Breaking: Saints Are Closing In On Deal To Sign $14.5 Million WR And Return Specialist….
The New Orleans Saints made an addition to their wide receiver room on Friday. Veteran wideout Equanimeous St. Brown will wear the black and gold in 2024.
New Orleans Saints WR Equanimeous St. Brown (@Equanimeous) is wearing number 13. Last worn by Michael Thomas. Saints pic.twitter.com/RCGMa79DIW
NFL Jersey Numbers (@nfl_jersey_num) April 12, 2024
The decision shocked a lot of fans on social media. Thomas is arguably the most accomplished WR in franchise history outside of Marques Colston. There are a couple of other names in that discussion, but Thomas’ peak was higher than any other Saints wide receiver.
From 2016-2019, Thomas was a top ten receiver in the NFL. In 2019, he set the then record for receptions in a season with 149.
MT was a fan favorite during the highlights of his time in New Orleans. Over the last couple years, tempers have flared a bit. Thomas was frustrated by medical decisions within the organization, and fans were upset by his lack of availability.
Some fans may have expected the Saints to push a new addition to choose another number or even retire 13 from being worn again. Clearly, that was not the case, though. St. Brown just put some more pressure on himself.
The New Orleans Saints are certainly not lacking in QB depth right now.
New Orleans announced on Friday that they have agreed to terms with veteran quarterback Kellen Mond. The 24-year-old Mond now joins the fourth team of his NFL career.
Mond, the former Texas A&M star, was a third-round draft pick by the Minnesota Vikings in 2021 (No. 66 overall) but only made one appearance for the team before being waived in 2022. He then spent the next season with the Cleveland Browns and played out part of last season on the Indianapolis Colts’ practice squad.
The Saints’ QB room is already pretty crowded. With Derek Carr starting, Mond will have to compete with Jake Haener and fellow newcomer Nathan Peterman for the backup quarterback job. Taysom Hill is still there too, but he is obviously less of a true QB and more of a gadget player who effectively plays as a tight end or as a running back instead. It feels unlikely that all of those guys will survive the final roster cuts. But Mond, who still has some critics to prove wrong, will get his opportunity to try to separate himself from the pack in New Orleans.
The New Orleans Saints aren’t quite done in free agency.
And this time, they’re bringing back one of their own.
The Saints are expected to re-sign cornerback Shemar Jean-Charles, who appeared in the final three games for New Orleans last year after spending the first chunk of the season with the San Francisco 49ers.
According to a source with knowledge of the situation, Jean-Charles’ deal is likely to be completed Monday — when the Saints start phase one of their offseason strength and conditioning program.
Jean-Charles mostly played special teams last year, only logging seven defensive snaps for New Orleans. But his return comes after the Saints lost cornerback Isaac Yiadom in free agency to the 49ers. Yiadom signed a one-year, $3 million deal.
Jean-Charles, 25, entered the league in 2021 when he was drafted in fifth round by the Green Bay Packers. He spent two seasons with the Packers, appearing in 20 games with zero starts. He started last season with San Francisco until he was waived in late November, leading the Saints to sign him to the practice squad. New Orleans then signed him to the active roster on Jan. 4.
The expected deal capped a busy Friday for the Saints, who announced they signed quarterback Kellen Mond and wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown to one-year contracts.
