The Saints are adding a tight end for quarterback Tyler Shough to throw to in 2026.
NFL Media reports that Noah Fant has agreed to terms with the team. It’s a two-year deal for Fant in New Orleans with no financial terms reported.
The Saints have Juwan Johnson coming back as their top tight end, but Foster Moreau and Taysom Hill are both set for free agency.
Fant had 34 catches for 288 yards and three touchdowns with the Bengals last season. He spent three seasons with the Seahawks and three with the Broncos before heading to Cincinnati as a free agent last offseason. He has 334 catches for 3,593 yards and 18 touchdowns for his career.
Saints Clips
The Saints landed a new punter in the early hours of the free agent negotiating window.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that they have agreed to sign Ryan Wright. It is a four-year agreement worth $14 million and includes $8 million in guarantees.
Wright will make the move to New Orleans after spending his first four NFL seasons with the Vikings. He’s appeared in every game for the team since joining the team and averaged a career-best 44.5 net yards per kick during the 2025 season.
Kai Kroeger was the Saints’ punter in 2025, but the commitment to Wright will likely lead to him moving on at some point this offseason.
The Titans are adding to their secondary.
According to multiple reports, cornerback Alontae Taylor has agreed to join Tennessee.
NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport notes the deal is worth $60 million with $42 million guaranteed over three years.
Taylor, 27, just completed his rookie contract with the Saints. A second-round pick in 2022, Taylor appeared in all 17 games in each of the last three seasons.
In 2025, Taylor finished with 83 total tackles, 11 passes defensed, two interceptions, 2.0 sacks, and seven tackles for loss.
The cornerback has recorded 7.0 sacks, 21 tackles for loss, four interceptions, and 52 passes defensed over the course of his career.
He’s appeared in a total of 64 games with 53 starts over the last four years.
With the Saints adding running back Travis Etienne on a reported four-year, $52 million deal, Alvin Kamara’s nine-year run with the team could be ending.
Kamara’s recent restructuring didn’t come with a signing bonus, and the final year of his contract carries only $3 million in injury guarantees. He could be traded; he also could be released.
The 31-year-old Kamara was a third-round pick in 2017. In 2025, he had a career-low 471 rushing yards and a career-low 186 receiving yards in 11 games.
Kamara has been a fixture in New Orleans for nine seasons. The investment made on Monday in Etienne could lead to an end of the road for Kamara with the Saints.
If/when he goes, it’ll be interesting to see whether Sean Payton, who became smitten with Kamara during the 2017 pre-draft process, makes a play for a reunion with Kamara.
The Saints are bringing in a veteran offensive lineman.
According to multiple reports, guard David Edwards is signing a four-year deal with New Orleans.
The initial numbers indicate Edwards’ contract is worth $61 million.
Edwards, 28, spent the last three seasons with the Bills. He started 16 games in each of the last two seasons for the club.
A fifth-round pick in the 2019 draft, Edwards played his first four seasons with the Rams before heading to Buffalo in 2023. He’s appeared in 103 career games with 77 starts for the two franchises.
At least for now, Travis Etienne has played his last game with the Jaguars.
According to multiple reports, Etienne has agreed to sign with the Saints.
Initial reports indicate Etienne’s contract is for four years and worth $52 million.
Etienne, 27, was the No. 25 overall pick of the 2021 draft, which kept him playing with his Clemson football teammate, Trevor Lawrence. After missing his entire rookie season due to a foot injury, Etienne rushed for 1,125 yards in 2022 and 1,008 yards in 2023. His production dipped in 2024, but was back up in 2025, as he rushed for 1,107 yards with seven touchdowns and caught 36 passes for 292 yards with six TDs.
Hailing from Jennings, La., Etienne will now be back close to home as he joins the Saints.
Etienne’s signing, however, does call into question Alvin Kamara’s role with the team moving forward.
The Jets continued to revamp their defense on Monday by bringing back a former member of the team.
Linebacker Demario Davis is returning for a third stint with the AFC East club. Per multiple reports, he has agreed to a two-year, $22 million deal with $15 million fully guaranteed.
Davis was a Jets third-round pick in 2012 and spent four seasons with the team before playing in Cleveland in 2016. He returned for one year and then spent the last eight seasons with the Saints.
Davis started all 131 games he played in New Orleans and is coming off a season with 143 tackles, a half-sack, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
The Jets have also agreed to sign defensive ends Joseph Ossai and Kingsley Enagbare on Monday. They are also set to add safety Minkah Fitzpatrick in a trade with the Dolphins once the 2026 league year opens on Wednesday.
The Saints got under the cap by restructuring several contracts earlier this week and they carved out some more space by doing the same with running back Alvin Kamara.
Converting Kamara’s salary into a signing bonus saves over $8.1 million under the cap for this year, but the move did not work the same as the restructures for Chase Young, Juwan Johnson and Justin Reid.
Those players converted their salaries into bonuses in order to spread the cap hit out over future years and they remain set to receive all of that compensation. As Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football notes, however, Kamara’s conversion does not add to any guaranteed money beyond the $3 million already set to come his way this year because of the way his contract was structured.
Kamara’s 2026 salary was on the books for less than half of what he received in 2025, which opened the door for this type of restructure under what’s known as the 50 percent rule. Should Kamara not wind up on the team, the Saints would still receive the cap benefits of the restructure without any other money being set to go to Kamara.
There’s no sign at the moment that Kamara will not be with the Saints come the fall, but the move allows more flexibility for the Saints if the situation should change.
The Saints have started clearing out some salary space ahead of the start of the 2026 league year.
Nick Underhill on NewOrleans.Football reports that they have restructured three contracts of veteran players. Tight end Juwan Johnson, defensive end Chase Young, and safety Justin Reid all had their salaries converted to bonuses that will push portions of their cap hits into future seasons.
Johnson had a base salary of $9.08 million, Young’s was $14.83 million, and Reid was on the books for $9.25 million.
Assuming the Saints converted as much salary as possible, the moves should net the Saints around $24 million in cap space. The moves should also make them cap compliant heading into next week.
After 15 seasons with the Saints, defensive end Cameron Jordan is ready to look for opportunities elsewhere.
Jordan and the Saints will not agree to a new deal before the start of free agency, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
That means the 36-year-old Jordan will be free to shop his services to any other team. He does plan to play in 2026, with the Saints or someone else.
Despite his advancing age, Jordan had a solid season in 2025, starting all 17 games and recording 10.5 sacks. There will be plenty of teams interested in his services.
Jordan said recently that he’s not asking for top dollar, but is asking to be valued. It may turn out that some other team values Jordan more than the Saints.
