Good news: Sean Payton land ex-Saints defender on $8 million contract

Another ex-Saints player goes to Denver.

The Denver Broncos-New Orleans Saints pipeline has been busy since Sean Payton became the head coach in the Mile High City. On Tuesday, another former Saints player agreed to a deal with the Broncos. Defensive tackle Malcolm Roach has agreed to a two-year contract with $8 million with the Broncos, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

‘Former #Saints DT Malcolm Roach is signing with the #Broncos on a two-year deal worth up to $8 million, per source.’

Roach has spent the past four seasons with the Saints since going undrafted in 2020 out of Texas. Roach played 41 games with the Saints, including five starts, and recorded 90 combined tackles with a sack and seven QB hits during his time.

In 2023, Roach had the best run-stop rate in the NFL at 17.4%, according to Pro Football Focus.

After Payton was hired as the Broncos head coach ahead of the 2023 season, they acquired Saints kicker Will Lutz in a trade and saw some other New Orleans players make their way over, so this is nothing new for Payton. Lutz was set to join the Jacksonville Jaguars before deciding to remain in Denver in an interesting twist.

On top of that, the Broncos released Justin Simmons and traded away Jerry Jeudy, not to mention Russell Wilson being let go. So, the team has undergone a ton of changes after a disappointing 2023 campaign in Paytin’s first year as the head coach in Denver.

The addition of Malcolm Roach should be a big boost for the defensive line as they try and compete with a tough group of teams in the AFC West.

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