Unconfirmed reports say Linebacker Jonathan Vilma may have already been dealt to the New Orleans Saints "with the Jets getting a conditional draft pick, probably in 2009, based on Vilma's performance."  Announcement to come early in the morning.

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.

Black and Gold confirms a report written at 2am this morning that LB Jonathan Vilma is officially a New Orleans Saint.  This also confirms a report almost 2 weeks ago that the Saints were interested in LB Jonathan Vilma and CB Asante Samuel.  

 

Details of the deal are in this article.  Black and Gold also hears, as well as reported sparsely on the internet, that the New Orleans Saints are interested in further beefing up their defense- including meeting with Patriots DB Randall Gay.

Details of the trade for Jonathan Vilma have been sparse but ESPN's John Clayton reports "it is believed Vilma will go to the Saints for a fourth-round pick in 2009 that could be upgraded to a third-round based on how he plays in 2008. Vilma is in the final year of his contract and he goes to New Orleans without a new deal."  Clayton also reports that Vilma wasn't a very good fit in New York because they switched to a 3-4 from a 4-3 defensive set, and Vilma was drafted to be a middle linebacker that fits better in a 4-3 set.

 

 

Sources tell Black and Gold that the Saints are shopping for more improvements to the defense and a real surprise on offense.  We hear that Tennessee Titan DE Travis LaBoy, Jacksonville Jaguar DE Bobby McCray, New England Patriots DB Randall Gay, Dallas Cowboys CB Jacques Reeves and Dallas Cowboys WR Terry Glenn are scheduled to visit the New Orleans Saints tomorrow or within the next few days.

 

 

 

We reported here that the Saints were looking at CB Asante Samuel, but he may come at too high of a price for the Saints.  We confirm that he may be out of the picture and has already signed a contract with the Philadelphia Eagles.  This may open the door for the Saints to further beef up their defensive secondary by visiting with DB Randall Gay and CB Jacques Reeves.