It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Dennis Allen values defensive backs given his history as a position coach, but the New Orleans Saints are still doubling down on their head coach’s area of focus. NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill first reported that the team signed free agent cornerback Quenton Meeks ahead of Saturday’s training camp practice, where Meeks participated while wearing No. 43. A corresponding roster move for his arrival wasn’t immediately clear.
Meeks, 26, played for the USFL’s Tampa Bay Bandits earlier this year after spending last summer with the Tennessee Titans, though his last NFL snaps came in 2020, largely on special teams. He’s spent most of his pro career on the Los Angeles Chargers and Jacksonville Jaguars practice squads after turning pro out of Stanford.
New Orleans could use more depth at corner regardless of Allen’s preferences. Marshon Lattimore is resting a “slight muscle pull,” Underhill repots, with backups like Dylan Mabin also out of action. Injuries are also piling up at safety (Smoke Monday is out for the season), so it makes sense to bring in a player like Meeks to pad out practice reps. He was one of several defensive backs to try out on Friday, per the daily NFL transactions wire. The full list of tryouts:
- Quenton Meeks (signed)
- Brian Allen
- Jordan Brown
- T.J. Carrie
- Jameson Houston
- Jack Koerner