Congrats @DesmondTrufant and signing with @Raiders
— Doug Hendrickson (@DHendrickson41) October 19, 2021
One former New Orleans Saints player is landing on his feet: cornerback Desmond Trufant signed with the Las Vegas Raiders after the Saints released him last week, his agent Doug Hendrickson announced. Trufant joined the Saints in training camp and played well enough to make the opening-day roster, starting Week 2’s game with the Carolina Panthers after an injury sidelined Marshon Lattimore.
He held his own as a backup — totaling 57 snaps in two games, only allowing 2 of 4 passes thrown into his coverage to be completed for 19 yards. Bradley Roby’s arrival pushed him down the depth chart as a healthy inactive on game days, and with Ken Crawley expected to return from injured reserve in the next few weeks, the Saints granted his release so he could pursue opportunities like this one with the Raiders.
Interestingly, Las Vegas tried out a couple of other notable free agent cornerbacks in D.J. Hayden and Darqueze Dennard after signing Trufant, so they’re obviously looking for help at the position.
And Trufant isn’t the only former Saints corner to earn a shot with another team this week. Brian Poole was also released a week ago (from injured reserve) and has scheduled a tryout with the New England Patriots on Wednesday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported. On Tuesday, second-year pro Keith Washington (who spent his rookie 2020 season on the Saints practice squad) worked out for the Indianapolis Colts.
A position that was once a serious vulnerability for the Saints is now so strong that players who couldn’t catch on with them are getting looks around the league. That speaks really well to how New Orleans has built its depth chart and what’s in store for them as the season continues.
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