The New Orleans Saints’ search for cornerback depth behind franchise stalwart Marshon Lattimore has finally come to an end less than a week to go before their season opener against the Green Bay Packers.
According to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, New Orleans is expected to sign former Pro Bowl cornerback Desmond Trufant after he worked out with the team earlier on Monday.
Trufant, 30, was a surprise release by the Chicago Bears during final cuts late last month. That’s primarily because he was away from the team dealing with a death in the family and couldn’t show off his skill-set on the field.
Impact of the New Orleans Saints signing Desmond Trufant
No one will confuse today’s iteration of Trufant with what we saw earlier in his career with the Atlanta Falcons. A first-round pick back in 2013, Trufant earned Pro Bowl honors as a third-year player. That season saw him record 42 tackles, 11 passes defended and one interception while yielding a sub 70.0 passer rating.
Injuries and inconsistency have impacted Trufant big time recently. He appeared in a combined 15 games with the Falcons and Detroit Lions over the past two seasons, recording five interceptions in the process.
For the New Orleans Saints, this represents the culmination of an entire offseason that saw them on the veteran free-agent market for a corner. That included kicking the tires on Richard Sherman before some legal issues and showing interest in Josh Norman ahead of him signing with the San Francisco 49ers.
The Saints have one steady force at corner in the aforementioned Lattimore. There’s a whole heck of a lot of questions behind him on the depth chart. Right now, Ken Crawley would be the likely starter opposite Lattimore. Fellow free-agent signing Brian Poole is currently on injured reserve. Meanwhile, veteran Patrick Robinson shockingly opted to retire earlier in the offseason.
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