The Jets are signing former Saints special teams player Justin Hardee to a three-year deal.
The Jets have made an addition to their special teams unit.
The Jets and former Saint Justin Hardee have agreed to terms on a three-year contract, according to NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill. The deal cannot become official until the new league year opens on March 17 at 4 p.m. ET.
Hardee is a cornerback but spent nearly all of his time with the Saints as a special teams gunner. He played 1,105 special teams snaps and just 115 defensive snaps in four seasons with New Orleans.
Hardee had nine tackles on special teams in 2020 while registering a 90.4 Pro Football Focus grade, good for sixth-best in the NFL. He played just one defensive snap last season.
Hardee has recorded 47 total tackles, two pass defenses and one interception for his career. He’s never played more than 8% of his teams’ defensive snaps in a season.
Hardee was originally a wide receiver at Illinois but became a defensive back after entering the NFL.
The New York Jets swept in and reached an agreement with New Orleans Saints free agent Justin Hardee on a three-year contract, as first reported by NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill. Hardee has been a core player on the special teams units for New Orleans, and he’ll be tough to replace.
Initially entering the NFL as an undrafted rookie wide receiver, Hardee found his way to the Saints and was converted to cornerback while earning his roster spot with exceptional play in the kicking game.
And that’s where he’s risen to prominence as one of the league’s best in covering punts and kickoffs. His efforts were instrumental in keeping the Saints punt unit top-tier in recent seasons, sometimes drawing double coverage from opponents when he proved too tough to cover. He’ll be missed in that phase of the game as well as the locker room, where he’s been a popular teammate.
With Hardee out the door and other top special teams contributors like Craig Robertson and Alex Anzalone headed for free agency, it’s vital that the Saints find new athletes who can chip in to the game’s third phase. They got off to a good start by agreeing to terms with Carolina Panthers fullback Alex Armah, who has logged 800-plus snaps in the kicking game in his career.
The New Orleans Saints lost WR Deonte Harris and CB Patrick Robinson while activating CB Justin Hardee in their last-minute roster moves.
The New Orleans Saints completed a series of roster moves before their Week 14 game with the Philadelphia Eagles, ranging from the loss of All-Pro return man Deonte Harris to the return of special teams ace Justin Hardee, with two other players promoted from the practice squad. Here’s what you need to know:
The New Orleans Saints welcomed several players to practice including LT Terron Armstead (from COVID-19/reserve) and WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey.
The New Orleans Saints reported a series of roster moves and formal designations on the daily NFL transactions wire, signaling the return of several players to the depth chart. While a couple of these additions were expected, there were also a few pleasant surprises. Let’s dig in:
The New Orleans Saints sent DT Sheldon Rankins and CB Justin Hardee to injured reserve after practice, and activated RB Ty Montgomery.
The New Orleans Saints completed a few routine roster moves on Friday after practice, designating two players to the injured reserve list while activating a third from it. Here’s what you need to know about each transaction:
The New Orleans Saints agreed to terms on a one-year contract extension with special teams ace Justin Hardee, an important backup cornerback
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The New Orleans Saints brought back an important piece of their special teams unit on Friday, per Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football. Underhill reports that cornerback Justin Hardee, a Saints restricted free agent, agreed to terms on a contract which The Athletic’s Katherine Terrell added will last one year.
This is an important addition beyond the continuity it ensures on punt and kickoff coverage. Hardee is someone the Saints have been developing for years as a backup cornerback, having entered the NFL as a wide receiver out of college. He spoke last summer about the work he’s put in to earn his stripes in the pro ranks, and remains a popular member of the locker room.
It’s doubly important when you consider that the Saints only had one cornerback under contract before Hardee agreed to return. While Marshon Lattimore had his fifth-year option for 2021 picked up and Patrick Robinson agreed to a pay cut, Janoris Jenkins is the only other corner signed on for the 2020 season. Hardee’s presence helps fill out the depth chart and keep someone around that the Saints have invested in.
The dust has settled on the sprint to the start of the new league year, and the New Orleans Saints were the only team in the NFL to activate a first-round restricted free agent tender — and they issued it to backup quarterback Taysom Hill.
While a few other teams around the league did use second-round tenders, the majority of qualifying players received original round-level tenders or nothing at all. That was the case for the other Saints restricted free agents, with offensive lineman Cameron Tom, wide receiver Austin Carr, and cornerback Justin Hardee each testing the open market (long snapper Zach Wood agreed to a four-year contract extension).
As for their exclusive-rights free agents: only All-Pro special teams ace J.T. Gray was tendered, with both linebacker Colton Jumper and wide receiver Keith Kirkwood allowed to look for other offers. The decision to let Kirkwood go is disappointing given the hype he earned in training camp last summer, but a yearlong hamstring injury kept him off the field for much of the 2019 season.
That said, Kirkwood’s chances of turning it around aren’t over just yet. NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill reports that Kirkwood could re-sign with the Saints, just not at the rate his exclusive-rights tender would have qualified for.
Former New Orleans Saints like Zach Strief and current stars like Michael Thomas wished the Kansas City Chiefs well on their Super Bowl win.
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The Kansas City Chiefs took down the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV, and the New Orleans Saints took notice. Current and former players chimed in after the game to congratulate friends, peers, and former teammates on Kansas City’s roster for their big win, the Chiefs’ first Super Bowl win in 50 years. Here’s the best reactions from the Saints on social media:
When I said it was cool to watch people live out their dreams I was talking about players… but no one on that field more deserving than Andy Reid. So obvious how much his guys love him. Special night for him and his family.
The homies are really champions. I’m lost for words because it just proves the grind is real. @Mathieu_Era@TheRealFrankC_@cheetah man thanks for the inspiration
It’s time for the New Orleans Saints to make contract decisions on restricted free agents like Taysom Hill, Justin Hardee, and Austin Carr.
Many New Orleans Saints players are set to enter unrestricted free agency, giving them the opportunity to negotiate with new teams and potentially land a big payday. However, five of their teammates are going into March’s signing period with restricted free agency status. Here’s what that means.
Restricted free agents can negotiate with other teams, but their current squad can claim the right of first refusal through exercising one of several different one-year contract tenders. But the ability to match contract offers comes with a price.
The latest projections from Over The Cap suggest tender values in the range of $4,667,000 (for first-round pick compensation) to $3,278,000 (second-round pick compensation), and $2,144,000 (for original-round draft pick compensation). Those totals are fully-guaranteed against the salary cap.
New Orleans doesn’t have a good history with restricted free agency. They have only used the lowest tender level in recent memory, and rarely matched opposing contract offers. They let wide receiver Willie Snead leave uncontested when the Baltimore Ravens signed him to a two-year, $7 million deal in 2018. Backup tight end Josh Hill signed a three-year, $7.5 million offer sheet with the Chicago Bears in 2016, but the Saints matched it and extended him again in 2018.
They didn’t even tender defensive tackle Tyrunn Walker back in 2015, despite it only costing about $1.54 million at the time and Walker having shown some rare bright spots in a historically-bad defense (the Detroit Lions signed him to a one-year, $1.75 million deal, and re-upped him the next season). He’s an example of a player the Saints hoped they could keep on a veteran’s minimum salary, which is obviously a riskier option.
But things are projecting differently in 2020. There’s a good chance the Saints exercise one of the more-valuable tender options; in fact, they may have to. They could also work out long-term contract extensions if they so choose; Saints kicker Wil Lutz did just that last year, when he was a restricted free agent. Here are the five Saints players that qualify, and what the team should do with each of them.
Justin Hardee, cornerback
Chris Graythen/Getty Images
Hardee’s had an interesting career path, and now he’s one of the Saints’ central special teams aces. He plays often on the punt and kickoff units, and led the team in snaps played in the game’s third phase (362) last season, outpacing even Craig Robertson (324) and Taysom Hill (286). He’s someone the Saints coaches have invested years of development in, and should definitely try to keep around for the future.
The question they have to ask now is how much Hardee’s contributions are worth. He doesn’t play defense (just 37 snaps logged last season) and is still learning the position’s finer points after entering the NFL as a wide receiver. He can’t be counted on just yet to be a top backup behind Marshon Lattimore and Janoris Jenkins. But his presence on special teams speaks for itself, and the Saints might do well to sign him to the lowest contract tender, then wait and see whether the market can set a price on his long-term contract value.
New Orleans Saints special teams ace J.T. Gray teamed up with Justin Hardee for a big play on special teams, this time against the Panthers.
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The New Orleans Saints have hurt themselves with some ugly penalties and poor execution, but they caught a big break early against the Carolina Panthers. A Thomas Morstead punt deflected off of Panthers wide receiver D.J. Moore, and the Saints recovered the live ball to keep their offense alive.
It was a huge opportunity, and they didn’t waste it. Drew Brees struck wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith for a touchdown catch a few plays later. It was all kicked off when Saints special teams ace Justin Hardee blocked his Panthers counterpart, Rashaan Gaulden, into Moore. Saints safety J.T. Gray was in the right spot at the right time to recover the loose ball.
Gray has made a few game-changing plays for the Saints on special teams this year, including a blocked punt that turned into a safety against the Chicago Bears back in Week 7. If the Saints are going to go the distance and win another Super Bowl, they’ll need more plays from unexpected sources — like Gray throwing a block to create this turnover.
What a mess. Just inexplicably bad. It’s going to get challenged, and they’re going to win the challenge. Good Lord, this is just not good at all. pic.twitter.com/jNOXJD8yl9
