Tag: Ugo Amadi

Saints announce a reunion with free agent DB Ugo Amadi

The Saints announced a reunion with free agent defensive back Ugo Amadi. He was a solid pickup in 2023:

The New Orleans Saints announced a reunion with free agent defensive back Ugo Amadi on Tuesday. He was a solid pickup in 2023, helping out on both special teams and defense when injuries hit the secondary. It’ll be good to have him in the mix as some positions shuffle over the summer.

Amadi, 26, already has a lot of NFL experience with the Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans; he also spent time with the Philadelphia Eagles and was on the Kansas City Chiefs’ practice squad during their 2022 Super Bowl run. Last year with the Saints he primarily focused on backing up Alontae Taylor as the team’s primary slot corner.

So what will his role be in 2024? Will the Saints take Taylor out of that position? Could Amadi fill in for Marcus Maye at free safety? Wherever he lines up, he’s a good player to have for depth, and this was a smart re-signing for New Orleans.

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WATCH: Alontae Taylor comes in off the bench for his second career interception

WATCH: Alontae Taylor comes in off the bench for his second career interception

Alontae Taylor’s Sunday afternoon didn’t start off well, but credit to the young cornerback for turning it around. Taylor was benched after a couple of early mistakes led to long scores by the Atlanta Falcons, with the New Orleans Saints coaching staff replacing him in the slot with veteran safety Ugo Amadi.

But Taylor rallied back when they later switched up the personnel to put him into the game as a boundary corner, replacing Isaac Yiadom. Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder made a bad mistake with the football and threw it right into Taylor’s chest, gifting the cornerback his second career interception in as many weeks.

This is where Taylor needs to be playing full-time. It’s clear by now that he isn’t suited to lining up in the slot, which makes sense given his lack of experience in that role going into the season. He’s a good player, especially when playing his natural position out wide, and the Saints need to find a way to keep him there this offseason.

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Dennis Allen is doing Alontae Taylor a disservice with failed slot experiment

Alontae Taylor has allowed more catches and yards from the slot than anyone else in the NFL. Dennis Allen deserves some blame for not better preparing him for a new position:

Did you notice that Alontae Taylor was benched last week against the Los Angeles Rams? It was gnarly. The New Orleans Saints’ second-year cornerback was torched in coverage and beaten badly with the Rams’ pre-snap motion on some big gains on the ground, prompting head coach Dennis Allen to bench him. Veteran safety Ugo Amadi, who played ahead of Taylor on the depth chart all summer, finished the game in his place.

Everyone got their licks in. Per Pro Football Focus charting, pass-catching Rams tight end Tyler Higbee (3 receptions for 30 yards), slot receiver Cooper Kupp (2 receptions for 19 yards, both first downs), and rookie receiver Puka Nacua (1 catch for 41 yards) each made plays with Taylor in coverage before Allen pulled him from the game.

And Taylor wasn’t happy; team leaders like Tyrann Mathieu had to cool him down on the sideline, and he’s doing the best he can to learn from the experience, telling NewOrleans.Football’s Mike Triplett that he’ll return to the starting lineup on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

But his first year playing the slot has been full of tough learning experiences. When covering the slot, Taylor leads the NFL in targets (90), receptions (60), and yards allowed (549). He’s charged with yielding four touchdown catches, which is tied for third-most. No other player has drawn more than 65 targets or given up more yards.

He’s visibly struggling in the transition. And Allen has to shoulder much of the blame here. As a former defensive backs coach who spends a lot of hands-on time with the secondary, he hasn’t done a good enough job preparing Taylor for this job.

Taylor didn’t get enough quality reps in over the summer to be thrust into the position; he was consistently playing behind Bradley Roby and Amadi on the third-string defense through minicamp, training camp, and preseason before Roby was a surprise roster cut in August, which sent Taylor rocketing to the top of the depth chart before he was ready for it. Rookie cornerback Adrian Frye, who wasn’t brought back after roster cuts, played twice as many snaps in the slot (42) as Taylor did (21) across three preseason games.

He just hasn’t had the reps. Look at the number of snaps Taylor has played in the slot in college at Tennessee and in the NFL with the Saints:

  • 2018 (college): 2
  • 2019 (college): 21
  • 2020 (college): 6
  • 2021 (college): 15
  • 2022 preseason: 0
  • 2022 regular season: 22
  • 2023 preseason: 21
  • 2023 regular season: 666

It’s easy to understand why Allen wanted Taylor in this role. He’s getting one of his most energetic and athletic defenders on the field by any means necessary. Taylor couldn’t dislodge Paulson Adebo from the outside corner spot in camp, opposite Marshon Lattimore, leaving only the slot for him when everyone is healthy. And Isaac Yiadom has played so well in Lattimore’s place that it’s debatable whether Taylor would be an upgrade there.

But it’s hard enough to pick up the pro game and adjust to the speed of your competition in your second year in the league in any circumstances. Doing so while picking up a totally new position is exceedingly difficult. That the Saints didn’t adequately prepare Taylor for the challenges in front of him is an outright disservice to the player. There are just two games left in the regular season. It’s possible Taylor could spend his offseason reviewing the tape and putting all of his time and effort into fully learning his new position. But as has often been the case with Allen running this team, that’s coming a day late and leaving the Saints a dollar short.

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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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Saints release CB Bradley Roby, a projected starter in the slot

Here’s a surprise roster cut: the Saints released cornerback Bradley Roby, a projected starter in the slot

This is a bit of a surprise. It was previously reported that the New Orleans Saints were fielding trade offers for veteran cornerback Bradley Roby, who was projected to start in the slot — but the team is releasing him outright, as reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Roby played just 22 snaps in the preseason while taking a lot of time off with the rest of the starting lineup, so the reverse course at the last minute like this is strange. He had to have had some trade value. Releasing him does allow him to choose his next team but both sides may have been better off finding a way to compromise and keep him in New Orleans.

Oh well. The decision to let him go for nothing is painful for a Saints team that’s short on draft capital. At least they’ll save some salary cap space — Roby was set to carry a salary cap hit north of $4 million, and releasing him now saves the team more than $3.3 million. But they were already in the clear by about $11.4 million, so that’s not going to really change things for them one way or another.

Another factor in moving on from Roby: his departure opens a starting role in the slot for Alontae Taylor. The second-year cornerback was very impressive as a rookie but he has struggled mightily in transitioning to a role guarding the slot. If the Saints are determined to get their former second-round draft pick on the field at all costs, adopting a sink-or-swim mentality, at least they have a competent veteran backup to lean on on Ugo Amadi.

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Report: Other teams expressing trade interest in Saints CB Bradley Roby

Report: Other teams expressing trade interest in Saints cornerback Bradley Roby, but ‘the price would have to be right’

This was something we thought might happen: TheScore’s Jordan Schultz reports that other teams are calling the New Orleans Saints seeking a trade for veteran cornerback Bradley Roby, who has been pushed into a role guarding the slot after the emergence of young talents like Paulson Adebo and Alontae Taylor opposite Marshon Lattimore.

Roby was one of a few Saints players we singled out as potential trade targets. It’s early in negotiations and no deal has been agreed to just yet, but it’s possible he’ll get moved. As Schultz added, the price would need to be right. The Saints have a clear vision for Roby on their team and his familiarity with the coaching staff is a big point in his favor.

Why would the Saints trade Roby? They’ve been actively seeking ways to get Taylor on the field with Adebo looking like a better option to start out wide over the summer, and one path forward could be moving Taylor into the slot with Adebo staying outside. Roby’s backup Ugo Amadi was impressive in preseason and could be a better candidate to start in his place, though; Taylor’s inexperience guarding the slot showed in some low moments throughout their preseason games.

What about the price? Remember, the Saints first acquired Roby in exchange for a package of third- and sixth-round draft picks back in 2021. His trade value has diminished a little since then, but not by much. If a team were to offer a fourth rounder or better (or maybe offer a swap of players), the Saints could see this as a way to add assets, get younger in the secondary, and open a door for Taylor to get on the field while Adebo starts outside. It’s something to monitor.

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3 standouts from the Saints’ 26-24 victory over the Chiefs in first preseason matchup of 2023

Highlighting three New Orleans Saints players who performed well in the team’s 26-24 preseason victory over the Chiefs | @crissy_froyd

The New Orleans Saints opened live action Sunday at the Caesars Superdome, defeating the Kansas City Chiefs 26-24 in a game that came down to the wire. As expected, the majority of the starters on both teams rose to the occasion, but a number of backups and those simply looking to make the cut at all turned some heads as well.

Here’s a look into three players who stood out and could make good cases for themselves moving forward:

Several Pro Ducks impress during first week of NFL Preseason

Pro Ducks were all over the place making big plays during the first week of the NFL preseason.

College football is right around the corner, but we were able to get our first tastes of NFL football over the weekend with the first look at preseason games.

There is a long list of Oregon Ducks in the NFL, and while most are established starters who didn’t get more than a series or two of playing time over the weekend, if that, there are several others who got a chance to play and try to earn a roster spot going into the season.

Here are some of the top highlights, reactions, and performances from Pro Ducks over the weekend:

WATCH: Saints safety Ugo Amadi records INT against his former team in preseason game

Six months ago Ugo Amadi was celebrating his Chiefs’ Super Bowl win. On Sunday, he intercepted his former team in their preseason game with the Saints:

Take a bow, Ugo Amadi — and make sure to thank Alontae Taylor for the assist. Six months ago Amadi was enjoying himself at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade, having played a part in their championship win on the practice squad. But he wasn’t re-signed in the offseason.

Instead, he landed with the New Orleans Saints and performed well in training camp as Bradley Roby’s backup to cover the slot. That positivity peaked with an interception in Sunday’s preseason game with Kansas City.

Taylor deflected a pass from Chiefs backup quarterback Shane Buechele which Amadi snapped out of the air, setting up the offense near midfield in Kansas City territory. The offense wasn’t able to make much headway, though, but punter Blake Gillikin took advantage of the field position to drop a punt at the 5-yard line.

A great special teams play by wide receiver Kawaan Baker kept the ball inbounds short of the goal line, and rookie safety Jordan Howden downed it at the 1-yard line. The Chiefs ran out the clock to send New Orleans into halftime up 17-7. And Amadi’s takeaway started the whole sequence.

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Saints players to watch at each defensive position in preseason Week 1

Highlighting New Orleans Saints players to watch at each defensive position in preseason Week 1 | @southexclusives

We’re rapidly approaching the first New Orleans Saints preseason game, but which players should fans be watching most closely? There have been a lot of new additions to the defense this offseason — following a surprising amount of turnover in free agency — and a number of competitions for roster spots have heated up throughout training camp.

So let’s run through each position group and highlight some players worth monitoring: