Be on alert for some familiar names as the New Orleans Saints navigate an early-season slew of injuries.
The Saints were scheduled for visits and workouts with veteran RB Kareem Hunt and LB Anthony Barr, according to reports from ESPN, both of whom remain free agents.
The need for depth at both positions is a product of a few things, but most notably the season-ending injury to Eno Benjamin, which came after the news that Alvin Kamara would be suspended the first three games of the season. Hunt, who spent the past four seasons on the Browns alongside star Nick Chubb, carried the ball 123 times for 468 yards and 3 TDs in 2022, to go with another 210 yards and a TD on 35 catches. It's unclear how he'd slot in from a depth perspective, with the Saints roster featuring another veteran in Jamaal Williams and a highly touted rookie in Kendre Miller.
Hunt, 27, has been a solid producer for Cleveland, but has never gotten back to the form -- or the opportunity -- that saw him rush for 1,327 yards and 8 TDs, while catching another 53 passes for 455 yards and 3 TDs in his rookie season with the Kansas City Chiefs (2017).
If the Saints did bring in Hunt, it would strike a similar to chord to 2017 when the team drafted Alvin Kamara in the third round and signed Adrian Peterson, only to have Kamara become an instant success, making Peterson expendable.
On the other side of the ball, an Anthony Barr signing could be a combination of another season-ending injury (Andrew Dowell), as well as another team leader dealing with a nagging issue in Demario Davis. The xx-year-old Davis has missed the past several days of practice as he deals with a calf injury. Allen has indicated it is not an injury expected to keep him out long, but the lack of proven depth at linebacker has been a clear question mark all offseason.
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Barr, 31, played his first eight seasons with the Minnesota Vikings before joining the Dallas Cowboys and appearing in 14 games during the 2022 season, starting 10. Barr logged 58 tackles, a sack and 2 TFLs. Barr's stats aren't gaudy, but he's been consistently productive since being picked No. 9 overall out of UCLA in 2014. In his career he's appeared in 112 games while rolling up 553 tackles, 18.5 sacks, 9 fumble recoveries, 8 fumbles forced, 5 interceptions and 32 passes defensed.
In Davis' absence the work at the mike position has fallen primarily to second-year pro D'Marco Jackson, who was picked in the 5th round in 2022 but missed the entire season due to injury. Pete Werner has been consistent and would continue to hold down the will spot, but the rest of the depth chart is anybody's guess, with Nick Anderson, Anfernee Orji, Nephi Sewell and others contending for reps. The Saints kick off their preseason opener at noon on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs, with the head coach indicating that the Saints starters will be expected to play.
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