Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network first reported that the Saints have signed WR Jalen Saunders off of the Seahawks’ practice squad on Wednesday.
- Field Yates of ESPN adds that the Saints cut veteran RB Brian Leonard to make room for Saunders.
This comes just a day after New Orleans placed rookie WR Brandin Cooks on season-ending injured reserve, so they are clearly looking to bolster their receiving corps for the remainder of the season.
Saunders, 21, was taken in the fourth-round of the this year’s NFL draft by the New York Jets. However, he lasted until the end of September before he was cut loose.
Saunders appeared in three games for the Jets and has 26 punt-return yards and a fumble and was already paid a bonus of $481,000.
He began his college career at Fresno State before transferring to Oklahoma in 2012. Over the course of his four-year college career, Saunders caught 203 passes for 3,085 yards receiving and scored 28 total touchdowns. He also saw time as a kick-returner and managed to bring back three punts for touchdowns.
New Orleans signed Leonard to a contract last week. Before that, Leonard hadn’t found a lot of reported interest.
Last year, Leonard appeared in all 16 games and ran for 182 yards on 47 carries (3.9 YPC) and also contributed 29 receptions for 179 yards receiving. In fact, Pro Football Focus had him rated as the No. 20 running back in the NFL last season.
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