Saints To Bring Back LB Kaden Elliss

Elliss is headed back to New Orleans on a three-year deal worth $33MM, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports. The veteran linebacker will receive $23MM guaranteed, joining a Saints team that just lost cornerstone defender Demario Davis (to the Jets).

The 2019 seventh-round pick out of Idaho spent the first four seasons of his career in New Orleans. He mostly served as a special teamer through his first three campaigns, but he took on a larger defensive role in 2022. That season, he compiled 78 tackles and seven sacks, a number that still represents a career-high.

That performance ended up earning him a three-year, $21.5MM deal from the Falcons in 2023, and Elliss ended up playing out that deal in Atlanta. He turned into a true three-down linebacker during his stint with the Falcons, averaging more than 125 tackles and four sacks per season. This past year, he collected 107 stops and 3.5 sacks, with Pro Football Focus grading him 31st among 88 qualifying linebackers.

Now, he’ll return to a familiar spot in New Orleans, but it doesn’t sound like the Saints were his only suitor. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Elliss was a popular target for many of his former coaches in spots like San Francisco and Cleveland. With the Saints, Elliss could slide into Davis’s spot atop the Saints LB depth chart, although the team is currently retaining the rest of their 2025 depth. This includes the likes of Pete Werner, Danny Stutsman, and Isaiah Stalbird.

Ben Levine contributed to this post.