Tag: Kwon Alexander

Report: Saints to lose 2021 draft pick in Kwon Alexander trade

The New Orleans Saints are projected to forfeit their fifth-round 2021 draft pick after trading for San Francisco 49ers LB Kwon Alexander.

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It’s awful that the New Orleans Saints lost linebacker Kwon Alexander for the rest of the year with an Achilles injury, both for what it means for his career and the absence the team must now fill in his place on the eve of the playoffs. And it appears that the Saints are also losing a conditional fifth-round draft pick they swapped with the San Francisco 49ers to acquire Alexander sooner rather than later.

The draft pick’s conditions were reliant on play time, though it was never specified which exact benchmarks were in mind once New Orleans and San Francisco reached an agreement. But Alexander started for the Saints almost immediately after the trade, making it likely he met those goals.

Additionally, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports reported that “it’s a virtual certainty” Alexander met those play time incentives for New Orleans, which will trigger the pick’s loss in 2021 as opposed to 2022. Alexander appeared in seven games, totaling 350 snaps on defense (73.8% of 474 possible snaps) with the Saints in that span.

So let’s assume the Saints will be without their fifth-round pick in 2021. Here’s a status update on each of their upcoming selections in the upcoming draft:

  • Round 1
  • Round 2
  • Round 3 (projected compensatory for Teddy Bridgewater)
  • Round 4
  • Round 6 (projected compensatory for A.J. Klein)

The Saints also traded their initial third- and sixth-round picks in 2021 to help acquire 2020 rookies Zack Baun and Tommy Stevens, but the NFL rescinded their seventh rounder for COVID-19 protocol violations. Reports earlier this year suggested New Orleans could also lose their projected sixth-round compensatory pick for purposefully signing Jameis Winston after the cutoff date, but that’s far from certain.

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Former LSU LB Kwon Alexander suffers season-ending injury

Former LSU star Kwon Alexander was an integral part of the New Orleans Saints’ defense since being acquired via trade from the San Francisco

Former LSU star Kwon Alexander was an integral part of the New Orleans Saints’ defense since being acquired via trade from the San Francisco 49ers back on Nov. 2.

In a 52-33 win over the Minnesota Vikings on Christmas Day, Alexander suffered a torn Achilles that will end his 2020 season.

In seven games with the Saints, Alexander recorded 27 tackles, forced one fumble, and recovered two fumbles.

Alexander spent his first four seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after being drafted in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL draft. He was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2017.

After the expiration of his rookie contract, Alexander signed a four-year, $54 million contract with the 49ers in March 2019.

Alexander played in eight games before suffering a torn pectoral muscle in 2019 but returned in the playoffs where the 49ers would eventually lose to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV.

After the win over Minnesota on Christmas, the Saints moved to 11-4 and clinched the NFC South.

Kwon Alexander diagnosed with season-ending injury

New Orleans Saints linebacker Kwon Alexander was diagnosed with a season-ending Achilles injury, jeopardizing his future in the NFL.

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The New Orleans Saints’ fears were validated after Friday’s win over the Minnesota Vikings, with the initial belief of an Achilles injury for linebacker Kwon Alexander being ratified by further evaluations. ESPN’s Adam Schefter first reported the update on Alexander’s condition, which was confirmed by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

It’s a big loss for the Saints defense. Alexander had been a transformational addition to the unit, adding much-needed experience and athleticism next to All-Pro linebacker Demario Davis. Without him, the Saints will have to go back to starting fourth-year pro Alex Anzalone with Davis. Anzalone has shown flashes before, but his mistakes this season prompted the team to trade for Alexander in the first place.

Alexander appeared in seven games for the Saints after their midseason trade with the San Francisco 49ers, totaling 27 tackles (17 solo), 4 pass breakups, a forced fumble, and a pair of fumble recoveries. He’s exactly the sort of playmaking presence the team hoped to get in trading up for Zack Baun in this year’s draft, but the rookie hasn’t gotten on the field much outside of special teams.

Additionally, NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill reports that Alexander’s contract carries a $2 million injury guarantee that will trigger on April 1, 2021 if Alexander remains on the roster. The recovery time for Achilles surgery can last as much as six months, so it’s likely he’ll still be around. Regardless, the Saints were probably going to work on his contract (he’s due to count $13.4 million against the salary cap next season) anyway.

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Report: Saints fear Achilles injury for LB Kwon Alexander

NFL Network reports that the New Orleans Saints believe LB Kwon Alexander suffered an Achilles injury in Week 16’s game with the Vikings.

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This is tough to hear: NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that New Orleans Saints linebacker is believed to have suffered an Achilles injury in Christmas Day’s game with the Minnesota Vikings. The Saints medical staff quickly diagnosed him with an ankle issue and signaled for a trainer’s cart to ferry him to the locker room from the onfield treatment tent.

It’s a huge loss if so. Alexander changed the Saints defense’s play speed after the team acquired him in a midseason trade with the San Francisco 49ers. While his future with the team was uncertain due to his high salary cap hits in 2021 and beyond, he had played well enough to at least earn an attempt at renegotiating that contract.

Here’s hoping this isn’t a career-threatening injury for him. Alexander is still a young player with plenty of potential, and it would be a shame to see him be unable to meet it. This is definitely a situation to monitor in the days ahead.

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Stars, Studs, and Duds, Week 14: Saints standouts vs. Eagles

New Orleans Saints players like WR Michael Thomas and K Wil Lutz stood out against the Philadelphia Eagles, but for very different reasons.

There’s just three weeks left to play in the regular season, making the New Orleans Saints’ failure to clinch the NFC South look uglier by the minute. Time is running out for them to secure homefield advantage in the postseason, and another embarrassing loss or two like this defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles could put them back a long way.

But there were a few silver linings in Week 14. Let’s get into this week’s stars, studs, and duds:

49ers waive former Saints LB Kiko Alonso with failed physical designation

The San Francisco 49ers waived linebacker Kiko Alonso, who was recently acquired in a trade with the New Orleans Saints for Kwon Alexander.

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One former member of the New Orleans Saints is on the move. Veteran linebacker Kiko Alonso, acquired in a 2019 preseason trade with the Miami Dolphins and recently shipped to the San Francisco 49ers for linebacker Kwon Alexander, cleared waivers on Tuesday after being released by San Francisco on Monday, per the NFL daily transactions wire.

It’s the latest tough break for Alonso, who played well in New Orleans last season before tearing his ACL in January’s playoffs loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Alonso had already suffered a series of knee injuries before this and, while optimistic about his recovery during the long offseason, was unable to return to practice after being traded to the 49ers.

Alonso was not the only asset picked up by San Francisco in the trade. The Saints also traded a future fifth-round draft pick, which will be transferred in either 2021 or 2022 depending on how often Alexander plays for New Orleans this season. He saw 61% of snaps in his first game with the Saints (ironically against his old 49ers team) before logging 74% of snaps in last week’s win over the Atlanta Falcons, so he’s likely on track to meet those incentives.

So now they’ve waived him, and no other team chose to submit a waivers claim. Alonso is a free agent and eligible to sign with a new team once his knee has healed and he can pass a physical. But it appears he’ll be a long shot to play again in 2020.

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49ers waive LB acquired in Kwon Alexander trade

Kiko Alonso never got a chance to suit up for the 49ers after arriving from the Saints in the Kwon Alexander deal.

Linebacker Kiko Alonso was never likely to suit up for the 49ers this year after they acquired him and a fifth-round pick in the deal that sent linebacker Kwon Alexander to the Saints. The team on Monday made that official when they waived/failed physical Alonso.

The 30-year-old linebacker tore his ACL during the Saints’ playoff loss to the Vikings in January, and his chances of returning this season were not high. He was on the final year of his contract and his inclusion in the trade was more of a procedural move than one the 49ers made to try and get better this season.

Alonso began the year on the Physically Unable to Perform list and the last update head coach Kyle Shanahan gave was on Nov. 12 when he said the linebacker wouldn’t be in practice any time soon.

The Bills gave Alonso his start in the league as a second-round pick in the 2013 draft. He played in 86 games and posted 588 tackles, 3.0 sacks and 10 interceptions for Buffalo, Philadelphia, Miami and New Orleans.

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Studs and Duds, Week 11: Saints standouts vs. Falcons

The New Orleans Saints defeated the Atlanta Falcons off of strong performances from Janoris Jenkins, Michael Thomas, and Kwon Alexander.

While Taysom Hill was the talk of the town in his first start for the New Orleans Saints, several teammates turned in great tape for their efforts against the Atlanta Falcons — and a few others left something to be desired. Here are our picks for standouts from Week 11:

Sean Payton excited after ‘outstanding’ first game from Kwon Alexander

New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton waxed poetic about his new linebacker, Kwon Alexander, who impressed him in their win over the 49ers.

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The New Orleans Saints made a splash at the NFL trade deadline by acquiring San Francisco 49ers linebacker Kwon Alexander, who debuted with his new squad against his old team on Sunday.

Naturally, his head coach’s thoughts on his performance were a popular topic of conversation. Sean Payton reflected on Alexander’s debut Wednesday on WWL Radio with Zach Strief and Bobby Hebert, and he was full of positive takeaways.

“He did an outstanding job,” Payton replied. “He’s coming off an injury and he’s healthy for the first time in a few weeks. It’s great to have an addition like that.” While Alexander collected a respectable but unspectacular 4 tackles in his first game in black and gold, his coaches found plenty to like in reviewing the tape.

“He too can rush the passer,” Payton added in an afterthought. But that’s an interesting parting shot; per Pro Football Focus, Alexander logged just 3 pass-rush reps against the 49ers on 23 plays on passing downs (43 total snaps in the game), a rate of just 13%. His predecessor, Alex Anzalone, rushed quarterbacks on 32 of 235 passing snaps played this season (13.6%). It’s a small sample size, but maybe Alexander has shown more potential in that area than the Saints have seen from their previous starting linebacker.

If Alexander can make a bigger splash on passing downs, it takes even more off the workload Demario Davis has shouldered all season. The all-star linebacker has been asked to go get the quarterback on 80 of his 379 snaps passing-down snaps (21.1%).

And while Davis has been highly effective in that role, he’s also notched more blitzes than every other off-ball linebacker in the NFL except for Kyle Van Noy (144), Reggie Ragland (111), and Alexander Johnson (88), tying with Jerome Baker (80). Mixing in more rushes for Alexander and dropping Davis into coverage more often could help the Saints better disguise their blitzes.

We’ll see where things go from here. But it’s clear the Saints were encouraged by the tape their new pickup posted on Sunday, and he’ll get another opportunity to shine in Week 11 against the Atlanta Falcons — who he played 7 times with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, totaling more solo tackles (62) than he logged in 12 career games against the Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints (59 combined).

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Traded to 49ers, former Saints LB Kiko Alonso (ACL) won’t play in 2020

Former New Orleans Saints linebacker Kiko Alonso has not recovered from an ACL injury, meaning he will not play for the San Francisco 49ers.

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The New Orleans Saints added a big upgrade to their linebacker corps by trading with the San Francisco 49ers for Kwon Alexander, swapping a future draft pick and injured veteran Kiko Alonso in exchange. Alonso had not been cleared to practice for the Saints since tearing his ACL back in January.

NBA Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco reported Tuesday that Alonso will remain on the PUP list after his practice window expired. He wasn’t able to return to work, so the year will end without him taking a single snap with his new team. For the curious, Alexander logged 43 snaps for the Saints in Sunday’s win over the 49ers, second-most among New Orleans’ linebackers.

It’s a really tough break for Alonso, who has suffered a series of knee injuries and is one of the most-traded players in NFL history. In 2015, the team that drafted him, the Buffalo Bills, traded Alonso to the Philadelphia Eagles. Philly traded him to the Miami Dolphins in 2016. New Orleans acquired him from Miami in a 2019 trade. And on Nov. 2, 2020, he was traded to San Francisco.

Maybe he can continue to heal up near his hometown of Los Gatos, Calif., just outside Santa Clara (where the 49ers now play at their still-new Levi’s Stadium). He’s headed for free agency in the spring, and might enjoy the opportunity to stay close to home if San Francisco is interested in re-signing him.

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