The New Orleans Saints are keeping several pieces of the 2023 secondary intact.
The team announced on Wednesday it had re-signed veteran Johnathan Abram. He will return on a 1-year deal. That news came less than 24 hours after the Saints announced they'd also re-signed safety Ugo Amadi.
That pair, star Tyrann Mathieu and second-year pro Jordan Howden will be back in a safety group that seemed to hit its stride late in the year. The team will have to look elsewhere to replace Marcus Maye, who was cut this offseason, and Lonnie Johnson Jr., who signed with the Texans in free agency. Both players ended the year inactive due to injuries.
For Abram the journey to the Saints was a rollercoaster, a former first-round pick of the then-Oakland Raiders in 2019. After his final season with the Raiders in 2022, he spent time with the Packers and Seahawks before landing with the Saints. The veteran didn't make the roster out of camp, but was signed to the practice squad and ultimately signed to the active roster after being elevated the maximum number of times. He logged 26 tackles and an interceptions and showed particular value late in the year after stepping in for Maye. His best game came in a win over the Bucs in Week 17, a game the Saints needed to win to keep their hopes alive for a divisional title.
The move is the latest in a free agency that has been largely low-key outside of a 1-year, $13 million contract handed out to defensive end Chase Young. The Saints have also signed linebacker Willie Gay, a teammate of Abram's at Mississippi State, QB Nathan Peterman, OL Oli Udoh, FB Xander Horvath and WRs Cedrick Wilson and Stanley Morgan. The Saints also re-signed FB Adam Prentice.
Earlier in free agency the Saints also inked Mathieu and LB Demario Davis to extensions that would keep them under contract through the 2025 season.
With Amadi, Gay, Mathieu, DT Khalen Saunders and DE Tanoh Kpassagnon, the Saints now have five former Chiefs on the defensive roster, many of whom were teammates in Kansas City.
The Young signing will eat into the team's remaining cap space for 2024, but they could potentially free up more for additional moves with restructures to the contracts of Alvin Kamara and Taysom Hill.
