Sean Payton is bringing more of his former players to Denver Broncos. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports the Broncos plan on signing New Orleans Saints free agent Malcolm Roach at the start of the new league year on Wednesday, ending his four-year run with the team.
A former undrafted free agent out of Texas, Roach developed into an active run stopper for the Saints while averaging about 28 snaps per game last year at the bottom of the defensive tackles rotation; he was sidelined with an injury for the final five games in 2023 but still finished the year with the fifth-most tackles at or behind the line of scrimmage (10). For comparison, Bryan Bresee and Nathan Shepherd each had 11 in 17 games.
Pelissero adds that Roach’s contract is valued at up to $8 million on a two-year deal, so he may qualify for a compensatory draft pick in 2025. We’ll have to wait and see how the rest of the Saints’ moves in free agency shake out.
