Saints sign former All-Pro to light a fire under pass rush after lackluster Week 10 performance

2023-11-14 10:30

The New Orleans Saints are reportedly signing former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul to help their pass rush.

The New Orleans Saints had the chance to enter their bye in Week 11 on a three-game winning streak. Instead, they lost 27-19 to the Minnesota Vikings, led by recently acquired quarterback Joshua Dobbs. The Saints dealt with injuries across the roster on Sunday, including quarterback Derek Carr and cornerback Marshon Lattimore. But one issue for the Saints was their inability to get to the quarterback.

One day after their loss, the Saints made a move to bolster their pass rush.

Former Baltimore Ravens, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul told CBS Sports senior NFL insider Josina Anderson that he plans to sign with the Saints.

Saints signing former Buccaneers pass rusher Jason Pierre-Paul

The Saints brought Pierre-Paul in for a workout on Monday. A matter of hours later, and the veteran defensive end indicates that he's signing with the NFC South team.

Pierre-Paul began his career with the Giants as a first-round pick back in 2010 and played a huge role in the team winning Super Bowl 46 in his second year with the team. Despite making it to the Pro Bowl twice during his tenure, the Giants traded him to the Buccaneers ahead of the 2018 season. Sure enough, he would win another Super Bowl title and earn another Pro Bowl nomination in the 2020 season, which was when the team brought in quarterback Tom Brady.

Last season, Pierre-Paul signed on with the Ravens. In 14 games, Pierre-Paul recorded 26 combined tackles (17 solo, nine assisted), five tackles for loss, five passes defended, three sacks, and three quarterback hits. Per Pro Football Focus, Pierre-Paul generated 22 pressures and 18 quarterback hurries in 330 pass-rush snaps (includes Wild Card Round game vs. Cincinnati Bengals).

On Sunday, the Saints generated 21 pressures and 17 quarterback hurries but were only able to get one sack and three quarterback hits from them. Not exactly ideal.

Pierre-Paul has a new team, and he will look to help the Saints make it to the playoffs out of what has been a wide-open NFC South division. Well, for everyone not named the Carolina Panthers.