Saints sign RB West, pass on Charles for now
 

After working out a group of veteran free agent running backs, the New Orleans Saints agreed to sign Terrance West on Wednesday, West confirmed on his Instagram account.

Former Saints running back Tim Hightower and former Chiefs and Broncos back Jamaal Charles also worked out for New Orleans, which invited former Titan DeMarco Murray as well. According to an ESPN report, Murray declined to work out with a large group of backs and is "still waiting for the right opportunity."

Per NFL.com, Charles had "a very good workout and visit" and his potential signing in New Orleans could be revisited at some point.

West, 27, was active for just five games with the Baltimore Ravens last season as Alex Collins took over the starting job midseason. West finished with 39 carries for 138 yards and two touchdowns, a year after totaling 774 rushing yards and five scores for the Ravens.

A third-round pick of the Browns in 2014, West spent two games with the Titans in 2015 before being waived and picked up by the Ravens. He has 1,819 rushing yards (3.9 yards per carry) and 11 rushing touchdowns in his career.

West will help fill the void of Mark Ingram while the two-time Pro Bowler serves a four-game suspension for violating the league's performance-enhancing drugs policy. Ingram is coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons including career highs of 1,124 rushing yards and 12 scores in 2017 despite sharing the backfield with rookie sensation Alvin Kamara.

Charles, 31, has played in just 22 games over the last three seasons. After four Pro Bowls and two first-team All-Pro nods in nine seasons in Kansas City, Charles signed with the Broncos last year, finishing the campaign with 296 yards on 69 carries with one touchdown and a long of 19 yards.

Murray, 30, was released by the Titans in March after finishing with 659 rushing yards (3.6 yards per carry) and six scores last season. He made the Pro Bowl in 2016 with 1,287 yards and nine TDs, the third Pro Bowl nod of his seven-year career.

https://sports.yahoo.com/saints-sign...1754--spt.html

Re: Saints sign RB West, pass on Charles for now
 

Low mileage, and maybe a bit of upside if he clicks.

Re: Saints sign RB West, pass on Charles for now
 

Not quite yet...

https://twitter.com/miketriplett/sta...133407232?s=21

Re: Saints sign RB West, pass on Charles for now
 

Mike Triplett
ESPN Staff Writer
Although a deal could materialize between the Saints and RB Terrance West, nothing has been finalized yet, per sources. Shane Vereen was also a part of the Saints' veteran RB audition Wednesday that included West and Jamaal Charles.

Re: Saints sign RB West, pass on Charles for now
 

Looks final now. This could turn out to be a good fit. He's 5'10", 225 lbs. From what I've seen, has good vision and hard to bring down. Good in a rotation, and probably didn't cost much.

Re: Saints sign RB West, pass on Charles for now
 

Don't forget that if a veteran is on the game one roster he is guaranteed 16 weeks of salary that counts against the cap whether he remains on the roster or not. Any veteran signed after game one only receives a salary for games on the roster.

Re: Saints sign RB West, pass on Charles for now
 

So if he looks good throughout preseason, he'll likely be cut and resigned week 2. This is a cut throat industry, but sure pays well if you make it.

Re: Saints sign RB West, pass on Charles for now
 

Saints aren't like a team that would do that. If they don't cut anywone they don't want another team who has seen the player come snag him. There was a Reason Hill was on the roster as our 3rd QB because they didn't want to take a chance on a team grabbing him and I don' recall Sean every keeping a 3rd QB once the season begins.

Whats more likely to happen is we release West if its not working out and signed Charles once the week 1 is over.

Re: Saints sign RB West, pass on Charles for now
 

For me, I think coaches trust West to pass protect, pick up blitzes more than anything. This is an aspect of MI's game that many take for granted.

Gotta keep #9 upright.

Re: Saints sign RB West, pass on Charles for now
 

Actually it would be pretty safe to drop West prior to week one and re-sign him. First of all, any other team that tries to pick him up would be in the same boat ... owing him a full 16 game's salary. I've heard that in this sort of case the team and the player agree to the move. The player basically promises to wait until after week one and the team promises to sign him back after week one.