Veteran safety Julian Blackmon will not reach free agency this year. After back-to-back one-year contracts as a UFA, the six-year vet will stay with the Saints.
New Orleans is re-signing Blackmon, announcing a one-year deal with the former Colts starter. Blackmon is coming off a one-game season, having suffered a torn labrum in September. But the Saints will give him another shot.
The Saints initially signed Blackmon in July, with the deal coming after Tyrann Mathieu‘s summer retirement. The former Colts third-round pick became a Week 1 starter, lining up alongside fellow free agent pickup Justin Reid. Rookie Jonas Sanker took over in Blackmon’s place, starting 16 games. It will be interesting to see if Blackmon, 27, can mount a charge to reacquire the job following this second Saints contract.
In Dalton Risner fashion, Blackmon has been a regular starter who has needed to settle for one-year deals in free agency. Blackmon played out a one-year, $3.7MM deal with Indianapolis in 2024 and was tied to a one-year, $3.17MM New Orleans pact last year. It is quite possible his Week 1 injury will continue this pay-cut trend, but numbers for this agreement are not in yet.
Ranked among our top 50 free agents in 2024, the 2020 draftee operated as a chess piece in Gus Bradley‘s defensive scheme in Indianapolis. The converted college cornerback intercepted seven passes between the 2023 and ’24 seasons. In 2024, the Colts used him more as a pure free safety — as opposed to his extensive box usage in 2023.
Blackmon also has an Achilles tear on his medical sheet, so the 2026 season will be important from a health standpoint — if he is to ever command a multiyear deal moving forward. Reid is signed through 2027, while Sanker’s rookie deal runs through 2028. This Blackmon re-up gives New Orleans good depth at safety beyond this season.