New Orleans Saints sign RB Matthew Dayes

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The New Orleans Saints have doing their due diligence on available running backs since the NFL Draft, and it appears the team has made a decision about a player at the position.

On Tuesday, the organization signed running back Matthew Dayes to a one year contract, according to a report from Pro Football Talk.

A former seventh round selection out of North Carolina State by the Cleveland Browns two years ago, Dayes was most recently with the San Francisco 49ers this past season.

Dayes initially signed on with Cleveland after the team picked him with the No. 252 overall selection as the final running back to be taken in the draft that year.

In the ensuing competition during the Browns’ training camp, Dayes fought for the third spot on the positional depth chart with Terrence Magee and Brandon Wilds. Ultimately, Dayes won the contest and sat behind starting back Duke Johnson and backup Isaiah Crowell.

Dayes made his regular season debut in a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, catching two passes for nine yards in a Browns loss. As a rookie, Dayes had five rushing attempts for 13 yards in addition to four receptions for 29 yards. A year later, he was waived.

He signed with San Francisco in the second month of the 2018 regular season, earning a position on the 49ers’ practice squad before being promoted to the active roster in November. Dayes was waived by the Niners a month after this year’s NFL Draft.

Originally a three star recruit, according to the industry generated 247Sports Composite from the state of Florida, Dayes committed to North Carolina State.

As a freshman, Dayes had 63 rushing attempts for 252 yards and four rushing touchdowns in addition to 10 catches for 173 yards and another score. In his second season at school, he improved to having 104 carries for 573 yards and eight touchdowns while catching 32 passes for 321 yards and five more scores.

He was featured as a return specialist in the next season, bringing back 21 kickoff attempts for 384 total yards. Over the 2015 campaign, Dayes had 134 rushes for 865 yards and two touchdowns while adding 24 receptions for 172 more yards.

In his collegiate finale, Dayes had 249 rushing attempts for 1,166 yards and 10 rushing touchdowns, all career highs, with 32 receptions for 271 additional yards.

The running back position has been one of some interest for the Saints this offseason, especially after the departure of Mark Ingram, who signed with Baltimore as a free agent.

In recent days, the Saints hosted three players at the position for a workout, featuring Buck Allen, Fozzy Whittaker, and New Orleans native Robert Kelley.

RELATED: Saints host three running backs for workouts

Alvin Kamara, who holds numerous NFL and franchise records, including the Saints’ mark for total touchdowns in a season, is projected to inherit the starting position, while Latavius Murray, who New Orleans acquired as a free agent to replace Ingram, is expected to also receive prominent usage in the backfield.

Dwayne Washington, former Nebraska standout Devine Ozigbo, and A.J. Ouellette are also listed on the roster at the running back position.