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Saints

Akers’ audition at the Saints’ June 10-12 mandatory minicamp was a success. The development is bad news for Kendre Miller, Devin Neal and Clyde Edwards-Helaire. The trio was competing for the No. 2 spot behind the soon-to-be 30-year-old Alvin Kamara, who could use a reliable rushing complement. Akers ran well last year, playing for both the Texans and Vikings. Active for Weeks 9-Wild Card Weekend with the latter team, Akers averaged 4.9 yards per carry and 3.0 yards after contact. The depth chart is not yet set in stone, but Akers is best treated as the presumed No. 2 at this time.

A forgotten man in New Orleans, Hill suffered a late-season torn ACL and will likely not be ready for the start of the season. Already, Moore conceded that “training camp would be ambitious” per NOLA’s Luke Johnson. Hill is entering his age-35 season and it wouldn’t be surprising if the Saints tampered down his workload when he does return to siphon snaps to younger players in what certainly appears to be a rebuilding season.

Saints beat reporter Nick Underhill sourced the report, which indicates the team is not fully happy with the state of their backfield, consisting of Alvin Kamara, Kendre Miller, 2025 sixth-round pick Devin Neal, former first-round pick Clyde Edwards-Helaire, former wide receiver Velus Jones, and Xazavian Valladay. They’ll see what Akers has left in the tank, with their ultimate goal being to eventually trade him to the Vikings in Week 7, as is NFL tradition.

The Saints make sense as a landing spot. Davis can compete against relatively soft competition for the No. 3 role, which could allow him to get his career back on track after a disappointing 2024 season. He’s been popular on the tryout circuit, with visits to the Steelers, Giants, and 49ers this offseason.

The Saints also “have been involved to some degree.” Fowler also notes that “multiple outlets reported” on Chubb’s scheduled visit and expected signing with the Texans, but Fowler stopped short of fully backing the claim. Per Fowler, going to a contender is important to Chubb, who plans to sign as soon as Monday. Stay tuned.

Moore offered lengthy and jumbled commentary on the matter, but ultimately said that “people want good players, so they’re always chasing, to find ways to get good players on their team.” Moore also downplayed concerns over Olave’s concussion history, saying he feels “great” about Olave’s health and future with the team. Olave is currently being drafted as a back-end WR3 in PPR formats and can return significantly higher value if he is able to maintain good health.

It’s a funny quote to say the least, but it also gives us a glimpse into Carr’s mindset as he was deciding on his future. He told Front Office Sports he could either undergo surgery and sit on the sidelines for a year or play through the shoulder issue. In the latter case, Carr said he would not be “near 100 percent.” Between his shoulder injury and the Saints eying up a potential rebuild, retirement made sense for both sides. Carr didn’t sound interested in returning when prompted, noting he was enjoying time on the beach with his kids when his agent asked him if he was still comfortable with his decision. He obviously said yes. Carr also said he would “absolutely” get into the media side of the NFL. All of this is to say Carr shouldn’t be expected to make a surprise return to football at any point.

Bullard has spent the last three seasons with the Vikings, starting 38 of the 46 games he appeared in over that span. The veteran lineman also spent two seasons with current Saints defensive coordinator Brandon Staley (2017-2018) during their time with the Bears, and would bring a sense of familiarity with the system to New Orleans if he were to sign. Bullard totaled 108 tackles and three sacks during his tenure with the Vikings and is more known for his impact in the running game than in the passing game. Per PFF, Bullard hasn’t totaled double-digit pressures since 2019 and has just three sacks to his name over that span.

Underhill described Rattler as being in “total control of the offense” and looked “really, really good” while hitting “throws with a high degree of difficulty.” Now, as Underhill also points out, a second-year player “should look better” than Shough, who was participating in just “his fourth practice with an NFL team.” Underhill does not know whether “this is going to lead to wins, or results,” but declared the competition “rejuvenating” for a team in need of leadership. While neither Rattler nor Shough is likely to produce fantasy football QB1 results, the starter could work his way onto QB2 streaming radar, aided by the Saints’ talented receiving corps.

Saints first-round rookie OT Kelvin Banks Jr. is already taking repetitions at left tackle, which pushes last year’s first-round pick and starting left tackle Taliese Fuaga over to the right tackle position. Penning, who manned the right tackle spot last year, will now evidently kick inside to left guard. Penning has failed to developed into a reliable pass protector through three NFL seasons but respectably earned a 70.1 PFF run-blocking grade last season. The Saints’ offensive line is rounding into form as an above-average unit.