After failing to land a safety during the draft, the Saints now are expected to re-visit their talks with free-agent Pro-Bowl safety Tyrann Mathieu and make an aggressive push to try to add him to their roster, per sources. Mathieu was born and raised in New Orleans.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 1, 2022
This is interesting: ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the New Orleans Saints are expected to pivot towards free agent safety Tyrann Mathieu after they were unable to land a player at the position during the 2022 NFL draft, with NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill adding that the Saints have “maintained their interest” following a meeting with Mathieu at the team facility early in April.
It makes plenty of sense. The Saints lost both of their starting safeties this offseason with Marcus Williams joining the Baltimore Ravens and Malcolm Jenkins entering an early retirement. New Orleans did sign longtime New York Jets starter Marcus Maye in free agency, but he’s recovering from an Achilles injury and may miss time following a DUI arrest.
C.J. Gardner-Johnson could theoretically move to one safety spot, but he’s played his best football over the slot and the Saints may want to keep him there. Other options on the roster include P.J. Williams, J.T. Gray, Daniel Sorensen, Justin Evans, Bryce Thompson, and undrafted rookies Smoke Monday and Jack Koerner.
We should see some movement soon. New Orleans has more salary cap space than most teams at this point in the offseason, and the cutoff date for signings to factor into the 2023 compensatory draft picks formula will pass at 3 p.m. CT on Monday, May 2. Deadlines spur action in the NFL, and that might be what the Saints have been waiting for to make Mathieu a viable offer.
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