The New Orleans Saints are hosting free agent cornerback DeShawn Shead on a tryout basis, as first reported by Adam Schefter of EPSN. Shead made his name with the Seattle Seahawks, often starting opposite Richard Sherman from 2015 to 2017. He spent the 2018 season with the Detroit Lions and started a dozen games before going down with a knee injury down the stretch. His 2016 season also ended with a torn ACL.
With their main corps of cornerbacks locked in (Marshon Lattimore and Eli Apple figure to start, with Patrick Robinson and P.J. Robinson competing for time in the nickel package), there doesn’t appear to be much room for Shead on the roster — at first glance. But outside of Ken Crawley and still-inexperienced Justin Hardee, the Saints don’t have any real veterans with experience playing on the outside in the NFL. Shead’s addition would add a valuable voice to the defensive backs room through training camp and maybe beyond.
Additionally, the Saints have a roster spot open after designating rookie pass rusher Carl Granderson to the Did Not Report list a week ago. Granderson is serving a six-month jail sentence in Wyoming. So the Saints are clearly looking to get their roster at full capacity going into training camp.
Still, this is just a tryout. And the Saints may be bringing in other players who have not yet been reported. But there’s plenty of rationale behind possibly adding Shead this late in the offseason. Stay tuned for updates.
