New Saints defensive tackles excited to join 'one of the strengths of their entire team'
When one door closes, another opens — especially in NFL free agency. New Orleans Saints defensive tackles, Michael Shepherd, have been contacted by the New York Jets to join them. Saunders, who was last with the Kansas City Chiefs, had a career-high 33 tackles last season and set his single-season sack high of 2 1/2 in 2019. The Saints held its final six opponents to 18 or fewer points, and only one of those managed to total more than 313 yards. At the end of it all, New Orleans allowed an average of 314.8 yards per game to rank fifth and average of 20.3 points per game.
Published : 2 years ago by TERRIN WAACK | Staff writer in Sports
Said Saunders: “The Saints were contacting my agents. They were like, ‘Hey, we want him. We want to give him an opportunity.’ And once you hear that, I kind of was like, 'Well, I don't need to hear anything else.’ That’s the biggest thing for me, getting an opportunity.”
Shepherd (6-foot-4, 315 pounds) comes to New Orleans from the New York Jets. Saunders (6-0, 324) was last with the Kansas City Chiefs. Neither has been with any other team.
In five seasons with the Jets, Shepherd appeared in 73 games, starting 12. He had a career-high 33 tackles last season, and set his single-season sack high of 2 1/2 in 2019.
“I guess a lot of people know me for my run-stopping ability and stuff like that,” Shepherd said. “But I’m definitely able to get after the passer.”
Saunders, in four seasons with the Chiefs, appeared in 38 games, starting five. He had a career-high 3 1/2 sacks and 48 tackles last season.
The Jets never made it to the playoffs during Shepherd’s tenure, but the Chiefs won two Super Bowls (2019 and 2022) with Saunders on the roster. Saunders played in both postseason runs, recording eight tackles and a sack.
“It’s hard (leaving Kansas City),” Saunders said. “But like they say, you’ve got to do what’s best for you. You’ve got to make smart business decisions. … It’s definitely bittersweet, but the sweet part is this.”
The Saints closed out 2022 with a 7-10 record. The defense seemed to click more toward the end than the beginning of the schedule, though. New Orleans held its final six opponents to 18 or fewer points, and only one of those managed to total more than 313 yards. To keep the same count: The first six opponents all scored at least 20 points, and only one of those was held to less than 338 yards.
At the end of it all, New Orleans allowed an average of 314.8 yards per game to rank fifth and an average of 20.3 points per game to rank ninth. Those marks mean the Saints pulled off their third consecutive season with a top 10 defense both in yards and points allowed.