3 former New Orleans Saints players we’d like revenge on this season
By Kristen Wong
Former Saints players we want revenge on – No. 3: Janoris Jenkins
In March, the Saints released veteran cornerback Janoris Jenkins to free up millions of dollars against the cap. New Orleans put their money and faith in safety Marcus Williams instead, and Jenkins took his talents no farther than Tennessee. The Saints’ decision to let Jenkins go, though, looks worse in hindsight and has many wondering if it was the right move.
Ever since Jenkins arrived in NOLA in 2019, he and Marshon Lattimore made a formidable cornerback duo that would have rivaled Keenan Lewis and Jabari Greer. Though Jenkins missed some games in 2020 due to injury, in 15 regular-season games with the Saints he recorded 14 pass deflections, 55 tackles, and four interceptions.
Jenkins has made nothing but fond memories as a central part of New Orleans’ defense, which was ranked as the league’s fourth-best in yards allowed and fifth in points allowed last season. He remains sorely missed.
To be clear, there was no bad blood between Jenkins and the Saints following his departure. Jenkins recently reflected on his New Orleans years on a talk show where he said the Saints were the best organization he’d played for.
That’s high praise coming from someone who’d been to the Pro Bowl with the New York Giants in 2016. In fact, Jenkins didn’t have a single bad thing to say about a team that let him go and even went so far as to say New Orleans knew how to take care of their players.
The love is there. The respect is there. But when the Saints face Jenkins and the Titans this season, the gloves could come off.
Don’t expect Jenkins to play nice just because he has a balmy history with New Orleans. The Saints should have an extra motive when they fly out to Tennessee as if to say, “We love you, Jenkins, but we’re absolutely and mercilessly going to crush your new team.”