WATCH: Alontae Taylor mic’d up at Saints training camp

Alontae Taylor wore a microphone at Friday’s New Orleans Saints training camp practice, and he made sure not to disappoint those listening in:

Alontae Taylor wore a microphone at Friday’s New Orleans Saints training camp practice, and he made sure not to disappoint those listening in. The third-year cornerback has embraced his role defending the slot in Dennis Allen’s defense, and he took time to check in on his less-experienced teammates like rookie corner Kool-Aid McKinstry and recently-signed backup Mac McCain.

It’s clear Taylor brings a lot of energy to each practice session. He’s a fast talker and shared his take on everything from the DJ’s music choices (“We need to be listening to, like, some Alicia Keys. Anthony Hamilton. Fantasia, for sure,”) to his teammates’ jersey numbers (“Four two. That Jackie Robinson though,” he laughed to McCain).

His coaches sought him out to model techniques for other defensive backs, and he was active in dapping up other players as they took turns hitting the practice field. Taylor is obviously a well-liked member of the locker room. With McKinstry filling in for Marshon Lattimore after the veteran was sidelined with a hip flexor injury, odds are good that Taylor will continue to play a big role in the Saints defense in 2024.

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Saints sign former Panthers CB on Thursday

Former Panthers CB Mac McCain has settled back into the NFC South.

As announced on Thursday, the New Orleans Saints have signed free-agent cornerback Mac McCain. The 26-year-old spent last August as a member of the Carolina Panthers, who waived him during their cutdown to the initial 2023 53-man roster.

The Greensboro, N.C. native played his pre-NFL ball locally, attending James B. Dudley High School before committing to North Carolina A&T beginning in 2017. He played in 29 games for the Aggies up until 2020—amassing 113 total tackles, eight interceptions, 22 passes defensed, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.

McCain would then sign as an undrafted free agent with the Philadelphia Eagles in the spring of 2021. He appeared in two games for Philadelphia that year, both against the NFC East rival Dallas Cowboys—recording 13 snaps on special teams in the Week 3 contest and 31 total (11 defensive) snaps in the season finale.

Prior to signing with the Saints, McCain spent a few weeks with the United Football League’s San Antonio Brahmas during their 2024 season.

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Saints announce they have signed cornerback Mac McCain

The Saints announced they have signed cornerback Mac McCain, a three-year NFL veteran who played college football at North Carolina A&T:

The New Orleans Saints announced Thursday they have signed cornerback Mac McCain, a three-year NFL veteran who played college football at North Carolina A&T. He’s listed at 6-foot-0 and 175 pounds and posted a respectable 6.6 Relative Athletic Score coming out of college. Rookie defensive end Nathan Latu was waived in a corresponding move.

McCain’s only in-game pro experience came with the Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos as a rookie in 2021 but he’s spent time with several different teams while looking for his next chance to get on the field. He’s had two stops in both Philly and Denver while also competing for roster spots with the Detroit Lions and Carolina Panthers.

Another addition to the secondary was expected. The Saints recently waived cornerback Faion Hicks, a backup from last year’s practice squad, so they were going to need someone to fill out snaps in training camp next month. McCain will be working against guys like Rejzohn Wright, Shemar Jean-Charles, and Rico Payton while Marshon Lattimore, Paulson Adebo, Alontae Taylor, and Kool-Aid McKinstry establish a pecking order on top of the depth chart.

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7 players the Panthers worked out last Friday

Here are the seven players who the Panthers worked out at the end of last week:

On Friday, the Carolina Panthers got back to Spartanburg and back to working out some fresh faces—seven, to be exact.

Ultimately, they ended up signing one of those players, cornerback Mac McCain. But, for the sake of record keeping, here’s the entire group the Panthers had eyes on last week:

Panthers’ updated 90-man roster after signing of Mac McCain

The Panthers’ 90-man roster will look a smidge different heading into the weekend.

Following Friday’s practice, the Carolina Panthers made a swap in their secondary—adding cornerback Mac McCain while parting ways with undrafted rookie Colby Richardson.

So, here’s an updated look at the 90-man roster heading into the weekend:

Panthers sign former Eagles CB Mac McCain

The Panthers have signed former Eagles CB and Greensboro native Franklin “Mac” McCain.

After another set of post-practice workouts on Friday, the Carolina Panthers made an adjustment to their cornerbacks room this afternoon.

As announced by the team, former Philadelphia Eagle Franklin “Mac” McCain has now joined the fold over in Spartanburg. Undrafted rookie Colby Richardson, who was signed in May, was waived to make room for the addition.

McCain is a local product. The Greensboro, N.C. native attended James Benson Dudley High School and went on to play his college ball at North Carolina A&T State University from 2017 to 2019.

Following a COVID-cancelled campaign in 2020, he broke into the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Denver Broncos in 2021. McCain was then cut before the regular season and later claimed by the Eagles on Sept. 7.

The six-foot, 175-pounder appeared in two games for Philadelphia, both against the NFC East rival Dallas Cowboys. He recorded 13 snaps on special teams in the Week 3 contest from 2021 and 31 total (11 defensive) in the season finale.

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Eagles salary cap: Breaking down Philadelphia’s $54 million in dead money

With the 2023 NFL offseason almost complete and training camps looming we’re breaking down the Philadelphia Eagles’ $54 million in dead cap space

The NFL’s June 1 date is just 24 hours away, and with that you can expect some trades, shocking releases and team salary caps impacted by dead money going on or off the books.

So what is dead cap?

Any future, unpaid, guaranteed salary or bonus or any already paid signing bonus that hasn’t yet been allocated to the salary cap becomes the responsibility of the team in the event of a release.

The salary cap will increase to $224.8 million for the 2023 season.

For some teams, the slight increase in cap space provides a little breathing room to retain players on expiring deals or acquire talent that could help them succeed in the upcoming season.

With OTAs underway, we’re breaking down the Eagles $54 million in dead cap space, fourth among all NFL teams.

Lions waive 3 players ahead of rookie minicamp

The Detroit Lions waive 3 players ahead of rookie minicamp including suspended WR Stanley Berryhill

The Detroit Lions announced the team waived three players on Tuesday in advance of the team’s rookie minicamp this coming weekend.

Detroit parted ways with WR Stanley Berryhill, CB Mac McCain and DT Demetrius Taylor. Berryhill was recently in the news for his NFL suspension as part of the gambling violations that hit Detroit. Taylor was one of last season’s top undrafted rookies, making the team out of training camp. McCain signed with the Lions over the winter after not being retained by the Philadelphia Eagles.

The moves give the Lions more room to add fresher players to the mix during the upcoming rookie minicamp.

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Lions sign CB Mac McCain

McCain spent the 2022 season on the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad

The Detroit Lions have signed free agent cornerback Mac McCain to the roster. The Lions announced the move on Thursday.

McCain, 25, spent the 2022 season on the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad. He was not signed to a reserve contract following the team’s loss in the Super Bowl.

The Lions are his third NFL team. McCain was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2021 by the Denver Broncos. He played collegiately at North Carolina A&T, which is Detroit GM Brad Holmes’ alma mater.

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Eagles salary cap: Breaking down Philadelphia’s NFL leading $46 million in dead money

With the 2023 NFL offseason underway and the new league year fast approaching, we’re breaking down the Philadelphia Eagles’ $46 million in dead cap space

The NFL offseason is set to officially get underway on March 15, as Philadelphia has 18 players who will hit the open market and one ERFA who’ll be looking to return in some compacity.

Miles Sanders had a Pro Bowl season but could find big money elsewhere, while decisions will need to be made about 8 key contributors on defense.

Players like James Bradberry, Kyzir White, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, and Javon Hargrave will look for big paydays.

Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire took a look at the teams that owe the most to least dead money ahead of free agency and Philadelphia heads the list, while the Chiefs owe the list according to salary cap figures via Over The Cap.