Saints Host Free Agent TE Jermaine Gresham For A Visit

Update:

Saints HC Sean Payton said that they’ve been keeping an eye on free agent TE Jermaine Gresham for a “couple of months” and believe he could be a fit for them.

“He’s a player we were obviously well aware of coming out of Oklahoma five years ago,” Payton said, via the New Orleans Advocate. “He’s recovering from an offseason surgery, and I thought the visit went pretty good. It would be about the fit. I think there’s a fit for us if it works out, and he’s a guy that we’ve studied quite a bit now in the last couple of months.”

The Saints traded away Jimmy Graham at the start of free agency and have since maintained that they like their depth at tight end. Many expect Josh Hill to see a much larger role in 2015, even though veteran TE Ben Watson will likely see playing time as well.

Gresham is clearly one of the best available free agents. However, he diagnosed with a herniated disc a few months ago and wound up undergoing surgery, which took him out of the running for a number of jobs around the league.

The Browns, Raiders and Bills were all linked to Gresham before the injury was discovered.

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Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports reports that the Saints hosted free agent TE Jermaine Gresham for a visit on Wednesday.

• According to Garafolo, no deal has been agreed to at this point in time.

It will be interesting to see if anything comes of Gresham meeting with New Orleans over the next few weeks.

Gresham, 26, is a former first-round pick of the Bengals back in 2010, but he never managed to live up to his draft status during his time with the team.

In 2014, Gresham caught 62 passes for 460 yards receiving and five touchdowns over the course of 15 games. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 37 tight end out of 67 qualifying players.

We have Gresham atop our Top 25 Available Free Agents list.