Tag: Saints

Top draft WR Chris Olave met with Saints, talks relationship with Michael Thomas

Top 2022 draft prospect Chris Olave says he met with the Saints, talks about relationship with Michael Thomas via @RossJacksonNOLA:

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The New Orleans Saints will be in the wide receiver market this offseason and the NFL Draft offers several potential additions. One of the top prospects at the position is Ohio State wideout Chris Olave. Olave and his teammate Garrett Wilson were two-thirds of the nation’s best wide receiver trio with the Buckeyes and now both will enter next month’s NFL Draft.

Olave in particular has been in the spotlight for a couple draft cycles. He returned for his senior year in 2021, piling on 65 receptions for 936 receiving yards and 13 touchdown catches through 11 games. This week, Olave was in Indianapolis for the NFL scouting combine. During his media session I had the chance to ask him about his relationship with star pass-catcher Michael Thomas.

“I’ve talked to Mike Thomas a couple times,” Olave said. “He’s a great role model to me. One of the best receivers in the game from previous years and years to come.” Olave has a clear appreciation for the two-time All-Pro, who cheered on the new class of Buckeyes receivers throughout the season. “Just to be able to communicate with him, send texts back and forth, and see from his perspective. Just to be able to use him as a guy to lean on, I feel like is huge.”

Olave also spoke highly of the New Orleans Saints organization when asked if he had met with them this week in Indianapolis: “I met with the Saints on Monday also. It was a great meeting. I would love to be there,” Olave said as a smile overtook his face, adding, “New Orleans is a good city. I played in New Orleans one time against Clemson and it ended up being good.”

The star wideout also mentioned the Ohio State-to-New Orleans pipeline, acknowledging that he’d like to keep it going. Presently the Saints have six Buckeyes on their roster, including Michael Thomas. Could Chris Olave, who could be the first Buckeye wideout taken in the first round in since 2007, join his mentor?

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Former Saints playoff villain Kyle Rudolph could be a good fit in New Orleans

The Giants cut tight end Kyle Rudolph, a former Saints playoff villain who makes sense for New Orleans for several reasons:

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The New Orleans Saints aren’t good enough at tight end right now. Adam Trautman was overwhelmed in his second season, his first year as a starter in the NFL, while Nick Vannett added too little too late after missing a lot of time with an injury. Playmaking backup Juwan Johnson was a healthy scratch at times on game days, and he’s a free agent as is veteran reserve Garrett Griffin. Ethan Wolf and Dylan Soehner round out the depth chart but aren’t much to write home about.

Enter Kyle Rudolph, who just became a salary cap casualty for the New York Giants. He still intends to keep playing (his 33rd birthday is coming up in November), and he makes a lot of sense for New Orleans if they want to upgrade the position. For one, it gives Rudolph an opportunity to make amends for his uncalled push-off against P.J. Williams on a playoff game-winning touchdown catch for the Minnesota Vikings against the Saints a few years back.

But let’s be serious for a moment. Signing Rudolph won’t break the bank the way it would to go after a high-profile free agent like Mike Gesicki or Dalton Schultz. The Giants judged his $7.4 million cap hit as too much for the player and let him go, and he’s going to be more affordable for any teams looking for experienced help at the position.

Sure, he’s coming off of an unimpressive 26-catch campaign (totaling just 257 receiving yards). He’s also not going to provide a shot in the arm the way a Gesicki or Schultz pickup would. But is it realistic for the Saints to go after one of those blue chip players anyway given their cap situation? If they still feel Trautman has untapped potential as a receiver, maybe adding a more proven commodity like Rudolph to take on the blocking assignments he struggled with makes sense. Rudolph is widely respected across the NFL and could be exactly the kind of influence Trautman needs to figure some things out.

And here’s an interesting angle: signing Rudolph won’t count against the 2023 compensatory draft pick formula the way another free agent would. Because the Giants are releasing him from his contract, he won’t factor in to negate any corresponding losses the Saints take. For example, let’s say that the Saints lose linebacker Kwon Alexander to another team paying him about $8 million per year — that’s likely going to bring back a fifth round pick in 2023. Signing an unrestricted free agent tight end could cancel out that pick. But bringing in another team’s cap cut like Rudolph would keep it in play. New Orleans has prioritized those type of moves lately, and it’s helped them get three compensatory selections in 2021 with three more projected for 2022. That matters.

Of course you’ve got to wonder if the Saints are even interested in upgrading their tight ends. They signed Vannett to a multiyear contract. Trautman is still on his rookie deal and obviously has a lot of growth potential given his error-filled 2021 season. Plus, New Orleans inked Taysom Hill to a long-term deal late last year — they could view that investment as impacting their plans at both quarterback and tight end, and consider the dollars he and Vannett are owed as equal to what a veteran like Rudolph would be earning. With so many other fires to put out on their roster, this just may be too low of a priority. But let’s hope not.

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Watch: Jameis Winston tests out his deep ball post-surgery

Watch: Jameis Winston tests out his deep ball amid recovery from knee surgery, weeks before free agency

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Well look at that. Jameis Winston is still recovering from surgery to repair a torn ACL and damaged MCL in his left knee, an injury that ended his 2021 season with the New Orleans Saints, but he’s still got one of the best arms in pro football. He took a break during rehab to flex a little on the practice field, letting it rip from midfield.

Winston’s recovery has been really well-documented on social media; his team has been sharing videos of his progress almost weekly as he tests out his surgically-repaired knee. With free agency fast approaching, he’ll be eager to show interested teams (including the Saints) that he’s healthy and ready to lead an offense again.

Obviously it’ll take more than one nice pass to convince a team to sign him. But Winston made enough improvements in limited snaps with the Saints last year to warrant a further look. He did a better job of protecting the football and maintained a highly-efficient scoring offense. If the Saints can bring him back, improve his protection and upgrade his assortment of weapons, Winston could really impress some people.

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Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy responds to Sean Payton speculation

Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy responds to speculation that Sean Payton might come take his job:

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Sean Payton’s surprise resignation as New Orleans Saints head coach instantly set off discourse that he could finally end up coaching the Dallas Cowboys. Just, not this year, when Payton intends to turn to broadcasting like his old quarterback Drew Brees and see if he likes it.

But all that chatter linking Payton to Dallas isn’t going away. And it won’t quiet down with Mike McCarthy steering the Cowboys from one iceberg into another. Payton has been known as the one who got away from Cowboys owner Jerry Jones for nearly two decades now, and every bump in the road is going to raise questions about just what lengths he could go to for Payton to come coach for him.

It’s something McCarthy has heard, too. He addressed the speculation that Payton might end up with his job in a year or two with a lengthy statement, adding that he and Jones essentially laughed it off:

“I’ll just say this about the narrative. It’s a narrative I don’t want to be a part of. I don’t think anybody would want to be a part of it, on either side of the fence. In fairness to Sean, he’s being asked the questions, but nothing good comes out of that. But I think you do need to understand that I get to spend a lot of time with Jerry, both as the owner and as the G.M., and our conversations- as we talk about the partnership between a head coach and the G.M. — those are conversations him and I have: the strength of the partnership, what’s in front of us, short-term plan, long-term plan, obviously, we’ve got some big decisions here to make with our roster, all those things. He addressed it, we laughed about it, I moved on.”

So he’s not sweating this, at least publicly. But another one-and-done finish in the playoffs could push Jones, who turns 80 this year, to pull out all the stops and get the coach he’s long hoped for. Jones and McCarthy may be joking about it now, but this doesn’t feel like a narrative that’s going away any time soon. Let’s just hope that if Payton does return to the NFL the Saints get the best possible return in a trade.

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Report: Saints re-sign Albert Huggins, one of their three ERFA’s

Report: New Orleans Saints re-sign backup DT Albert Huggins, one of their three exclusive-rights free agents

This is a good move: the New Orleans Saints re-signed backup defensive tackle Albert Huggins, who was on track to become an exclusive rights free agent. Huggins’ return was first reported by Sports Illustrated’s John Hendrix.

Huggins, 24, landed with the Saints last summer and finished the season having played the fourth-most snaps among defensive tackles (219). That trailed Shy Tuttle (a restricted free agent), David Onyemata (who is entering a contract year), and Christian Ringo (an unrestricted free agent). Before joining the Saints, Huggins bounced around the NFL a bit after a solid college career at Clemson.

Retaining him is good for depth. Huggins joins a thin position group along with Onyemata, Malcolm Roach (194 snaps played last year), and Braxton Hoyett (just 15 snaps). The Saints should still consider their other options in upgrading the defensive tackle rotation. Onyemata alone produced more quarterback pressures (32) than every other defensive tackle to play for the Saints last year combined (31), per Pro Football Focus play-by-play charting.

As for what exactly an exclusive rights free agent is: these are players with just two accrued seasons behind them, who can be re-signed by their teams at a minimum salary. Unlike restricted free agents, other teams won’t have the opportunity to make them a better offer. New Orleans’ other two restricted free agents to consider are defensive tackle Jalen Dalton, who missed the season with a tough preseason biceps injury, and tight end Juwan Johnson, who created some splash plays after converting from wide receiver.

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Latest Saints cap moves mean Michael Thomas isn’t going anywhere

The Saints restructuring their contract with Michael Thomas didn’t just save them a lot of salary cap space. It means he isn’t going anywhere any time soon:

Let’s just get this on the record. The New Orleans Saints didn’t just save a lot of salary cap space in restructuring their contract with Michael Thomas — they ensured maybe the best player on their team won’t be going anywhere any time soon. Thomas has been maligned by fans for his decision to put off surgery last summer and his beef with the team, but that’s all in rearview now. The way New Orleans’ contract with Thomas is set up now makes him a cornerstone of the franchise.

Here’s a quick look at the numbers — because the Saints added some void years to Thomas’ contract to spread out his new signing bonus, releasing him before June 1, 2022 would cost them an addition $24.2 million. That’s not happening. Trading or cutting Thomas after that date only brings back his base salary (the veteran’s minimum at just over $1.03 million) and a $200,000 workout bonus. It just isn’t worth it.

You’ve got to look far to see when the Saints could part ways with Thomas and break even. Releasing him after the 2022 season ends but prior to June 1, 2023 would only save them $2.8 million; New Orleans would be paying Thomas a staggering $25.4 million not to play for them. Waiting to offload him until after that date does return more than $16.4 million in cap savings, but it would be surprising to see things get to that stage. He’d have to fall well short of expectations for that to be an option.

And the Saints are betting on a big bounce back for No. 13. They’ve written incentives into his contract for 2023 and 2024 that will pay him $375,000 for meeting each of these performance goals:

  • Scoring 12 touchdowns
  • Surpassing 1,400 receiving yards
  • Surpassing 1,400 receiving yards and clinching a playoff berth
  • Catching 100-plus receptions
  • Catching 100-plus receptions and clinching a playoff berth

So the Saints are expecting Thomas to return to form and reassert himself as one of the best receivers in the NFL. And that would be tremendous if it happens. He’s the ultimate safety net for whichever quarterback starts for New Orleans in 2022, offering the closest thing you’ll find in football to an automatic first down conversion. If he’s motivated to get to work and do his best to help the team, and by all appearances he is, watch out. The Saints have kind of written themselves into a corner if he doesn’t.

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Saints trade up for a Buckeyes wide receiver in Mel Kiper’s latest mock draft

The New Orleans Saints traded up for Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver prospect Garrett Wilson in Mel Kiper’s latest 2022 NFL mock draft:

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In his latest 2022 NFL mock draft for ESPN, veteran analyst Mel Kiper linked the New Orleans Saints to a big-time prospect at their greatest position of need: wide receiver. And he has the Saints moving up a few spots on draft day, targeting Ohio State Buckeyes prospect Garrett Wilson.

Kiper’s suggested trade isn’t anything wild — he has the Saints moving up from No. 18 to the Baltimore Ravens’ pick at No. 14, exchanging their compensatory third rounder (likely around No. 100 overall) to facilitate the trade. Here’s what Kiper had to say about the pick:

“There are many questions around the post-Sean Payton era for the Saints, but it’s clear that the team has to add more weapons around whomever plays quarterback in 2022. Michael Thomas should be back after missing all of last season, and he could use a wideout to take some pressure off him. Wilson has the versatility to play in the slot or outside, and he can pile on yards after the catch. He had 113 catches and 18 touchdowns for the Buckeyes over the past two seasons.

If the Saints keep the No. 18 pick, offensive tackle could be in play, especially if Trevor Penning is available. Quarterback Malik Willis could be an option, too, but the Saints are more ready to try to win in 2022, and I think Willis needs a little more seasoning before he’s thrown into the fire in the NFL.”

I’ve been howling for the Saints to add another receiver to help clean up their putrid passing game, so I’d be in favor of this move (I’ve also been an advocate of trading up, and in my recent mock draft the Saints did just that to go get Penning). Depending on where you look, Wilson is either the best receiver in this draft class or a consensus top-five player at his position group. In this scenario, he’d be the second receiver off the board with USC’s Drake London landing inside the top 10 picks.

While talent runs very deep at receiver this year, if the Saints feel one prospect is clearly above the rest then we should expect them to go up and get their guy. That’s been standard operating procedure throughout Mickey Loomis’s tenure as general manager. Maybe Wilson is their preferred choice, but with so many great options clustered together they really can’t go wrong. It’ll be fascinating to see how this plays out in the months ahead.

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How Saints could swap Jameis Winston for Russell Wilson in wildest offseason move yet

A few years ago, the NFL nixed the Saints’ plan for a Jadeveon Clowney sign-and-trade, but could a similar move swap Jameis Winston for Russell Wilson? via @RossJacksonNOLA:

The New Orleans Saints will be actively engaged in the quarterback market this offseason. After organizing much of their coaching staff, (the strength and conditioning coach position currently remains open) the front office will shift its focus to what head coach Dennis Allen called the “most important decision” the team will make. Without a doubt, the Saints will turn every stone, conventional and unconventional, to land their next signal caller. An interesting scenario could play out that sends embattled Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson to New Orleans. 

New Orleans presently has three quarterbacks on their roster. Taysom Hill has his new “hybrid deal” which includes incentives and escalators if he performs well as a passer for the team. Second-year quarterback Ian Book says that he plans to compete for the starting job and veteran Blake Bortles was signed late in the 2021 season. The former Jaguars starter is on a reserve/future deal guaranteeing him only a spot in training camp.  

However, the Saints are likely to pursue another starting option this offseason. The deal that seems most likely, and most beneficial, is re-signing Jameis Winston. New Orleans won five games in the former No. 1 overall  draft selection’s seven starts, one of which closed out by Trevor Siemian who is set to become a free agent this offseason. Winston, who has been consistently questioned for his decision-making and high turnover volume, produced a 14-to-3 touchdowns-to-interception ratio. He generated the lowest interception rate of his career in the Saints’ system as well.  

New Orleans should continue to explore other options as well, including Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson. Wilson trade rumors are swirling for the second offseason in a row, and the Saints have been consistently tied as a team of interest ever since Wilson’s agent tabbed them as a team he’d want to play for. But do Mickey Loomis and the Saints have enough capital to pry Wilson away from the Pacific Northwest? 

“They’re not going to be trading him away for just a couple of first round picks,” said Corbin Smith of the Locked On Seahawks Podcast. “They need to have a proven quarterback back in return.” 

Trading a proven quarterback for a proven quarterback feels counter-intuitive. But when you get a passer like Russell Wilson in return, there may be some intrigue. Building the assets for a trade meeting these criteria would require some interesting maneuvering for the Saints. New Orleans may not have a proven quarterback they could move right now. But they could.  

A few years ago, the Saints almost executed an NBA-style sign-and-trade deal with the Cleveland Browns to acquire pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney. Unfortunately, the NFL put a stop to it as the deal included the Browns accepting additional trade compensation for picking up $10 million of the new contract. They didn’t want to set a precedent for teams effectively selling draft picks for cap space.

This begs the question; could the Saints make this type of deal work if there was no impermissible fiscal exchange?  

If New Orleans were to sign Jameis Winston to a new deal that would decommission his void years and fully transfer to the Seahawks as a part of the compensation sent to return Russell Wilson to the Big Easy, would the NFL allow the deal to go through? Our own Maddy Hudak once explored the possibility. The logistics seem to work out per the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement if the financial exchange was deemed appropriate by the league office.

Even if this were possible, there would be other roadblocks. With the departure of Sean Payton, for instance, would Wilson be willing to waive his no-trade clause for a move to New Orleans? Why not march ahead with Jameis Winston? Is the front office willing to restructure Wilson’s contract so future years take the brunt of the salary cap hit, making them more competitive in the short term? How many draft picks (likely first and second rounders) would New Orleans have to give up to make Seattle happy?

A lot of questions would need to be answered before this move would even so much as be offered. But rest assured, if the possibility and interest are there this offseason, the crafty New Orleans Saints would explore every option available. The idea of swapping one starting quarterback for an upgrade, paying up with some nice draft picks to get a deal done, is awful appealing.

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Report: Saints to hire Alabama sports science director Matt Rhea

Report: Saints to hire Alabama sports science director Matt Rhea, via @RossJacksonNOLA:

Here’s the last piece of the puzzle: the New Orleans Saints are set to hire Alabama director of sports science Matt Rhea, per CBS Sports’ Josh Pate. He will likely be named the team’s strength and conditioning coach after the Saints moved on from longtime coach Dan Dalrymple.

Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football reported the interest New Orleans had in Rhea as well as his colleague David Ballou, Alabama’s director of sports performance. Rhea’s bio on Alabama’s website describes his responsibilities with the Crimson Tide as:

“Rhea has worked as a football strength and conditioning coach for 13 years. Including five years with NFL Combine training, five in high school football and three at the collegiate level. He came to Alabama from Indiana University, where he spent the previous two years as IU’s High-Performance Coordinator while working with the Hoosiers’ football program.”

Rhea is also credited with bringing a “scientific approach” to the Crimson Tide. Alabama head coach Nick Saban told Touchdown Alabama’s Stephen M. Smith last summer that Rhea’s methodology helped cut the team’s soft tissue injuries by half once they bought into his cutting-edge approach.

The Saints have led the way in many cases when it comes to innovative approaches to player health and preparation. Former head coach Sean Payton was among the first to partner with Zebra Technologies and their practice monitoring solutions. This allowed the Saints to track a player’s practice load to make sure they were not being overworked. If Rhea plans to bring similar new and progressive approaches to the team’s preparation and training, he should fit right in. It’s an interesting direction for new head coach Dennis Allen to steer his support staff.

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Saints confirmed to play 2022 home game in London

The Saints are confirmed to play a 2022 home game in London, and their opponent will be either the Bengals, Raiders, or Ravens:

The NFL announced Monday that the New Orleans Saints are among five teams scheduled to play home games abroad during the 2022 regular season, with the black and gold kicking off from London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. And while their opponent will be shared at a later date, the NFL amended its international series scheduling rules last summer so that these matchups will always pit an NFC team against an AFC team.

That means the Saints will face either the Cincinnati Bengals, the Las Vegas Raiders, or the Baltimore Ravens in London this year. Teams can protect certain matchups from being moved away from home, but it may be in New Orleans’ best interest to see the Bengals overseas. Fun as that would be for fans in Louisiana, the Saints probably wouldn’t enjoy seeing a swath of orange jerseys crowding the Superdome with LSU fans cheering on Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase.

As for the other hosts in the NFL international series this year: the Arizona Cardinals will play a home game in Mexico, while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are going to Germany. The Green Bay Packers and Jacksonville Jaguars, like the Saints, will kick off from the United Kingdom. Teams only have to play one international game each season now, it’s worth noting.

But let’s be real for a second: it hurts to see the Saints lose a home game to the international series just one year after they lost a home game to Hurricane Ida. That’s a tough blow for the city economically and for local fans who only have limited opportunities to catch a game in New Orleans. If there’s a silver lining here, it’s that the new scheduling rules will force teams to move a home game abroad only once every eight years, so the Saints won’t have to do this again until 2030.

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