The New Orleans Saints are adding more depth to their wide receiver room by signing former Pittsburgh Steeler and Dallas Cowboy James Washinton to a one-year deal.
The news was announce first by Jeremy Fowler on Twitter early Monday afternoon.
The former second-round pick spent his first four years in Pittsburgh, where he caught a total of 114 passes for 1,629 yards and 11 touchdowns. In 2022 with the Cowboys, Washington was plagued with a foot injury that only allowed him to play two games where he was targeted one time.
In his time at Oklahoma State, he played four year and was a starter for three of them. From 2015-2017, Washington eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards with 2016 being a year where he had 1,380 yards and 10 touchdowns. His senior season was he best year by far when he made 74 catches for 1,549 yards and 13 touchdowns.
His speed was veiwed as an issue follwoing a 40-yard dash time of 4.54 but he’s had season long catches of 68, 75, 91, and 86 in college while having a 79-yard catch in 2019 with the Steelers.
The Black and Gold now have a receiving room for Michael Thomas, Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, Bryan Edwards, James Washington, Tre’Quan Smith, A.T. Perry, Keith Kirkwood, Kirk Merritt, Kawaan Baker, and Shaquan Davis.
In addition to this signing, the Saints also added defensive back Adrian Frye, running back Ellis Merriweather, and XFL defensive tackle Jack Heflin. Wide receiver Sy Barnett and defensive back Vincent Gray were waived as a result of the signings. The news was also reported by John J. Hendrix via Twitter.