Tag: Khalen Saunders

Khalen Saunders posted the best Taylor Swift Eras Tour Toronto stories supporting brother Kam

The Saints bye week came at a perfect time.

The New Orleans Saints have a bye week this week, meaning there has been no better time for defensive tackle Khalen Saunders to make the trip to Toronto to take in an Eras Tour show. Saunders is the brother of Taylor Swift’s backup dance Kam Saunders, and the two are incredibly supportive of each other.

When the Saints faced the Chiefs on October 7, Kam was in attendance, and Khalen has been able to take in the massive tour a couple times. Thursday night, Khalen posted several videos to his Instagram story from the Rogers Centre from Swift’s show.

Saunders was vibing to “You Belong With Me” and “Love Story,” and he shared Kam’s moment in “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.”

WARNING: Some NSFW language is in the Instagram Story below!

Ready?

OK.

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Khalen Saunders reacts to Marshon Lattimore being traded to Washington

Khalen Saunders shared his thoughts on the Marshon Lattimore trade, and he does not seem excited to play against him in December:

The New Orleans Saints trading away Marshon Lattimore was unfortunately something that ended up becoming a reality on Tuesday, as they sent the veteran cornerback to the Washington Commanders. Lattimore was one of the best Saints players we had seen in a decent while at the cornerback position, maybe ever. Now he moves on to Washington to help them build off of a 7-2 start and an NFC East lead through nine weeks.

Not a ton of Saints teammates have made mention of the trade on social media yet, but one player who did was defensive tackle Khalen Saunders, who seems to not relish the idea of playing against Lattimore in December this year:

“My God and we gotta play this animal still 😭 Lattttttttttt NOOOOOOOOO”

Saunders joined the team back in 2023 and has had a season and a half to get to know Lattimore as well as the rest of the team. Pretty much everyone knew how good Lattimore was for the Saints, including players and fans alike.

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Saints players had custom ‘Merry Rizzmas’ shirts ready for Darren Rizzi’s promotion

New Orleans Saints players were ready when Darren Rizzi got promoted. Some wore custom ‘Merry Rizzmas’ shirts around the locker room:

Darren Rizzi, the new interim head coach of the New Orleans Saints shared a few strong and emotional comments during his debut press conference on Monday. Despite all those comments being very cut and dry, he also had a few funny observations come up from his promotion.

Specifically one regarding T-shirts that Saints players had printed out last season, around Christmastime, in regards to him. These shirts read “Merry Rizzmas” a play on Rizzi’s last name and what he referred to as the “word of the year” in 2023.

“I got guys in the locker room (they) were wearing ‘Merry Rizzmas’ shirts,” Rizzi said, “You know Bink and those guys had the ‘Merry Rizzmas’ shirts. I didn’t even know what ‘rizz’ meant to be honest with you, I’m not a big social media guy. So, all I was told was I made the word of the year last year with r’izz.'”

Seemingly Khalen “Bink” Saunders was the one making this happen, and he followed up the quote on Tuesday saying he will wear his shirt on Wednesday as well. Some fun jokes developing around the Saints facility as they look to their new interim head coach to improve the team. Maybe it’s the start of a vibes shift in a positive direction.

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Players’ social media posts reflect a broken culture in New Orleans

Khalen Saunders’ words on social media shows how frustrated the team is, and how Dennis Allen has lost the New Orleans Saints locker room:

Khalen Saunders tweets after the New Orleans Saints loss to the Carolina Panthers resembles a broken culture in New Orleans. Tensions were high heading into this game. There were talks of a players only meeting and also captains meeting with Dennis Allen.

It feels those attempts at elevating team morale were futile or at least reversed after losing to Carolina. After the game, Saunders went on social media to suggest he should play quarterback. It was a joke about fans wanting the number one overall pick, but Saunders said it would give the fans something fun to watch.

Derek Carr is your current quarterback, and Saunders’ words could be taken as Carr isn’t good enough or enjoyable to watch. While they may not have been Saunders’ message, that post came from a place of hurt. It’s hard to not see posts of frustrations through a certain lens.

Saunders later went on to call Saints versus Panthers the “Cottonelle DooDoo Bowl.” The Saints were supposed bounce back against Carolina. This was a team you blew out earlier in the season. Instead, you lost to the team with the worst record in the NFL.

Dennis Allen has lost this locker room. Tweets like these wouldn’t even happen if there wasn’t a fracture. Players are frustrated, and it’s beginning to spill into the public.

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Dennis Allen defends Nathan Shepherd after controversial play vs. Chargers

Dennis Allen doesn’t believe there was anything malicious about Nathan Shepherd’s hit on Chargers QB Justin Herbert:

New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Nathan Shepherd took a controversial hit on Justin Herbert, and Los Angeles Chargers offensive lineman Bradley Bozeman didn’t respond kindly. It’s difficult to blame Bozeman for his response. Any Saints offensive lineman would react the same way to that type of play to Derek Carr.

Dennis Allen and Khalen Saunders stepped in to defend the New Orleans Saints defensive tackle.

Allen doesn’t see any malice in the play and said, “Here’s a guy that’s trying to wrap the quarterback up. He’s on the ground, he has no idea if the quarterback has the ball or not.” Khalen Saunders went on social media after the game to echo the sentiment.

That being said, it was a very late hit, at least three seconds after the ball had been released. Herbert didn’t even seem to be trying to escape.

Allen and Saunders may have had Shepherd’s back, but this feels like a tough play to justify. Shepherd may not have known the ball was released, but the way he went for the tackle looked like he was fold Herbert’s leg.

It’s a tough place for the defender. You’re at the quarterback’s legs and haven’t gotten him down, but it just feels like there should have been a different way. The play is questionable at best.

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Will the Saints’ Khalen Saunders show up for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour show in New Orleans for his brother Kam?

Will we see Khalen Saunders and Kam Saunders united at the Taylor Swift Eras Tour show in New Orleans?

Kameron Saunders will of course be there in New Orleans starting Friday to dance with Taylor Swift at the Eras Tour, as he’s done for all the shows.

But what about his brother, Khalen Saunders? He’s a defensive tackle for the New Orleans Saints and it would be neat to see him there, enjoying Kam’s dancing.

If you’re wondering, it’s fairly certain that Khalen will miss the shows this weekend — his team will be traveling to SoFi Stadium to play the Los Angeles Chargers this weekend. But maybe we’ll see him Friday? We’ll see.

There was this, though, for you to enjoy:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBgp7oYxoS4/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=31d98900-c93f-4b76-a922-3ebf1b21b998

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Week 7 inactive report: Second-year Saints draft makes his debut vs. Broncos

Kendre Miller is making his debut, but Khalen Saunders won’t play due to injury. Here is the Week 7 inactive report for both teams:

The new Orleans Saints and Denver Broncos announced their lists of inactive players for Week 7’s prime-time game at the Caesars Superdome, and it’s a lot of high-profile starters sidelined for the black and gold.

But it isn’t all bad news. Second-year running back Kendre Miller will make his season debut after missing all of training camp and the first four games  with a hamstring injury; after practicing for two weeks, his coaches are confident he can get on the field and help the team snap their four-week losing streak.

Additionally, starting left guard/center Lucas Patrick is active, but it remains to be seen whether he’ll play while dealing with a chest injury. He hurt his collarbone a few weeks back and hasn’t been able to practice, so they may be holding him in reserve should other injuries force him into the game.

Here’s the full list:

New Orleans Saints inactive players:

  • QB Derek Carr
  • TE Taysom Hill
  • WR Chris Olave
  • LB Pete Werner
  • DT Khalen Saunders
  • C/G Cesar Ruiz
  • RB Jordan Mims

Denver Broncos inactive players:

  • CB Pat Surtain II
  • CB Kris Abrams-Draine
  • T Alex Palczewski
  • TE Greg Dulcich
  • OLB Dondrea Tillman
  • DL Eyioma Uwazurike
  • QB Zach Wilson (emergency third quarterback)

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Veteran defensive tackle will be a game-time decision

Khalen Saunders is dealing with a back injury, and the Saints are hoping to reach a decision on his status before kickoff with the Broncos:

The New Orleans Saints are dealing with a significant amount of injuries to critical players. Khalen Saunders may not be viewed in the same esteem as Taysom Hill, but he is an important piece of the Saints defensive line.

Saunders is currently dealing with a back injury that threatens his game status against the Denver Broncos. As for right now, Saunders is listed as questionable. Per NFL insider Josina Anderson, New Orleans is hoping to get an understanding if Saunders can play prior to getting to the stadium.

Nathan Shepherd and possibly Khristian Boyd will line up next to Bryan Bresee if Saunders is unable to play. Boyd has been inactive, but he would likely be activated to replace Saunders. Saunders is currently listed as questionable.

The defensive line has struggled most notably in the run game. Big leads in the beginning of the season took the run game out of play for teams, but that hasn’t been the case recently. With running the football still on the table, opponents have taken advantage of a weak New Orleans run defense.

The pass rush hasn’t been great either. Khalen Saunders isn’t the biggest name, but the Saints aren’t at a place where they can afford losing bodies at defensive tackle.

Saints improve the NFL’s worst defense in this 2025 mock draft

The Saints improved the NFL’s worst defense in this 2025 mock draft. Michigan’s big defensive tackle Kenneth Grant may be just who they need next to Bryan Bresee:

No NFL team has given up more yards this season than the New Orleans Saints (2,375), and while much of that has been due to a surprisingly porous pass defense (1,573 yards allowed, third-most), plenty of blame should go to a run defense that’s been a weakness throughout the Dennis Allen era. The Saints are allowing 5.2 yards per carry, second-worst around the league.

So how do they fix it? This 2025 mock draft has a suggestion. Draft Wire’s Curt Popejoy has the Saints picking Michigan’s big defensive tackle Kenneth Grant at No. 9 overall. He may be just who they need next to Bryan Bresee.

Grant arrived on campus at an imposing 350 pounds and slimmed down to a more-manageable 339, and he’s one of the best all-around athletes in college football. Michigan has sent plenty of defensive linemen to the NFL but the 20-year-old has broken many of their weight room records while impressing the Wolverines’ strength and conditioning staff.

Whether or not it’s Allen conducting the Saints defense again in 2025, the interior line will need more attention. It’s mostly been a one-man show from Bresee outside of occasional stops by Nathan Shepherd, and Khalen Saunders’ impressive interception return (which really isn’t something we should expect from a nose tackle). Rookie draft pick Khristian Boyd has been benched in favor of John Ridgeway III, who the Saints traded for just before the season started.

Someone like Grant could absolutely be in play for next year’s draft. Beyond stopping the run, it’s impressive that he can get after the quarterback (5.5 career sacks) and disrupt passing lanes (9 balls batted down at the line of scrimmage) from a spot that those kind of numbers are hard to come by. But this team has a lot of problems to solve, and it’s too soon to say whether this is the direction they’ll move first.

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Former Chiefs defensive lineman reveals creative nickname for Travis Kelce

Former Kansas City #Chiefs defensive lineman Khalen Saunders reveals creative nickname for Travis Kelce | @EdEastonJr

The Kansas City Chiefs’ recent victory over the New Orleans Saints kept their record undefeated in the young season. During the game, they faced off against several former Chiefs, who had Super Bowl rings and memories from the journey.

Former Chiefs defensive lineman Khalen Saunders made headlines for his interception return during the game, but he also recently revealed a unique nickname for Travis Kelce.

“We used to call him, when I was on the Chiefs, ‘The Drunken Master,’ because he kind of just runs his routes looking like he’s tipsy a little bit. “said Saunders in a video list from G.O.A.T. Farm Media. “Then he’ll just sit down in the middle of a zone and catch it and then turn up the field and make something happen.”

Kelce’s unparalleled ability to find holes in defenses and get open for Patrick Mahomes earned him the nickname. Saunders played for the Chiefs from 2019 to 2022, winning two Super Bowls with the star tight end. The bond remains strong between former Kansas City players and the current group.