New Orleans had enough faith in their linebacking corps to allow Kwon Alexander to walk in free agency this offseason. Still, the Saints have brought in veteran linebacker Jonathan Bostic to contribute alongside Demario Davis, Pete Werner , and company, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Bostic has spent the last three years as a starter in Washington. His stay in DC was his first extended tenure with a team since the two years he spent in Chicago as a second-round pick. He never quite found his footing in Chicago earning several starts but also a few healthy scratches. The Bears traded him to the Patriots, in exchange for a sixth-round pick, who played him so reservedly that he only accumulated two total tackles in New England. The Patriots traded him for a seventh-round pick to Detroit. Bostic sat all year on injured reserve with the Lions.
Finally in control of his own contract, Bostic signed an incredibly cheap one-year, $690K deal with the Colts. He finally started to live up to his draft status, starting 14 games in Indianapolis and nearly reaching 100 total tackles. He followed that season up with a two-year deal to join the Steelers. He failed to reach the same heights he had in Indiana and was released after Pittsburgh drafted Devin Bush to take over at inside linebacker.
When linebacker Reuben Foster was placed on injured reserve in Washington, Bostic took advantage, signing a one-year deal to join the team. An impressive 2019 season led to a two-year extension for the resurgent linebacker. He continued his work as a full-time starter, putting together the best two seasons of his career. Over the 2019-20 seasons, Bostic started 31 games, topping 100 tackles in each season for a total of 223, collected 4.0 sacks, 9.0 tackles for loss, and 12 quarterback hits. He also showed his abilities in coverage recording two interceptions and five passes defensed.
The 31-year-old suffered a torn pectoral muscle in Week 4 of last season, likely leading to his availability this late into free agency, as he missed the remainder of the year in recovery. The Saints will hope that he can come in fully-recovered and ready to go.
For most of his career, Bostic has served as an inside/middle linebacker. With Davis securely in the starting role on the inside, Bostic will either serve in a backup, rotation capacity or shift to an strong side role to compete with Kaden Elliss for playing time. Regardless, Bostic provides excellent veteran depth for a Saints defense that needed some help at linebacker.
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