The New Orleans Saints signed former New England Patriots linebacker Anfernee Jennings. Yesterday, the Saints traded their fifth round pick to the Las Vegas Raiders for Tyree Wilson.
The moves continue the trend of the Saints adding veteran edge rushers who lost value on their previous teams. Similarly, last season they signed Chase Young to a one year contract after he disappointed with the Washington Commanders and San Francisco 49ers.
The Patriots selected Jennings in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft. For New England, Jennings played in 79 games and started in 43 of them, including the championship game against the Seattle Seahawks. He totaled 217 combined tackles, 27 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, 25 quarterback hits, 3 passes defended, and 2 forced fumbles. The Patriots released Jennings earlier in the offseason.
The Saints came into new league year with a massive need for edge rushers. Before the trade for Wilson, the only experienced edge rushers on the roster were Young and Carl Granderson.
Anfernee Jennings Offers Versatility
GettyJennings can play both as an edge rusher and coverage linebacker.
Jennings entered the NFL as more of a middle linebacker, but in 2022, the Patriots began using him more on the edge. Jennings’ best ability is defending the run. PFF gave him an average run defense grade of 76.3 over the last five years.
The move to the edge made sense because Jennings was liability in coverage. PFF gave him an average coverage grade of 41.64. However, his abilities as a pass rusher are really only average for the position. Jennings’ average pass rush grade on PFF is 57.38, and his average tacking grade is 59.6.
All this being noted, Jennings is coming off one of the best games in his career during the Patriots championship game against the Seahawks. In 37 total snaps, he had 5 total tackles, 1 QB hit, and 1 pass break up. He received a PFF grade of 85.2, the fifth highest grade of his career and on the biggest stage. He brings playoff experience now to a Saints team in desperate need of experience.
Jennings Signing Makes Sense for New Orleans
GettyThe Jennings signing came at the perfect time for New Orleans.
Further, Jennings on a one year prove it deal makes sense for the New Orleans Saints. Now that the 2026 NFL Draft has concluded, veteran signings do not count against the compensatory picks formula for the 2027 NFL Draft.
The contract details have yet to be reported, but the Saints have around $9.8 million dollars in cap space factoring in the Wilson trade. Both of those moves should take up some significant room, so perhaps there will be further transactions to clear up cap space.
There are not any updates either on the status of Cameron Jordan and his tenure with the Saints. He is currently a free agent, but he could also retire from the NFL. With Jennings and Wilson added to the roster, the Saints edge rushers room is now deeper than expected. The Saints defense played a lot better than anticipated last season, so with these additions, maybe they will again.
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