Tom Rock of newsday.com reported at 11:35pm CST on Thursday evening that "a deal sending Jets linebacker Jonathan Vilma to the Saints will be completed and announced as early as this morning (Friday), according to NFL sources."  The deal would send Vilma to the Saints for a conditional draft pick in 2009 based on his performance with the Saints.

 

 

{sidebar id=9}Black and Gold sources have reason to believe the Vilma signing may be true which would confirm another story Black and Gold broke earlier this week that the Saints were interested in meeting with LB Jonathan Vilma and CB Asante Samuel.  There is still a lot of speculation about the Asante Samuel deal, especially since he will probably go to the highest bidder.  Some have claimed it's a done deal, while others like myself are waiting for final results.

 

Also confirming our report was a comment at NOLA.com's Saints Beat Blog which quoted Vilma's agent Tony Fleming saying "Vilma was in New Orleans on Monday to take a physical." It appears "The Jets and Saints were trying to work out compensation details Thursday night."

 

Regardless, free-agency has taken on a new face even more exciting than draft day in recent years because teams are addressing needs by shifting and trading leading to the possibility of immediate impact on the field.   Mickey Loomis and the Saints front office appear to be very aggressive in strengthening the defensive side of the ball this off-season, something the New Orleans Saints organization hasn't addressed in way too many years.