The New Orleans Saints are brining in an established name to bolster their depleted WR with the team mired in a 5-game losing streak.
The Saints have agreed to terms on a deal with Marquez Valdez-Scantling, according to a report from the NFL Network.
The 30-year-old wideout, who goes by MVS, was a target of the Saints back in the 2022 free agency cycle but ultimately signed with the Chiefs on a 3-year deal. In that span he helped Kansas City win back-to-back Super Bowls, catching 63 passes for 1,002 yards and three touchdowns, along with a touchdown in last year's Super Bowl win over the 49ers. MVS last saw action with the Bills this season, appearing in three games before being released last week following Buffalo's trade for Amari Cooper.
The Saints had Valdez-Scantling in for a workout Monday morning, which Dennis Allen described as going well. The head coach was set to meet with the WR later in the day, something that, clearly, also went well.
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“He’s played in our league. He’s a bigger receiver, got a good speed element to him," Allen said. "I think he’s somebody that can fit some of the things that we might be needing, particularly with the loss of [Rashid] Shaheed.”
The Saints were one of several teams inquiring about MVS' services, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, with the Colts and Commanders also kicking the tires.
Valdez-Scantling has always been an elite deep threat, entering the NFL as a 5th round pick of the Green Bay Packers in 2018. That skillset is certainly attractive to the Saints right now, considering they will be without speedster Rashid Shaheed who already had a host of long touchdowns to his credit before going out with a knee injury that required season-ending meniscus surgery.
The Saints were also without WR Chris Olave in last week's loss to the Broncos. As of Monday the third-year wideout was still in the concussion protocol, though he has a chance to clear in time to face the L.A. Chargers in Week 8.
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Valdez-Scantling will join a WR room that includes Olave, veteran Cedrick Wilson and a host of young players, including rookie UDFAs Bub Means and Rashid Shaheed, who stepped into the biggest role of their careers this past week. That group will, barring a faster-than-expected recovery for Derek Carr (oblique), be catching passes from rookie QB Spencer Rattler, whom Allen confirmed would remain as the starter despite difficult results and a pair of losses in his first two NFL starts.
“Spencer has done some good things. I mean, obviously there’s been some rookie mistakes. You’ve got to do a better job of protecting the football. That would be probably the biggest thing that we have to do a better job of, but, you know, "I felt like when you go back and you watch the tape and he’s got protection," Allen said, "I thought he did a good job of throwing the football, I thought he created some things with his feet, he was accurate when he was outside the pocket. ... We have to eliminate some of the negative plays.”