
Countdown to Kickoff: Jayden Price is the Saints Player of Day 38
The New Orleans Saints are down to a 38-day wait until their regular season opener against the Arizona Cardinals. Wearing No. 38 for the Saints in training camp is cornerback Jayden Price, one of the team's newcomers. If he makes the team and keeps his current number, Price will become the 17th player to wear No. 38 for the franchise. Our Saints Player of the Day, here's a closer look at Price's background.
At Mulvane High School in Kansas, Price was a quarterback who set school records for career rushing yardage and touchdowns. He'd accept an offer to North Dakota State from there, where he'd star for five years after a redshirt. Over his career with the Bison, Price had 3 interceptions with 17 passes broken up and 3 fumble recoveries. He was also an accomplished punt returner, averaging 14.4 yards per return and scoring 5 touchdowns. Undrafted in 2024, Price would sign with the Atlanta Falcons. He'd be released before the start of the regular season and had a short stint with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL before joining up with the Arlington Renegades of the United Football League.
Price was one of the standouts for the Renegades, who were one of the top teams in the UFL. He led the UFL with 13 passes broken up in 10 games. While he didn't record an interception, Price did have a half sack among his 27 total tackles. He was also among the UFL leaders in kickoff and punt return yardage. Jayden Price is now among the contenders to fill out the Saints depth chart at cornerback. He'll have a shot, as New Orleans attempts to fill the departures of Marshon Lattimore, Paulson Adebo, and Shemar Jean-Charles.

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Miami Herald
3 hours ago
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HBCU Product Gets Second NFL Shot with Hometown Squad
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Yahoo
10 hours ago
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Who has QB1 edge among Saints' Spencer Rattler, Tyler Shough and Jake Haener? 'I've been the best quarterback on the field,' says one of them
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[Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] Shough capped off his next two-minute drive hitting receiver Mason Tipton for a 15-yard touchdown over the middle after a double move. The Saints lauded Shough's resilience. 'I care more about how they respond to the interception than that an interception occurred, especially right now,' Moore told Yahoo Sports. 'Obviously, that will have to change as we go. [But] there's testing yourself and learning from lessons, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that.' With three quarterbacks in-house and none locked in as the 2025 starter, the Saints are testing and learning their way to a quarterback decision. Only one quarterback per day is receiving first-team reps as Moore desires to help them establish a rhythm. But the QB1 du jour has shifted throughout training camp as the Saints aim to eliminate variables in their player comparisons. New Orleans 2024 fifth-round draft pick Spencer Rattler took first-team reps Thursday, following up a two-minute series that ended in a pass batted at the line of scrimmage (Hail Mary chances aren't granted in the exercise) with his own touchdown to receiver Rashid Shaheed. [Get more Saints news: New Orleans team feed] Rattler, admittedly with the best surrounding cast, looked the strongest of New Orleans' trio on Thursday — and he's plenty confident he'll win the gig. But it's unlikely the Saints make a decision until at least after their Aug. 10 preseason game against the Los Angeles Chargers. Preseason games are data points the coaching staff values, a lens into how quarterbacks weather the physicality of live tackles and sacks, and a lens into how they navigate operations and use cadence at the line of scrimmage. There will be no QB1 in New Orleans yet. 'Whenever it happens, it happens,' Moore said. 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The Saints lost them all amid a rash of injuries and the in-season firing of head coach Dennis Allen, both pieces of context Moore and his staff consider when processing the relevance of the losses. Rattler completed 57% of 228 pass attempts for 1,317 yards, four touchdowns and five interceptions in his unexpected rookie debut. Haener completed 46.2% of his 39 attempts, throwing for 226 yards, one touchdown and one interception. 'Gettin' thrown in that fire way earlier than expected last year … woke me up,' Rattler told Yahoo Sports. 'I think I grew a lot. Really feel more decisive now. Just feel like I can use my legs more, that's an advantage to me. 'And then just play free — play my style of game.' Rattler expects Moore's style to accentuate his own style, the introduction of more no-huddle and up-tempo concepts than last year's Shanahan system befitting both his athletic strengths and his personality. 'It's definitely faster, play with some swagger, some tempo,' Rattler said. 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'When he allows us to hear his thought process … we get a better understanding of what he wants from a specific play.' Shough hopes that understanding will be a strength of his over time, believing his mental processing and strong arm boosted his draft stock after injuries extended his college career across a full seven years. He's practiced play calls with his wife, beginning with formations and protections and graduating to plays and play families. Shough said his biggest adjustment is Moore's use of shifts and motions. 'It's just a lot on our plate,' Shough said. 'We have to make sure splits are right and motion landmarks and that stuff can make or break the play. '[Moore] does a really good job of utilizing motions and shifts and different ways to present it to the defense.' Saints QBs confident in their respective chance: 'I've been the best quarterback on the field' The three quarterbacks do not present their perspective on the position battle all that differently. 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'I'm going to go out there and compete, have fun doing it, and it's not going to go perfectly,' he said. 'But I'm going to be the last one standing at the end of the day if I can do something about it.' Haener derived confidence from his fourth-and-15 red-zone touchdown to end practice Thursday, a play-call he says Moore allowed him to choose and implement. On a day like Thursday when he took third-team reps, he aimed to maximize those snaps and continue proving he brings something to the quarterback room. 'I know what I'm capable of doing,' Haener said. 'I know that I'm a good player. I know I can play in this league for a long time and at the end of the day, it's just waiting for that opportunity.' By mid-August, one of the Saints' quarterbacks will have a QB1 opportunity. Each of the three candidates leave questions to answer. But Moore and the Saints will look for answers among a group that insists it's friendly amid healthy competition. Rattler and Haener are entering Year 2 of competing against each other, the duo battling this week at the bowling lanes and in individual drills. Haener edged Rattler by one completion during a Wednesday individual drill, Haener completing 8 of 11 throws to Rattler's 7. Each sought to best the other, from total completions to emulating a 20-yard out and beyond. Moments like that convince the Saints quarterbacks that their room will be fine whoever wins the Week 1 job — and regardless of whether the Week 1 starter keeps his job through the duration of the regular season. 'I've been in competitions before and it's not always as good as this one is, where sometimes some guy is insecure with himself and he has a particular way about himself,' Haener said. 'I don't think that is this room at all. I think we're all comfortable with who we are. We're all confident in each other's games. We all respect one another's games. 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USA Today
10 hours ago
- USA Today
Saints re-sign Shane Lemieux, one of last year's lowest-graded offensive linemen
It looks like the New Orleans Saints just can't quit Shane Lemieux, who is returning to the team, per NFL Network's Mike Garafolo. He was one of several centers who tried to fill in for Erik McCoy last season, ultimately starting four games while appearing in two others. The 28-year old has started 16 of his 25 career games with the Saints and New York Giants after turning pro out of Oregon back in 2020. He played on a minimum salary contract last season and that figures to be the case again in 2025. The New Orleans offense struggled without McCoy snapping the ball and helping with protections, and the Saints went 1-5 in games with Lemieux filling in. He was also graded second-lowest among the team's offensive linemen at Pro Football Focus (with a 51.1 overall rating), grading worst as a run blocker (58.8) with a middling score in pass protection (42.1). Lemieux was part of a group tryout in late June but initially left without a deal, and he was one of a few players from last year's team still waiting for a call in free agency. Still, the centers behind McCoy at Saints training camp have had their own problems. Both Will Clapp and rookie free agent Torricelli Simpkins III have misfired on snaps with the second- and third-string offenses, and it's gotten to a point where the quarterbacks working with them have begun to suffer for it. If Lemieux can pull off a cleaner exchange it would do a lot to help the team evaluate Tyler Shough and Jake Haener while Spencer Rattler continues to see most of the practice reps with the starters. Because the Saints were already at their 90-man offseason roster limit, they'll have to let someone go to make room for him. We'll keep an eye out for developments on that front. Players are off on Friday so we may not find out until they take the field for practice on Saturday. Stay tuned.