The New Orleans Saints may be considering their options at linebacker, at least near the bottom of the depth chart. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reported Tuesday that the Saints scheduled a workout with free agent linebacker Curtis Akins, a rookie out of Memphis who spent the summer on the Cincinnati Bengals’ 90-man roster. Akins is listed at 6-foot-1, 229-pounds and timed the 40-yard dash in 4.57 seconds at his pro day. He led the Memphis Tigers defense in total tackles in both 2017 (88) and 2018 (100).
NFL teams typically work out free agents on Tuesdays, giving them an opportunity to update in-house scouting reports and consider all available options. So don’t be shocked if more reports come in with other free agent linebackers making the trip to New Orleans.
What caused the Saints to go down this route? They’re set at the top of the depth chart with Demario Davis, Kiko Alonso, and A.J. Klein, but may have an opening among their backups. Linebacker Stephone Anthony has become a core special teams ace for the Saints (and first-year special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi, who he played for last year with the Miami Dolphins) but he limped off the field on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneeers. Anthony was spotted walking into the blue medical tent, leaning on teammates, though he later exited it and was seen running on the sideline.
If Anthony is hurt, it makes sense for the Saints to bring in free agent linebackers who would also help out on special teams. Whether Akins or someone else could resolve that issue is up in the air, but New Orleans is running short of options. They’ve lost four linebackers to injured reserve this year including a starter (Alex Anzalone) and a rookie backup (Kaden Elliss). Hopefully Anthony is fine; if not, Akins may end up being the best option.
