After failing to land a safety during the draft, the New Orleans Saints are expected to revisit their talks with free-agent safety Tyrann Mathieu and make an aggressive push to try to add him to their roster, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Mathieu, who was born and raised in New Orleans, visited the Saints in April. He also had a virtual visit with the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason but has so far gone unsigned.
The Saints visited with both Mathieu and former LSU receiver Jarvis Landry last month but didn’t sign either player — keeping the possibility alive that they could revisit talks if they didn’t fill those needs in the draft.
The Saints addressed the receiver position in a big way by trading up for Ohio State’s Chris Olave in Round 1 of the draft. But safety remains a need after they lost starters Marcus Williams (free agency) and Malcolm Jenkins (retirement).
The Saints did sign veteran safety Marcus Maye as one replacement in free agency. But when asked whether there were any “musts” remaining on their roster, general manager Mickey Loomis said Saturday, “Yeah. One of them, for sure. … You guys can guess that. You probably know it already.”
Mathieu, who turns 30 on May 13, is tied for fifth in the league with 13 interceptions over the past three seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, including three in 2021 — with one returned for a touchdown — as the nine-year veteran was selected to the Pro Bowl for the second consecutive season.
The Chiefs, however, moved on from Mathieu when they signed Justin Reid to a three-year, $31.5 million contract in free agency.
The two-time first-team All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowl selection has 26 interceptions — returning three for touchdowns — 76 passes defended, 610 tackles and 10 sacks in nine seasons for the Chiefs, Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals, who selected him in the third round of the 2013 draft.
ESPN’s Mike Triplett and Adam Teicher contributed to this report.
