Saints Gab

Just two days after losing Asante Samuel the New England Patriots have lost another cornerback from their roster. The New Orleans Saints have signed Randall Gay to a reported 4-year $17.6 million dollar contract.

Gay,25, a Louisiana native and a LSU graduate had spent  his first four years in the league with the Patriots where he recorded 86 tackles and 5 interceptions in 39 games. This is one of many moves to bolster a defense that was 7-9 in 2007.

Apparently the Saints had been targeting Gay in free agency, “Randall is a player we targeted early on in this free agent market and we’re extremely pleased to be able to bring him on board,” Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said. “He’s a very talented player that has demonstrated throughout his football career that he is a winner and we’re confident he will prove to be an asset to our defense.”

Gay,  appeared in all 16 games  including three starts  with the AFC Champion Patriots last season, wrapping up the campaign with career highs of 38 tackles and three interceptions.

The deal is also reported to have incentives based on playing time.

While Jets linebacker Jonathan Vilma cannot pay a visit to the Patriots according to sources, there was no stopping him from visiting the New Orleans Saints on Monday as he continues to take a look at possible new teams to play for.  The Jets are allowing Vilma to talk to teams about working out a deal to move on from the Jets to somewhere else.  The former first round draft choice was told by the Jets that he was allowed to talk to all teams but the Patriots.

The Saints are in the market for defensive help, as they talked to LB Zach Thomas, are reportedly the front runners for the race that will start on Friday to land CB Asante Samuel, and also have talked about former Panthers LB Dan Morgan, who was recently let go by the team.  Vilma would be a welcome addition as long as he can stay healthy.  In his four seasons with the Jets, he was solid when it came to making sure tackles, as he put up 115 in 2006, 173 in 2005, and 108 in 2004.

BlackAndGold.com reported the visit of Vilma to the Saints, but it wasn’t known if he was there for a physical, workout or to discuss a contract.  The Jets are going to want a draft pick for Vilma, but until the LB takes back an offer to them, it’s not known exactly what they are going to want for him.

As the clock ticks towards free agency, Fox Sports’ John Czarnecki says that the Saints are the front runners for one of the top free agents when the signing peroid starts Friday. That free agent that the Saints have the inside track on is corner back Asante Samuel of the Pats. Samuel wants a fortune – somewhere between $10 and $11 million per year, but it’s a number according to Czarnecki that the Saints are willing to pay. The Saints clearly need help in the secondary, and Samuel is the best out there – so if the shoe fits as they say – wear it.