Tag: lonnie johnson jr

Former Saints DB signs with Panthers, says ‘I got smoke’ for the front office

Former Saints DB Lonnie Johnson Jr. signed with the Carolina Panthers, and he’s eager for Week 1. He says ‘I got smoke’ for the Saints front office:

It’s safe to say former New Orleans Saints defensive back Lonnie Johnson Jr. is eager for Week 1. Johnson aired his grievances with the Saints front office after signing with the Carolina Panthers on Wednesday, saying that he’s ready to prove them wrong for not re-signing him.

This comes after Johnson completed a one-year stint with the Saints in 2023 in which a knee injury limited him to playing 12 of 17 games. He wound up not re-signing with the Saints this offseason, instead opting to return to his former team, the Houston Texans. But Houston opted to release him before the roster cut-down deadline. This led to Johnson signing with the Panthers Wednesday, the Saints’ rival and Week 1 opponent.

Johnson and the Saints seemed to have a mutual interest in him returning at one point, based on his tweet before signing with the Texans stating;

Johnson will now be trying to catch on with the Panthers’ roster, and if he ends up sticking in the lineup come Week 1, may have his chance to play the Saints in New Orleans and prove they should have signed him when they had the chance.

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The Saints should let these 3 players walk in free agency

The New Orleans Saints can afford to let some players walk away. There are some free agents who should be playing elsewhere in 2024:

The New Orleans Saints only have one free agent who made more than $2 million dollars in 2023. Rashid Shaheed will also cross that threshold easily once he receives a new contract. In other words, the majority of the players aren’t big names. It’s majorly depth pieces who wouldn’t put much of a dent in the salary cap if they returned.

The biggest names who could be on this list have voids on their contract and technically aren’t free agents yet. That would be Michael Thomas and Jameis Winston. Both are likely gone due to disconnects with management. Other players could be on their way out the door, too. Here are three Saints free agents whose contracts will expired and shouldn’t be re-signed:

Saints promote CB Cameron Dantzler, reunite with WR Marquez Callaway

The Saints promoted CB Cameron Dantzler from their practice squad, opening a slot to reunite with WR Marquez Callaway:

The New Orleans Saints are working to account for several key injuries this week. After putting wide receiver Michael Thomas on injured reserve, the Saints signed WR Marquez Callaway to their practice squad — reuniting with the former starter who filled in for Thomas during the last three years.

But they had to open a spot on the practice squad for him. With a slot vacant on the 53-man roster and cornerback Marshon Lattimore dealing with an ankle sprain, the Saints promoted Cameron Dantzler. Dantzler appeared in two games earlier this season exclusively on special teams, but he’s an experienced pro who can help round out the depth chart.

So now the Saints have Paulson Adebo, Alontae Taylor, Isaac Yiadom and Dantzler available on the 53-man roster with Lattimore on the mend. Veteran safeties Ugo Amadi and Lonnie Johnson Jr. can also cover the slot and line up at corner in a pinch. We’ll have to wait and see what the plan is on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.

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Derek Carr impressed by New Orleans Saints’ crafty salary cap accounting

Derek Carr impressed by the Saints’ crafty salary cap accounting, says of cap guru Khai Harley: ‘That man’s wheeling and dealing’ in free agency

There’s been a bit of an adjustment period for Derek Carr after he signed with the New Orleans Saints. Not just in moving his family from the communities they’ve lived grown up in, over in Southern California and Nevada to New Orleans, but in seeing how differently one NFL organization can be run compared to another. After spending most of a decade with the cash-strapped Raiders, he’s been blown away by how big of spenders the Saints have been in free agency.

Carr made a guest appearance on his nephew Austin’s Harvester Sports Podcast, where he noted how impressed he was by the team’s crafty salary cap accounting. Football administration vice president Khai Harley continued to prove his worth in a surprisingly-busy free agency experience for New Orleans. While catching up on the latest news, Carr was thrilled to see the league’s touchdown runs leader Jamaal Williams arrive to share the backfield with him and Alvin Kamara.

“You see the guy who had all the touchdowns, and first of all, where’d we get all the money? Where’d we get this money?” Carr laughed. “My man Khai in New Orleans, that man’s wheeling and dealing. It’s funny. We signed him and I’m like, dude, this is awesome.”

It’s a big difference from what Carr experienced on the Raiders, whose owner Mark Davis is notoriously cash-poor; his team’s shoddy financials was at least a partial factor in the decision to trade superstar pass rusher Khalil Mack back in 2018 rather than sign him to a lucrative extension. Despite also hailing from a small market, the Saints always seek to max out their resources and field the most competitive team possible.

Carr pointed to some of the other names the Saints brought in during free agency — a pair of new starting defensive tackles, and quality depth in the secondary, plus his former teammate Bryan Edwards at wide receiver. One free agent pickup Carr singled out was defensive back Lonnie Johnson Jr., who he’s eager to compete against in practice over the summer.

“This guy’s a baller, I’ve always loved him,” Carr gushed, “He’s so talented. And then we sign him, and I’m like, I was right! They think so too.”

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Saints, defensive coaching staff emphasizing secondary for good reason

The #Saints defensive coaching staff is loaded with secondary specialists, and they’re building a roster to reflect that, via @RossJacksonNOLA:

As the second wave of NFL free agency picked up, the New Orleans Saints went back to the open market with a seemingly very specific focus. After adding cornerback Troy Pride Jr. to a reserve/future deal and signing safety Ugo Amadi earlier this offseason, the Saints retained their best special teamer and key depth on the backend of their defense by re-signing safety J.T. Gray to a three-year deal. But they didn’t stop there when it came to building out their secondary. The Saints instead continued to focus on a position group they know best.

Since free agency opened on March 15, the Saint have signed defensive backs Lonnie Johnson Jr. and Johnathan Abram while also retaining cornerback Isaac Yiadom. Yiadom was a fantastic special teams acquisition in 2023 primarily making noise as a punt gunner opposite the All-Pro Gray. But the additions of Johnson and Abram stand out.

The Saints have a full safety room before draft month:

  • Tyrann Mathieu
  • Marcus Maye
  • JT Gray
  • Johnathan Abram
  • Ugo Amadi
  • Lonnie Johnson Jr.
  • Smoke Monday (returning from injured reserve)

Add in cornerbacks Marshon Lattimore, Paulson Adebo, Alontae Taylor, Bradley Roby, Troy Pride Jr., Isaac Yiadom and Vincent Gray and New Orleans has clearly put an emphasis on its defensive back units and their depth at corner and safety. But perhaps this shouldn’t be much of a surprise given the team’s specializations on the defensive coaching staff.

Both head coach Dennis Allen and defensive coordinator Joe Woods are defensive backs specialists. They have successful histories as secondary coaches and Woods added a prolific 2019 season as a pass-game coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers. The Niners ranked No. 1 across the NFL in passing yardage allowed that season. Add to that duo another new coaching staff addition: secondary coach Marcus Robertson.

Robertson was a fourth-round draft pick by the Houston Oilers in 1991. The 12-year NFL safety went on to total 24 career interceptions and was selected First-Team All-Pro in 1993. He’s been coaching defensive backs in the league since 2007 and has worked with star coverage players like Michael Griffin, Jason McCourtney, Charles Woodson. Aqib Talib, Patrick Peterson and Budda Baker.

It’s no wonder that the Saints have put a big focus on defensive backs so far this offseason. They have the talent to develop players at these positions on the coaching staff. And the unit’s intending starting lineup in 2022 never took a single snap together. So bringing in talent with upside is one part of it all, building out the depth the other.

Last year, they were without their top cornerback, Lattimore, for 11 games with a lacerated kidney. Maye missed a total of 7 games here and there throughout the year. Taylor and Adebo each missed 4 games a piece and Roby, who was expected to man the slot, also missed 4 games after suffering an injury just five snaps in to the Thursday Night Football matchup with the Arizona Cardinals.

Not a single snap taken with Lattimore, Adebo, Roby, Maye and Mathieu on the field in 2022. That’s a tough pill to swallow, but something this team looks like it’s going to be ready to handle if the worst-case scenario were to repeat itself. The Saints now have a ton of talent in a defensive backs room that absolutely needed attention as free agency opened, especially with a DUI suspension still possible for Maye, but also have the coaching staff to develop that talent as well.

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Saints to sign free agent DB Lonnie Johnson Jr. to one-year deal

The New Orleans Saints are expected to sign free agent DB Lonnie Johnson Jr. to a one-year deal. He could be a younger replacement for P.J. Williams:

The Score’s Jordan Schultz reports that the New Orleans Saints are signing free agent defensive back Lonnie Johnson Jr. to a one-year contract, adding some depth to the secondary. Johnson is an intriguing player; he’s played 615 snaps on special teams through his four-year career, getting on the field with five of the six kicking units for the Tennessee Titans last year.

But Johnson’s career began as a second-round pick by the Houston Texans out of Kentucky back in 2019. He initially lined up out wide at cornerback, but began to cover the slot and play more snaps at safety — often lining up over the top of the defense — as his coaches got a better feel for what he can do. He’s 27-years-old and could be a younger replacement for P.J. Williams, who will be 30 once the season starts and is currently a free agent.

Terms of Johnson’s deal with the Saints remain undisclosed, so he could factor into the compensatory draft pick formula. But he’s probably signing at near-veteran minimum after bouncing around the league in recent years.

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