently about the position, acknowledging that they’re “not set” at that spot. With these comments and the teams visit with Justin Simmons, it doesn’t look like Abram has the inside track to a starting role on this defense. With that being said, Abram provides a fiery, energetic personality that the team can rally around, while also making an impact on teams as well.

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Saints’ safety battle next to Tyrann Mathieu remains wide open

Dennis Allen is still waiting for Johnathan Abram or Jordan Howden to jump up and claim the starting job next to Tyrann Mathieu at safety:

Johnathan Abram and Jordan Howden are in a tight battle for starting at  safety next to Tyrann Mathieu. But in Dennis Allen’s eyes, neither one of them have jumped up and taken that position as a starter yet at New Orleans Saints training camp.

Want a sign of how tight this race is? Howden was the leader on the unofficial depth chart, but Abram walked out with the starting unit versus the Arizona Cardinals in their first preseason game.

“I haven’t seen anything from any one of those safeties yet where someone has just jumped out at me and said ‘This is my job,'” Allen said Wednesday.

It’s not a full indictment of the position. Allen likes what he’s seen from the safeties, but the way he puts it, no one has “taken the bull by the horns and said ‘This is my job.'”

So what is Allen looking for out of the position? He wants a player that make plays, has production, and displays physicality. When asked about Howden’s lessened playing time at the end of his rookie year, Allen pointed to those three things as areas he needed to improve on.

Allen views this as a position that’s in a place to rack up interceptions, pass breakups and tackles because of how they use their defense. At its peak, this position should be a playmaker. That’s why they worked to recruit Justin Simmons last week, and why they’re waiting to see what move he makes on his free agency tour.

This is likely why the team has continued its pursuit for Justin Simmons this offseason. Simmons could put Mathieu in this role, and he’d check every box.

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Training camp spotlight: Johnathan Abram vs. Jordan Howden

Johnathan Abram and Jordan Howden will compete to start at safety next to Tyrann Mathieu. The coaching staff has confidence in them, but they need to back it up:

The New Orleans Saints decided to not add any big-name safeties in the draft or free agency this year. Tyrann Mathieu will obviously be starting at free safety. That leaves Johnathan Abram and Jordan Howden to duel for the starting strong safety spot.

After Marcus Maye went down with an injury last year, Abram closed out the season as the starter, playing ahead of Howden in the closing weeks of the regular season. This would signify one should expect this to be his job to lose.

Abram also possesses the skillset to play strong safety. He has been criticized in the past, but this wouldn’t require him to be the deep safety often. He is a physical player who is at his best when used closer to the line of scrimmage. This would play to his strengths.

Unfortunately for Howden, the second-year player is probably best suited to play free safety. He’s a rangy player who would be good in the back end. That is occupied by Mathieu, however. It appears the Saints want to keep Mathieu as their deep safety despite his versatility underneath.

That means Howden must grow in Year 2 as a shallow defender. This is Abram’s game, but with a full training camp to focus on it, Howden could take that next step as they compete. They say iron sharpens iron. It’s worth noting that Justin Simmons remains a free agent — one of the best players at the position in recent years, who was a Denver Broncos salary cap casualty this offseason. It’s on Howden and Abram to prove the Saints don’t need him.

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Countdown to Kickoff: Kyler Baugh is the Saints Player of Day 69

Countdown to Kickoff: Kyler Baugh is the New Orleans Saints Player of Day 69. The undrafted rookie has a tough road ahead, but he wouldn’t be the first to beat expectations

We’ve got 69 days to go until the New Orleans Saints open up their 2024 regular season, which makes the current owner of the No. 69 jersey our Saints Player of the Day. That’s rookie defensive lineman Kyler Baugh, so let’s get to know him better before diving into realistic goals for him in 2024:

  • Name (Age): Kyler Baugh (22)
  • Position: Defensive tackle
  • Height, weight: 6-foot-2, 305 pounds
  • Relative Athletic Score: 8.56
  • 2024 salary cap hit: $798,333
  • College: Minnesota
  • Drafted: Undrafted in 2024 (New Orleans Saints)
  • NFL experience: Rookie

The Saints signed Baugh as an undrafted free agent out of Minnesota, guaranteeing just $25,000 in his rookie contract. For perspective, former Colorado tight end Dallin Holker led the team with $235,000 in guarantees. Baugh was a solid starter at Minnesota the last two years (where he was teammates with safety Jordan Howden, who the Saints drafted last year) but he’s facing a tough road to making the cut in New Orleans. He mainly ran with the second- and third-team defenses at spring practices. Linemen won’t be highlighted until full-contact practices in pads kick off at training camp later this summer.

So how can he make the team? The Saints lost Malcolm Roach in free agency and didn’t make a great effort at replacing him, signing former Las Vegas Raiders backup Kendal Vickers while drafting Khristian Boyd in the sixth round out of Northern Iowa. Jack Heflin is also in the mix after returning from the Saints’ 2023 practice squad. Baugh must prove he’s a better option to round out the Saints’ four-man rotation than any of those guys.

If he can hold up well in run defense while making the most of his opportunities on passing downs, Baugh could make a compelling case for a roster spot. The Saints have a great track record in recruiting and developing undrafted defensive tackles like Roach (2020), Shy Tuttle and Devaroe Lawrence (2019). Maybe Baugh can follow in their footsteps.

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Tyrann Mathieu makes the cut for list of NFL’s 11 best safeties

Tyrann Mathieu made the cut for Touchdown Wire’s list of the 11 best safeties in the NFL. The Saints’ fan-favorite is aging like fine wine:

Shoutout to Tyrann Mathieu. The New Orleans Saints safety is aging like fine wine, and he earned a spot on Touchdown Wire’s list of the 11 best safeties in the NFL for his efforts in 2023. He’ll continue to be a major playmaker and leader in the secondary for New Orleans, but here’s why TD Wire’s Doug Farrar argues Mathieu is so special:

Through the years, Tyrann Mathieu’s deployment metrics from season to season have been unpredictable, to say the least. The Cardinals picked Mathieu in the third round of the 2013 draft, and had him as a primary slot defender most of the time. One year with the Texans in 2018 had him more as a versatile rover — that was the first season in which Mathieu had at least 300 snaps at free, box, and slot. Mathieu signed with the Chiefs in 2019, just in time for Steve Spagnuolo to really let him bloom in that role. That got him a three-year, $27 million deal with the Saints in 2022.

Last season in Dennis Allen’s defense, Mathieu was more of a deep-third player, with 776 snaps as a high safety, 210 in the box, and 191 in the slot. He was good for 54 solo tackles and 19 stops. In coverage, he allowed 21 catches on 35 targets for 249 yards, 194 yards after the catch, three touchdowns, four interceptions, eight pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 70.7.

2023 marked Mathieu’s highest rate of deployment in the deep third that he’s ever had, which is a pretty interesting construct for a 31-year-old guy. But he handled it with aplomb, showing the kind of route-matching and robber skills you’d expect from a much younger player.

Farrar ranked Mathieu 8th-best among his peers, alongside NFC South rivals like Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr. (No. 2; Winfield is also the highest-paid safety in the NFL), Atlanta Falcons standout Jessie Bates III (No. 5), and Carolina Panthers starter Xavier Woods (No. 11).

And the Saints are betting big on Mathieu continuing to play at a high level. They released his tag-team partner Marcus Maye earlier this offseason while tapping Johnathan Abram and Jordan Howden to compete for the now-vacant spot in the lineup. Mathieu turned 32 in May and agreed to a renegotiated contract that will keep him in New Orleans through the 2025 season, so he’s entrenched as a starter for the foreseeable future. Hopefully he can maintain the high standards he’s set. No Saints player has intercepted more passes than Mathieu (7) since he joined the team.

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