Making the case for Saints to sign Anthony Harris immediately
When it comes to the safety position of the New Orleans Saints, it’s definitely an area of concern. With all the offseason moves made by general manager Mickey Loomis, safety could be a weakness that opposing teams can capitalize on. Make no mistake about it, it’s still mind-boggling that Loomis traded away star safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson.
Only time will tell if the Saints will be okay in their defensive backfield with such a huge loss but it’s imperative they add another safety or two just in case for depth. This is where perhaps making a move to sign a decent safety for quality depth would make sense in case some shakeups need to happen or injuries occur.
As of right now and confirmed by EJ Smith of The Philadelphia Inquirer to still be available, one such safety is Anthony Harris. He’s been stashed on the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad but the Saints should try to swoop in and grab him before another team does. Harris has over seven years of experience in the NFL with a lot of it as a starting safety.
New Orleans Saints should sign Anthony Harris immediately
His versatility and ability to play either free or strong safety would be a very welcomed addition to the Saints’ defensive backfield. The football world still doesn’t know if Marcus Maye will be suspended in the future due to an off-the-field incident and if he is suspended, that’ll be another blow to the Saints’ defense. It’s better to act now than not have decent safety options available later.
So far in his career, Harris has totaled 356 tackles, 10 interceptions, 31 passes defended, and one forced fumble. Ironically, Harris became expendable once the Eagles traded for Gardner-Johnson and they placed him on their practice squad. At any rate, more opportunities for starting time would be available for Harris if he were to come to the Saints instead of just being delegated practice squad duties.
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Hopefully, the Saints exhaust any and all options as it’s imperative they add another safety or two at depth since anything can happen. It’ll take time for the Saints’ defense to get used to life without Gardner-Johnson but hopefully, their safety situation will be okay as the regular season is almost upon us. Adding Harris to the mix or at least another versatile player that can be plug-and-play at either safety position would be an ideal situation for the Saints.