Former Wyoming defensive end Carl Granderson was projected to be picked in the later rounds of the 2019 NFL Draft, but he wasn’t selected. So the New Orleans Saints signed him after the draft, handing out the highest guaranteed base salary ($70,000) and signing bonus ($15,000) of any of their undrafted rookie deals.
Granderson likely went undrafted due to a looming sexual assault investigation. He’s been charged with one count of third-degree sexual assault and another count of sexual battery, per the Casper Star-Tribune. Granderson initially plead not guilty to those chargers and will go before a jury trail on July 15.
Saints head coach Sean Payton briefly spoke with the media following a rookie minicamp practice session. He expressed trust in his staff’s evaluations and steered the discussion back to Granderson’s performance in practice: “We felt real comfortable with everything we knew, and so far he’s done a good job here,” Payton said to Josh Katzenstein of the Times-Picayune.
The Saints have steered clear of players with off-field issues in recent history, and avoiding prospects with character issues was something that college scouting director Jeff Ireland discussed before the draft. They met with Granderson several times during the pre-draft process, so they must have some confidence in their information-gathering to not just sign him, but give him the most guaranteed money of all their undrafted rookies.
We likely won’t know more until the results of Granderson’s trial are reported, which could take months. For now, the Saints appear content to have a rookie who they think can help the team.
