Tag: Zack Baun

Saints snagged C.J. Stroud’s first career interception, but the Texans still scored a TD

Saints linebacker Zack Baun snagged the very first interception of C.J. Stroud’s NFL career, but things quickly took a dispiriting turn:

You can’t make this up. C.J. Stroud threw his first career interception to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, with linebacker Zack Baun snagging the pass — the first interception of his four-year NFL career. Then things got wacky.

Baun got greedy and tried to return the interception through traffic, but Texans wide receiver Noah Collins made the play of the day by ripping the ball out of Baun’s hands. Houston left guard Tytus Howard fell on it for, ironically, a gain of two yards.

That can’t happen. Defenders are coached from a young age to fall down and secure the ball when it’s in their hands. Baun made a boneheaded (Baunheaded?) mistake and it cost the team big-time. Dispirited after having that turnover taken back away from them, the Saints defense didn’t challenge Houston’s offense as Stroud quickly moved the offense downfield.

Baun isn’t the only one with dirty hands here. This drive started because rookie kicker Blake Grupe pushed a 52-yard field goal wide right of the uprights (from the left hash). The run defense fell apart on a 17-yard carry by Devin Singletary, then Marshon Lattimore was beaten by Noah Brown on a 34-yard reception, getting away with a slight push off at the start of his route. Then Tyrann Mathieu failed to compete with tight end Dalton Schultz on a too-easy touchdown pass, giving Houston an early lead.

The Saints can’t afford to let momentum swing against them in tight games like this one. They must show some backbone and pick themselves back up after getting knocked down. Letting too many negative plays pile up like this is a recipe for disaster.

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WATCH: A former Badger LB makes a big-time special teams play in Week 1 win

The former Badger makes a huge play

It was a successful week one for Zack Baun and the New Orleans Saints as they came out on top in a defensive battle against the Tennessee Titans.

The former Badger linebacker is a special teams contributor for the Saints, and made a massive play to flip the field in the second quarter.

Baun broke through for a diving block to set the Saints up near the red zone.

The 2019 consensus All-American was a third-round pick by the Saints in 2020, and has been with the franchise through the entirety of his young NFL career. Here is a look a the key special teams play:

WATCH: Saints linebacker Zack Baun blocks a Titans punt

WATCH: Saints linebacker Zack Baun blocks a Titans punt

This is why Zack Baun made the team. The New Orleans Saints’ strong side linebacker doesn’t get to play many snaps on defense with the team running so much nickel personnel, but he continues to make his presence felt on special teams.

Baun blocked a punt from the Tennessee Titans — with Steve Gleason in the building — on Sunday to set the Saints up with excellent field position, though it was officially recorded as a 1-yard punt by Titans specialist Ryan Stonehouse. Derek Carr drove the New Orleans offense down into field goal range, where rookie kicker Blake Grupe booted a 33-yard try right between the uprights.

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Dennis Allen comments on Jaylon Smith starting out on Saints’ practice squad

Dennis Allen commented on Jaylon Smith starting out on the Saints’ practice squad, conceding that ‘You only get 53 spots’ on the roster:

It’s been a tough week for the New Orleans Saints. Like every other team around the league, they’ve had to cut dozens of players from their roster and choose who to bring back for their practice squad. And one of those roster cuts stood out from the others, raising the ire of many Saints fans: Jaylon Smith.

The veteran linebacker impressed in preseason and was clearly the third-best player at the position in New Orleans behind the established starters Demario Davis and Pete Werner. But he was still released at the roster cuts deadline, later returning to the practice squad.

Saints head coach Dennis Allen acknowledged Smith’s accomplishments and value to the team after the linebacker returned, but demurred when asked why Smith didn’t make the cut for the roster to begin with. Allen had earlier said Smith would need to play special teams to make the cut, and when he didn’t do that in the preseason games he wound up being released.

“You only get 53 spots,” Allen conceded, “We’ve got 53 puzzle pieces and we’re trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. And there’s a lot of manipulation that goes along with that. I think it was a factor of trying to get the right 53, and who could we get on the practice squad.”

One advantage to — temporarily — cutting Smith was that he didn’t test the waiver wire thanks to his veteran status. The Saints were able to release him outright and later re-sign him to their practice squad without a hitch. Sure, other teams had the opportunity to sign him themselves, but they had all summer to do that. Smith and the Saints evidently agreed that his best fit was in New Orleans even if it’s in a reduced role.

There are other players the Saints may have wanted to hold onto but who would have hit waivers had they been released — including other linebackers like Zack Baun, Nephi Sewell, and D’Marco Jackson. If all of them are in the team’s plans this season, even if they’re limited to covering punts and kickoffs, it wouldn’t make sense to risk losing them when Smith was a safe bet for stashing on the practice squad. Teams still need to activate 48 of their 53 rostered players on game days and it does make more sense to keep guys in that number who can help in multiple phases. If the Saints need Smith to fill in for Demario Davis or Pete Werner in the event of an injury, he’ll be available for promotion.

Still, it’s a tough look to see Smith outplay Baun and not make the cut, just like it’s difficult to accept Tre’Quan Smith keeping a roster spot over Shaquan Davis or Jontre Kirklin. Whether it’s draft status or steps in a process we can’t fully see yet, the Saints made some roster moves that didn’t quite sit well with the fanbase. But if Allen’s team can just win games this year and get back to the playoffs it’ll all be nothing more than a distant memory.

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4 New Orleans Saints trade candidates ahead of 2023 roster cuts

With roster cuts swiftly approaching, other teams may come calling. 4 New Orleans Saints trade candidates who could be moved | @southexclusives

With roster cuts swiftly approaching, it’s only a matter of time until teams come calling to see if they can get the New Orleans Saints to trade away some players on the roster bubble — and even those who are seemingly positioned to make the team. If the offer is compelling enough, the Saints could choose to lean on their depth at some position groups and part ways with talented players to recoup some value through draft picks or player swaps. It’s happened before.

But who could be on the move? More likely is that other teams may be interested in snatching up a player before the Saints waive them, avoiding the anxious wait-and-see process as waiver claims are processed around the league. With that said, some speculation is already linking a Saints veteran or two to other teams around the league. Let’s explore the four highest-profile Saints trade candidates before the preseason wraps up:

Badger Countdown: Former number 56 entering fourth NFL season

The much anticipated return of college football is on the horizon and Luke Fickell and his Badgers are now 56 days away from their opener.

The much anticipated return of college football is on the horizon and Luke Fickell and his Badgers are now 56 days away from their opener against Buffalo. Zack Baun, a former Badger linebacker and current member of the New Orleans Saints is entering his fourth season in NFL.

Baun spent four years with Wisconsin from 2015-2019, racking up 152 tackles, including 15 sacks over 34 games. His senior season in 2019 in particular was an impressive one, compiling 75 tackles, including 12.5 sacks, while intercepting a pass and forcing two fumbles.

His final campaign in Madison certainly boosted his draft stock and Baun went on to be selected in the third round (74th overall) in the 2020 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints.

Although he’s only produced 58 tackles over his first three professional seasons, the 26-year-old could become a full-time starter at strong-side linebacker in 2023.

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7 New Orleans Saints returning from injuries in 2023

High-profile players like Michael Thomas and sleepers like D’Marco Jackson and Smoke Monday are among 7 New Orleans Saints returning from injuries in 2023:

The New Orleans Saints have an interesting mix of high-profile starters and sleeper talents returning from injuries in 2023. We’re not counting new additions and rookie draft picks like running back Kendre Miller (meniscus) or others dealing with health challenges (such as tight end Foster Moreau), only players who were on the team last year and who have been brought back for the upcoming season.

Some of them are going to vital to the team’s overall success. Let’s recap each situation with organized team activities on the horizon:

1 veteran player on roster bubble at each position group for the Saints

Some training camp competitions are brewing for the Saints: Here’s one veteran player on the roster bubble at each position group to watch closely this summer:

Some training camp competitions are brewing for the New Orleans Saints, who signed a number of veteran free agents before spending seven draft picks and investing in 13 undrafted rookies. The end result is that some of their more-experienced teammates are going to feel pressure for their job, or be the target of poaching by other squads.

Here’s one veteran player on the roster bubble at each position group to watch closely this summer:

4 Saints players who could be traded before Week 1

With a logjam developing at corner, it could make sense for the Saints to explore trading Bradley Roby or Paulson Adebo before Week 1. Teams may call on other players, too:

The NFL offseason is relentless. Free agency’s biggest moves are behind us. So is the 2023 NFL draft. A new wave of veteran signings and tryouts at minicamps is spreading around the league, and it’s a safe bet that more changes are in store for the New Orleans Saints. Normally buyers, could they instead be sellers as the trade market begins to develop? Which players could be on the move for greener pastures before Week 1 in September?

It’s not as easy as saying the Saints should trade (insert underperforming player of the moment here); fans may be unhappy with someone like, say, Tre’Quan Smith or Payton Turner, but there needs to be a reason for another team to have interest in acquiring the player. If a guy is a regular source of negative plays in New Orleans, why would a competitor want to trade for him?

Something else to consider is that the trade value for veteran players (especially those without a lot of strong game tape) tends to be weak. Take that with the minimal salary cap savings involved and the Saints are probably better off holding onto any trade candidates other teams are sniffing around.

With that in mind, here are four names we’ll be watching closely over the summer as position battles take shape:

Saints’ 2020 draft class entering make-or-break season in 2023

The Saints’ 2020 draft class is entering a make-or-break season in 2023. Cesar Ruiz, Zack Baun, and Adam Trautman can still change the narrative, but they’re running out of time:

Much of the attention on the New Orleans Saints’ 2020 NFL draft class has centered on right guard Cesar Ruiz, and for good reason — the former first-round pick struggled mightily through the first two years of his career before turning things around last season, and now he’s going into what could be a career-year with plenty of momentum behind him, despite an unfortunate season-ending injury in rearview. If the Saints don’t choose to exercise his fifth-year option after this year’s draft (which would cost them more than $14 million in 2024), he’ll be a free agent next year.

His other 2020 draftmates don’t have the luxury of a fifth-year option ahead of them, and they also haven’t quite met expectations up to this point. At the time of the draft, general manager Mickey Loomis and the team’s decision-makers like assistant GM Jeff Ireland told us they were going for a quality-over-quantity approach by drafting just four players, and trading up for three of them — linebacker Zack Baun, tight end Adam Trautman, and quarterback-turned-tight end Tommy Stevens. That strategy was met with skepticism at the time, and history hasn’t exactly justified the idea there.

Stevens was waived and kicked down to the practice squad within six months, and the Saints cut him for good 199 days after they picked him. Baun has been limited to special teams for most of his Saints career. Trautman hasn’t developed as hoped and the team was actively looking for his replacement in hosting Foster Moreau on a free agent visit.

So the way things stand right now, it’s hard to look at the 2020 class as anything but a failure. The Saints either took the wrong approach, picked the wrong prospects, or had the wrong vision in mind for them. Draw your own conclusions there.

That’s not to say there isn’t a scenario where things turn around. If Ruiz continues playing well and earns a long-term extension with the Saints, that does a lot to salvage the 2020 draft for New Orleans. So too would Baun taking a step forward in the role Kaden Elliss flourished in last season. He excelled as a pass rusher in college but the Saints overcomplicated things by making him play out of position and off the line of scrimmage. Elliss lined up closer to the ball and experienced great success because of it. Maybe that’s the proof-of-concept the coaches needed to let Baun do what he’s done best.

But that’s still just two players out of an entire draft class, and they each need to meet those expectations. Whether they can change the narrative or not is undetermined. Let’s hope they can go the distance. These players haven’t met expectations yet, but there’s still some time left on the clock for them to get there.

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