The New Orleans Saints are opening up talks with Kansas City Chiefs S Tyrann Mathieu again following the conclusion of the 2022 NFL draft.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Saints will resume talks with Mathieu and “make an aggressive push” to sign him after failing to draft a safety. A native of New Orleans, Louisiana, Mathieu had already taken a bit of an informal visit with the Saints during a recent trip to Louisiana, but nothing was imminent after the visit.
Having spent his college years in Baton Rouge at Lousiana State University and growing up in New Orleans, this was the spot that always made the most sense for Mathieu. He even told WAFB-TV that it “would be great to represent my city and state” by playing for the Saints.
After failing to land a safety during the draft, the Saints now are expected to re-visit their talks with free-agent Pro-Bowl safety Tyrann Mathieu and make an aggressive push to try to add him to their roster, per sources. Mathieu was born and raised in New Orleans.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 1, 2022
Brett Veach left the door open for Mathieu’s return to Kansas City ahead of the 2022 NFL draft, but having taken safeties in Round 3 and Round 7, it seems rather unlikely that will be an option for the Chiefs. Mathieu’s manager also denied the accuracy of Veach’s statements, saying the team still hadn’t made any sort of offer to Mathieu.
It’s worth noting that a deal between the Saints and Mathieu would need to be struck by Monday at 4:00 p.m. ET in order for him to count toward the compensatory pick formula. New Orleans will be cognizant of the deadline and are unlikely to put pen to paper before then.
