The New Orleans Saints are signing free agent wide receiver James Washington to a one-year deal, adding more depth to their receiving corps, as first reported by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and confirmed by NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill.
A former second-round draft pick out of Oklahoma State, Washington was a productive part of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ pass-catching party from 2019 to 2021 before he signed a one-year prove-it deal with the Dallas Cowboys, only to miss most of the year with a training camp foot injury. He only appeared in two games with Dallas before he was waived, closing out the 2022 season on the New York Giants practice squad.
So how does he fit the Saints? We’ve already discussed the role he’ll likely be pushing for on offense, but the Saints are effectively asking five players to compete for two or three roster spots in Washington, Bryan Edwards, Tre’Quan Smith, A.T. Perry, and Malik Flowers, assuming the top three spots are locked in with Chris Olave, Michael Thomas, and Rashid Shaheed.
It’s going to be an intense training camp competition. We’ll see who stands out from the pack as practices ramp up going into the summer.
