New Orleans Saints Re-Sign CB Leigh Torrence; Still Undecided At Safety

Starting cornerback Tracy Porter will miss the next few weeks after suffering a partial tear to his MCL late in the Saints win over the Carolina Panthers last Sunday.

In that same game both backup safeties went down with injuries, one more serious than the other.

Pierson Prioleau was hit hard while covering a kick in the second quarter and did not return to the game. Although x-rays were negative for any serious damage Prioleau bruised his right lung and is questionable to play in this weeks upcoming game against the Arizona Cardinals.

Reserve safety Chris Reis was brought in to fill in for Prioleau until he was injured in the third quarter when making a special teams tackle on a punt return. Reis damaged his right shoulder which unfortunately will require surgery, he was placed on injured reserve today.

Now with a depleted secondary the Saints front office is beggining to make some moves to help off-set the lose of these key players.

Cornerback Leigh Torrence was re-signed today to help aid the depth at corner and although not likely to start in the place of Porter should see the field when the defense enters into their nickel and dime formations.

Torrence has been bounced on and off the active roster as the fifth corner a few time but most recently so the team could add running back DeShawn Wynn who was promoted off the practice squad after an ankle injury that sidelined starter Pierre Thomas.

Free agent safeties Macho Harris and Pat Watkins were brought in for workouts yesterday but no decision has been made on if the Saints will sign either player.

Harris, a 2009 fifth round draft choice of the Philadelphia Eagles, was released prior to the start of the 2010 season after securing the starting free safety position on and off for most of 2009. The emergence of several rookies on the Eagles roster made Harris expendable and lead to his eventual release.

Watkins was also a fifth round draft choice when he was selected  by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2006 draft. Primarily a contributor on special teams he started eleven games at safety and not unlike Harris was released after the emergence of several young “cheaper” players.

If the Saints decide not to sign either one then it’s a sure vote of confidence they believe that starting strong safety Roman Harper is ready to make his return after battling a hamstring injury and that Pierson Prioleau is healthy enough to back him up.

The possibility exists as well that the team may promote second year corner/safety Reggie Jones off the practice squad. Jones injured his Achilles tendon in the preseason last year missing the entire season on injured reserve but nearly made the Saints final roster this year after an impressive off-season making a number of sensational plays.

Check out Keith Null’s weekly article about the Saints on NFL.com by clicking here.

Get WhoDatDish.com three ways,subscribe to the RSS feed,become a friend of WDD on Twitter,or enjoy the new iPhone and Android app by searching for Who Dat Dish in your phone’s app store,it’s free!