Running back Jamal Lewis, who was released by Cleveland in February, visited with the Saints this week, according to team officials. It does not appear the New Orleans Saints have made any formal offer to him.
After the most thrilling season in franchise history, the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints have followed up with perhaps their quietest offseason.
The Saints have not added a player to their roster since the free-agent signing period began nearly four weeks ago, joining only the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers in that exclusive club.
Although that might be a little boring for fans who’ve grown tired of replaying that Super Bowl XLIV DVD over and over again, General Manager Mickey Loomis insists it hasn’t been a source of frustration for the defending champions.
After all, they’re not exactly in a rebuilding mode.
The New Orleans Saints will play the New England Patriots, the San Diego Chargers, the Houston Texans and the Tennessee Titans in the 2010 preseason, according to a schedule the NFL released Wednesday afternoon.
The defending Super Bowl champions will first travel to New England at a date and time to be determined, and then host the Texans, the first time the Saints will play on home turf since beating Minnesota in overtime in the NFC Championship to send New Orleans to Super Bowl XLIV.
The Saints third preseason game is also in the Superdome and will be televised by CBS on Friday, August 27, at 8 p.m. That game against the Chargers will pit Saints quarterback Drew Brees against his former NFL team.
The Saints conclude their preseason slate in Nashville against the Titans at a date and time to be determined. The NFL’s regular season will begin on Thursday, Sept. 9 in the Superdome but the Saints’ opening opponent has still not been announced by the league.
Restricted free agent defensive end Jeff Charleston signed his one-year contract tender from the New Orleans Saints late last week, agent Blake Aaron Baratz confirmed, meaning he is no longer free to sign with another team.
Saints running back Pierre Thomas was one of the most underpaid backs in football last year, making the league minimum while he led the Saints backfield in rushing.
He is hoping for a long-term extension this offseason, but he won’t skip OTAs in an effort to get paid.
“It’s a business and it’s up to them,” Thomas said. “You know, I’m putting my resume out there, showing them what I can do.”
Pierre Thomas described the loss of fellow tailback Mike Bell as a “tough one” for the New Orleans Saints.
But just like he vowed last year at this time, after the Saints parted ways with beloved power runner Deuce McAllister, Thomas insisted he’s ready to bulk up and fill whatever void the Saints ask him to fill.
The NFL’s complete draft order has been set now that compensatory picks have been awarded to teams. The Saints don’t have a fifth-round pick after trading it last year to move up and select punter Thomas Morstead. They pick 32nd in every round.
That means the 32nd pick, the 64th pick, the 95th pick, 130th pick 201st pick and 239th pick. Here’s the complete seven-round breakdown for all teams.
| First round | |||
| 1 | 1 | St. Louis | |
| 2 | 2 | Detroit | |
| 3 | 3 | Tampa Bay | |
| 4 | 4 | Washington | |
| 5 | 5 | Kansas City | |
| 6 | 6 | Seattle | |
| 7 | 7 | Cleveland | |
| 8 | 8 | Oakland | |
| 9 | 9 | Buffalo | |
| 10 | 10 | Jacksonville | |
| 11 | 11 | Denver (from Chicago) | |
| 12 | 12 | Miami | |
| 13 | 13 | San Francisco | |
| 14 | 14 | Seattle (from Denver) | |
| 15 | 15 | N.Y. Giants | |
| 16 | 16 | Tennessee | |
| 17 | 17 | San Francisco (from Carolina) | |
| 18 | 18 | Pittsburgh | |
| 19 | 19 | Atlanta | |
| 20 | 20 | Houston | |
| 21 | 21 | Cincinnati | |
| 22 | 22 | New England | |
| 23 | 23 | Green Bay | |
| 24 | 24 | Philadelphia | |
| 25 | 25 | Baltimore | |
| 26 | 26 | Arizona | |
| 27 | 27 | Dallas | |
| 28 | 28 | San Diego | |
| 29 | 29 | N.Y. Jets | |
| 30 | 30 | Minnesota | |
| 31 | 31 | Indianapolis | |
| 32 | 32 | New Orleans | |
New Orleans Saints free agent safety Darren Sharper still hasn’t taken any visits to any prospective new employers in free agency while he’s still recovering from a minor clean-up surgery on his left knee. But the All-Pro doesn’t seem to mind that the process has now dragged on for three weeks.
“Right now I am just concentrating on my rehab so I’m ready for OTAs (organized team activities) wherever I’m playing,” said Sharper, who has been splitting his rehab work between New Orleans and Miami
Who Dat? Inc., the company that made a 1983 recording featuring the “Who Dat” chant associated with the New Orleans Saints football team, has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against the Saints organization, the National Football League, the State of Louisiana and the Secretary of State. The suit claims that those parties have either directly or indirectly violated the company’s trademark.
The suit, filed in federal district court in Baton Rouge, says NFL Properties, LLC, New Orleans Saints LLC, the secretary of state of Louisiana and the state of Louisiana, “conspired to defraud” by interfering “with its prospective and other business relationships by engaging in a coordinated public effort to disseminate false information about Who Dat?, Inc. for the purpose of driving Who Dat?, Inc. out of business or making it impossible for Who Dat?, Inc. to continue to commercially use the ‘WHO DAT’ marks.”
By James Varney, The Times-Picayune
March 24, 2010, 10:00AM
Saints coach Sean Payton and several of his colleagues in the NFL profession were irate Tuesday night at the way in which the league appeared to bend the rules and voted in changes to the overtime format for post-season games.
Traditionally, once proposals are made on Monday at the owners’ meeting, the idea germinates for more than a day and is subject to intense discussion prior to a Wednesday vote. But when the league decided suddenly and unexpectedly to hold the vote on overtime Tuesday, Payton and other coaches felt the fix was in.
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