The New Orleans Saints completed an expected roster move, releasing veteran safety Kurt Coleman. The release was first reported by Mike Garafolo of NFL Network and confirmed by Nick Underhill of the Advocate.
Coleman had a $7 million salary cap hit in 2019, which is reduced to $3 million in dead money. He’ll still be due $1.5 million in 2020 per the terms of his contract, but this move frees up another $4.55 million in future assets for New Orleans.
This was a bust signing by the Saints despite it making some sense at the time. Coleman was clearly a liability on the field once the regular season started, and he ultimately played just 34.9 percent of snaps, appearing in only a handful of defensive plays in the postseason. Young starters Vonn Bell and Marcus Williams surpassed him on the depth chart.
The Saints will be in the market for depth at the safety position even if they bring back special teams centerpiece Chris Banjo, an unrestricted free agent. The door isn’t shut completely on Coleman’s return in 2019, but it would be surprising given his lack of contributions in 2018.
