The New Orleans Saints are excepted to sign veteran Pro Bowl safety Tyrann Mathieu.
Now that the 2022 NFL Draft is firmly in the rearview mirror, the New Orleans Saints are going to sign veteran star safety and hometown hero Tyrann Mathieu.
The former Bayou Bengal spent the last three seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs. Since leaving LSU, Mathieu has put together a hall-of-fame-caliber playing career with three different NFL franchises. Though it took a bit longer than expected, the New Orleans native is coming home. He will be a key part in the Saints’ defensive backfield, one that will hopefully slow down Tom Brady.
Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reported Mathieu will be signing with the Saints in short order.
Field Yates of ESPN mentioned that as of 4:00 p.m. ET on May 2, any unrestricted free agent that signs with a team will no longer be factored into the compensatory draft formula. This is 100 percent why marquee players like Mathieu, Odell Beckham Jr. and Jadeveon Clowney have not signed deals with new teams just yet.
What type of player are the Saints getting in the defensive dynamo known as The Honey Badger?
New Orleans Saints expected to sign veteran Pro Bowl safety Tyrann Mathieu
Clearly, this move has been in the works for a while. Mathieu visited the Saints’ facility during his free agency and New Orleans was seen as the front-runner to potentially land him. While he did Zoom with the Philadelphia Eagles, it was going to be difficult for The Birds to overcome the possibility of Mathieu finally getting an opportunity to play in front of his hometown crowd.
As for what this signing means for the Saints, it probably helps their argument for being the most formidable challenger to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC South, if there even is one. New Orleans was one game shy of reaching the playoffs last year, but keep in mind that defensive coordinator Dennis Allen is taking over for Sean Payton as head coach. There will be regression.
Ultimately, the Saints are fortunate that the NFC is down this year. Outside of about five or six teams, it is a bunch of meh and a lot of bad teams out there. With the Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers clearly rebuilding in division, the Saints have as good of a chance as anyone to contend for one of three NFC Wild Card berths this fall. Adding Mathieu to the secondary is a huge boost.
This move does not make the Saints an elite team, but one that will help them stay playoff-viable.