The Cowboys are signing defensive lineman Jonathan Bullard to a one-year deal, the team announced on Saturday.
Bullard, 32, is a 10-year veteran, having entered the NFL as a third-round pick of the Bears in 2016.
He has also played for the Cardinals, Seahawks, Falcons, Vikings and Saints.
In 2025, Bullard appeared in 15 games for New Orleans, starting six, and tallied 26 tackles, four tackles for loss and two pass breakups.
With the addition of Bullard, the Cowboys have now added seven players on the defensive side of the ball this offseason. Bullard is the third addition on the defensive line, joining nose tackle Otito Ogbonnia and outside linebacker Rashan Gary.
New defensive coordinator Christian Parker is switching the team to a 3-4 base defense.
Bullard will reunite with his former defensive line coach, Marcus Dixon, who coached him with the Vikings in 2024. Bullard started all 17 games for Minnesota that season and posted 41 tackles, seven tackles for loss, three pass breakups and a sack.
Saints Clips
The Saints have taken a close look at one of the more explosive players in the 2026 draft class.
Per Field Yates of ESPN, New Orleans recently held a private workout with former Georgia receiver Zachariah Branch.
Yates notes Branch’s workout with New Orleans included some punt return work.
Branch, 21, spent the 2025 season with the Bulldogs after a pair of years at USC. He led the SEC with 81 catches last year, going for 811 yards receiving with six touchdowns. He also returned 15 punts, averaging 12.0 yards on each.
As a Freshman for USC in 2023, Branch led the nation with a 20.8-yard average on 16 punt returns, with one going for a touchdown. He also averaged 18.4 yards per kick return, bringing one back for a TD as well.
He ran a 4.35 40-yard dash at the scouting combine.
In his 37 career college games, Branch caught 159 passes for 1,634 yards with nine touchdowns.
Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate ran a 4.52-second 40-yard dash at the Scouting Combine. The time is not expected to hurt his draft status as a top-10 pick.
That’s why he decided not to run at Ohio State’s Pro Day on Wednesday, saying no teams have questioned him about his speed.
Instead, Tate did only position drills, catching passes from Julian Sayin.
“I definitely think it can be overvalued,” Tate said of the 40-yard dash, via Daniel Oyefusi of TheAthletic.com. “Like a couple of great NFL receivers right now like Puka [Nacua] and Jaxon [Smith-Njigba] like they probably didn’t run the fastest of times, but they’re the two best receivers in the league right now. It just depends on who’s looking at it and how y’all want to take it.”
Tate said he has top-30 draft visits scheduled with the Titans, Saints, Commanders, Giants and Chiefs. He has already visited the Browns. All of those teams draft in the top nine, with the Titans holding the fourth overall pick.
In 2024 at Louisville, Tyler Shough was the starting quarterback and Chris Bell was a starting wide receiver. A reunion could be coming on the Saints in 2026.
That’s the word from Bell, who said at Louisville’s Pro Day that Shough has been talking him up within the Saints organization and trying to get them to draft Bell.
“He said he wants me so bad, and he’s been pushing my name,” Bell said, via Sarandon Raboin of WHAS 11.
Bell caught 43 passes for 737 yards and four touchdowns as a junior, with Shough as his quarterback. In 2025, Bell had career-bests of 72 catches for 917 yards and six touchdowns.
The well-traveled Zach Wilson will be traveling to the NFC for the first time.
Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.football reports that the Saints will sign Wilson to a free-agent deal.
Wilson, the second overall pick in the 2021 draft, started 13 games as a rookie and nine in 2022. Supplanted by Aaron Rodgers in 2023, a Week 1 torn Achilles for Rodgers threw Wilson back into the fray; Wilson ultimately appeared in 12 games that year, with 11 starts.
In 2024, Wilson served as a backup to Bo Nix in Denver, after being traded by the Jets to the Broncos. Wilson didn’t play at all that year.
He signed a free-agent deal with the Dolphins in 2025. He appeared in four games with no starts. After Tua Tagovailoa was benched, rookie Quinn Ewers was elevated to the first string.
Wilson joins Tyler Shough and Spencer Rattler on the depth chart. Shough became the clear starter in 2025, given his performances after he replaced Rattler as the team’s starting quarterback.
Safety Terrell Burgess is set to return for a second season with the Saints.
Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports that Burgess has agreed to re-sign with the team. No terms of the deal have been reported.
Burgess appeared in 16 games as a defensive backup and regular on special teams last year. He had 22 tackles and three passes defensed in that action.
Burgess missed the 2024 season after a summer injury. He had 25 tackles in 12 games for Washington in 2023 and had 29 tackles in 30 games for the Rams over his first three seasons in the league. He also played in one game for the Giants during the 2022 season.
One of the top receivers in this year’s draft has been a busy pre-draft schedule, including meeting with an NFC South team in the top 10.
Via Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, former USC receiver Makai Lemon is working out for the Saints on Tuesday.
New Orleans has the No. 8 overall pick this year.
Additionally, Lemon has worked out for the Commanders, who select at No. 7 overall. He visited with the Browns (No. 6) last week and will visit with the Titans (No. 4) this week.
Lemon became one of the top prospects for this year’s draft by catching 79 passes for 1,156 yards with 11 touchdowns as a junior in 2025. He caught 52 passes for 764 yards with three TDs in 2024.
The Lions have added some defensive depth.
Detroit announced on Friday that the club has signed lineman Payton Turner.
Turner, 27, was with the Cowboys last season. But he missed the year after being placed on injured reserve in late August after suffering a rib injury.
A former first-round pick, Turner spent his first four seasons with New Orleans. His most productive year was in 2024, when he appeared in 16 games and recorded 21 total tackles with 2.0 sacks.
In his 31 career contests, Turner has tallied 5.0 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, and 11 quarterback hits.
The Saints have re-signed veteran defensive end Chris Rumph, the team announced Thursday.
Rumph initially signed with the Saints in the 2025 offseason, following Brandon Staley after Staley became New Orleans’ defensive coordinator. The two were together with the Chargers from 2021-23.
Rumph played 30 percent of the Saints’ defensive snaps last season, with 330 snaps. He was a core special teams player, too, with 351 special teams snaps.
He totaled 47 tackles, two sacks, one forced fumble and one pass defensed in his first season with the Saints.
In five seasons, Rumph has registered 86 tackles, five sacks, two passes defensed, a forced fumble and 13 quarterback hits.
Saints defensive back Beanie Bishop is no lock to make the team’s regular-season roster, but whether he does or not, he won’t be able to play at the start of the season.
Bishop has been suspended for the first three games of the 2026 regular season, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. There was no word on the reason for the suspension.
Suspended players are permitted to go through the offseason program and training camp and play in the preseason as normal, but Bishop will not be eligible to play in the first three weeks of the regular season.
Bishop signed with the Steelers as an undrafted rookie in 2024 and was with them until he was released in November of 2025. He then signed with the Saints’ practice squad in December and signed a reserve/future contract with the Saints after the season.
