Free agent pass rusher Ezekiel Ansah, who visited with the New Orleans Saints back in March, received good news. Ansah underwent shoulder surgery in December after a season-ending injury, and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported that everything is moving as expected for the talented pass rusher after his checkup with Dr. Neal ElAttrache, a Los Angeles-based specialist.
Rapoport reported that medical testing showed Ansah’s shoulder is structurally sound and mostly recovered from surgery; the challenge now will be regaining strength in the joint and restoring any lost muscle mass. That puts him on schedule to resume football activities in mid-August, right on time for training camp.
Ansah was a productive player for Detroit when healthy. He only appeared in 80 of 96 possible regular-season games from 2013 to 2018, but was a serious force in 2015 (14.5 sacks and 34 hits, 15 tackles for loss and four forced fumbles) and 2017 (12 sacks and 17 hits, 15 tackles for loss and one forced fumble). If the Saints can sign him, he’d be a great fit as the third pass rusher behind Cameron Jordan and Marcus Davenport.
The challenge will be signing him. Ansah visited with the Saints after first meeting with the Buffalo Bills, and was back in the news this week with a visit to the Baltimore Ravens. His contract demands are unknown, but both of those other teams offer him an easier path to a starting job than he’ll find in New Orleans.
