Saints Sign DE Wes Horton

not the d lineman i was hoping to see signed today

Who?

Why don't people like this move? He's proven depth at the DE position for league minimum (or close to it). We needed that.

I realize some people were waiting on McCoy, but this is a good signing. I'm not saying that he's a lock to make the team, but he has a good shot. This move can't hurt us at all, b/c there is no risk involved.

We had to drop an udfa to make room for him. There isn't a single negative about this signing.

LINK

The defensive end position has become a focus of attention for the New Orleans Saints after they watched veteran Alex Okafor leave the team this offseason as a free agent.

Now, the organization has another player to put into that rotation, signing former Carolina Panthers defensive end Wes Horton to a contract, announcing the move in a statement on Tuesday.

This marks the second time in the last few offseasons that the Saints expressed interest in Horton, hosting him for a try out prior to the 2016 season after he was waived by Carolina.

Ultimately, he re-signed with the Panthers, but this year, the Saints got him.

Originally an undrafted free agent acquisition by Carolina from Southern California six years ago, Horton has 94 career tackles, 15.5 sacks, one pass breakup, six forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries in 77 appearances for the club, 38 of which were starts.

In three playoff games, Horton has started two, adding three combined tackles and a forced fumble.

Coming into last season, it was expected that Horton would take another step in the right direction and build on the progress he enjoyed during his career. In the 2016 season after a brief flirtation with New Orleans, he had 2.5 sacks and forced two fumbles, and then in 2017 forced three fumbles and boasted a career best 5.5 sacks.

In the beginning of last season, Horton looked like he was going to take that next step after grabbing 1.5 sacks in the Panthers’ regular season opener last September.

But over the remainder of the season, Horton’s fortunes declined along with the rest of Carolina’s pass rush, and he didn’t have another sack for the rest of the year.

Horton, who turned 29 in January, is regarded as a prospective interior pass rusher, and this feature of his game is likely what attracted the Saints to him once again.

Defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins ranked second on the team last season in total sacks, but he is expected to start the 2019 season on the physically unable to perform list after suffering an Achilles injury in the Saints’ NFC Divisional Round win over Philadelphia.

Moreover, David Onyemata could begin the season on league suspension after an offseason citation relating to alleged marijuana possession.

With those two out of the picture, the Saints suddenly find themselves at a weakness when it comes to getting pressure on the quarterback from the interior.

The team signed defensive lineman Mario Edwards, who is also regarded as a talented inside pass rusher, but the team was still not entirely pleased with the state of their defensive line.

There is also some speculation that the Saints would pursue Gerald McCoy after the defensive tackle was released by Tampa Bay, but this acquisition may put those rumors to bed.

A four star recruit, according to the 247Sports Composite from the state of California, Horton started in 32 games for the Trojans and played in 47 total, grabbing 117 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, forcing two fumbles, recovering three fumbles, and breaking up a pair of pass attempts.

In a corresponding move, the Saints waived linebacker Darrell Williams.

By making these two transactions, the Saints remain at 90 roster players.