The biggest news of the week for the Saints involved a pair of players who didn't see the practice field on the first day of training camp.
Those players were Tyrann Mathieu, who abruptly retired, and Julian Blackmon, whom the Saints officially signed as a replacement. He's also a player that the Cajun Cannon Bobby Hebert sees as the clear starter when he hits the field.
"I just think if he’s healthy, he's starting alongside Reid," Hebert said on SportsTalk. "I think Jordan Howden, I think they gave him an opportunity. That’s not the answer. I don’t think they want to throw Sanker to the wolves. … [Terrell Burgess], that would be to me the more open competition with Blackmon would be Burgess.”
Hear more from Bobby Hebert and his full recap of Day 1 of Saints training camp in the player above. Can't see the embed? Click here.
There are several aspects of Blackmon's game that appeal to the Cajun Cannon. He's got a ton of experience with 62 starts since the Colts selected him in the third round back in 2020. He's got 300 career tackles and 10 interceptions.
But the most impressive? Blackmon suffered a torn labrum in Week 1 of the 2024 season and still appeared in 16 games.
“If the coaches could’ve put in somebody better, don’t you think they would’ve done that?” Hebert continued. "What I think is so important is somebody has to step up alongside Reid, because I’m telling you, we have not had the safety play like we had … the consistency, when we had Marcus Williams and Malcolm Jenkins, the Saints had the top five duo of safeties, for sure, in the league at that time."
The Saints also announced the signing of DT Jonathan Bullard, with both players expected to join the team this week. The Saints continue their training camp slate with practices on Thursday and Friday before a scheduled off day on Saturday.
