The New Orleans Saints were one of the first teams to meet with free agent pass rusher Ziggy Ansah, who ended his last season with the Detroit Lions with a December shoulder injury. Ansah tried to play through the pain but ended up getting shelved late in the season before going under the knife. That means he hasn’t had enough time to recover for NFL teams to evaluate him in free agency.
Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, interested teams have decided to wait until Ansah undergoes his four-month checkup appointment in mid-April before continuing discussions on a free agent contract. Larry Holder of the Athletic reported that the Saints are among teams waiting on an update from Ansah’s checkup.
This explains the Saints’ interest in trading for Miami Dolphins pass rusher Robert Quinn. Clearly, they want to replace Alex Okafor in the defensive end rotation sooner rather than later, and they must not feel they can afford to wait on Ansah. It also may say something about Ansah’s potential contract value.
If teams are concerned about lingering problems from this shoulder injury, he won’t command top-dollar on the free agent market. That means he could be an option even if they do trade for Quinn, giving them a four-deep rotation at defensive end of Cameron Jordan, Marcus Davenport, Quinn, and Ansah. If the Dolphins eat part of Quinn’s salary and Ansah can be acquired on a deal comparable to what the Saints agreed to with Okafor (about $3.5 million per year), they would truly be loaded up at one of the game’s most important positions.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Ansah’s checkup is still weeks away, and the team is just beginning its meeting with Quinn. Things are basically in a holding pattern.
