The New Orleans Saints now have a vacant spot at their starting free safety position, this came after the shocking news of Tyrann Mathieu retiring just days before training camp.
The Saints are signing forming Indianapolis Colts safety Julian Blackmon, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported. Blackmon gives the Saints an experienced veteran who can play both free safety and strong safety.
Blackmon is a fifth-year safety who spent his entire tenure with the Colts who drafted him in the third round of the 2020 NFL draft. He was productive during his time in Indianapolis, giving the Colts a consistent starter, with 62 starts in 66 total games. He recorded 300 tackles, 21 pass breakups, and 3 interceptions.
Don't rule out Jonas Sanker as the starting free safety
Sanker was viewed as a versatile safety who could play in the box and as a free safety coming out of college. He was believed to be the future at safety long term possibly after Mathieu to played out his final year of his contract in 2025. Things would not go as planned and now his opportunity could come a lot faster than expected.
The addition of Blackmon gives the Saints another experienced safety in the room alongside Justin Reid. It doesn't rule out Sanker taking on the starting role. What it does do is give him the time to sit and watch if the rookie needs it.
The Saints have another position battle to evaluate during training camp and throughout the preseason between the two safeties. Expect Sanker to push Blackmon and Jordan Howden for this role but alleviating the pressure of Sanker being forced into a starting role was the right call.
The Saints could possibly continue with their veteran approach for the 2025 season, by naming Blackman as the starter due to his years of experience. Although Blackmon has the edge in the experience department, it shouldn't automatically eliminate Sanker as being named the starting free safety as the Saints were very high on him coming out of the draft.