The New Orleans Saints re-signed former Utah linebacker Chase Hansen on Tuesday, as first reported by Kurt Kragthorpe of the Salt Lake Tribune and confirmed by Josh Katzenstein of the Times-Picayune. Hansen was waived just before the Saints conducted rookie minicamps this past weekend, just weeks after being one of their first announced undrafted free agent signings.
Per an earlier report from Kragthorpe, this was a procedural move for Hansen and the Saints. It may be linked to his recovery from surgery back in January to repair a herniated disc; Hansen missed testing at Utah’s pro day because of it, and the Saints wouldn’t have wanted to rush him into action during minicamp if he hadn’t yet been cleared to participate.
Now that he’s back in the fold, Hansen will be allowed to work out at team facilites and continue to recover in the weeks and months leading to training camp. The Saints have the top of their depth chart set at linebacker, but there’s plenty of opportunity behind Demario Davis, Alex Anzalone, and A.J. Klein. If Hansen can be anywhere near as productive in the pros as he was in college (he had 22 tackles for loss his senior year) and chip in on special teams, he might make the squad after roster cuts in September.
