9 months ago
6
ESPN
Jul 22, 2025, 09:21 PM ET
The New Orleans Saints are moving to motion escaped cause information Julian Blackmon arsenic a replacement for the retired Tyrann Mathieu, sources told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.
A woody has not been finalized, but the sides person been successful talks, sources said.
The Saints person made respective additions to their defence this offseason nether caller antiaircraft coordinator Brandon Staley. Safety Justin Reid was the highest-profile summation to date, signing a three-year woody averaging $10.5 cardinal astatine the opening of escaped agency.
A erstwhile third-round pick, Blackmon is 1 of the champion safeties inactive available. He was disappointed successful his marketplace this past offseason, returning to the Indianapolis Colts connected a one-year woody worthy little than $4 million. His hopes were to amended his likelihood of landing a multiyear woody successful 2025 by having a productive season, but helium was knocked disconnected people by a torn labrum helium suffered successful the play opener.
Blackmon, 26, inactive managed to play a career-high 16 games, but his show didn't conscionable his expectations. The injury, helium said successful January, "impacted maine greatly." Even so, with 3 interceptions and 86 tackles, Blackmon impacted the Colts' defence and helped bring immoderate stableness to a precise young and injury-plagued Indianapolis secondary.
Reid and Mathieu were assumed to beryllium the starting safeties successful Staley's defence this season. But without Mathieu, the Saints don't presently person overmuch acquisition successful the information room.
Veteran information J.T. Gray chiefly plays peculiar teams, Terrell Burgess was signed successful May aft the Buffalo Bills waived him from injured reserve past twelvemonth and Ugo Amadi was re-signed aft starting 5 games past season. Third-year subordinate Jordan Howden started 2 games past season.
Mathieu's departure is besides portion of a caller look secondary, which mislaid cornerbacks Marshon Lattimore (traded to Washington Commanders) and Paulson Adebo (signed with New York Giants) implicit the past year.
"That's what the NFL is. It's astir adjustments, whether it's unit oregon schematically," said Saints manager Kellen Moore connected Tuesday. "So you recognize that you person plans successful spot and you person to set and I deliberation wide that information position, we got immoderate younger players, immoderate guys who've been determination done the full offseason process that person done conscionable a phenomenal job. We're excited from those guys and we'll proceed to measure the roster acquisition arsenic we go."
The Saints had $23.8 cardinal successful disposable headdress abstraction earlier Mathieu's retirement.
Blackmon has shown himself to beryllium a versatile subordinate during his career. He was a cornerback and information successful college, past moved to escaped information for astir of his archetypal 3 seasons. But the Colts yet moved him to beardown safety, wherever helium thrived successful 2023. Team needs prompted the Colts to determination him backmost to escaped information this past season, a spot that tin beryllium little impactful successful erstwhile antiaircraft coordinator Gus Bradley's single-high information system.
Blackmon has 10 interceptions and 300 tackles successful 5 seasons.
ESPN's Katherine Terrell and Stephen Holder contributed to this report.
