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By Amos Morale III / WWL

The Saints signed kicker Blair Walsh and long snapper John Denney to their practice squad on Monday. New Orleans head coach Sean Payton explained the move as a contingency plan.

“Where are we going if all the running backs have COVID or have close contacts?” Payton used as an example. “Well, fortunately, Ty (Montgomery) is over with the receivers and that’s who we are going to use. So it’s really just that.

“We have a punter in the building as a plan B and now we have a long snapper and a kicker.” ...

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New Orleans brings in a former All-Pro kicker as insurance for Wil Lutz.

Bob Rose | SI

The New Orleans Saints announced Monday that they were signing veteran kicker Blair Walsh to their practice squad. The move was made to provide depth for the team at the position as insurance against COVID-19 or any other situation, according to team officials. New Orleans has worked out several kickers over the last two weeks, leading to some speculation about the their comfort over kicker Wil Lutz.

Lutz has been one of the NFL's most reliable place kickers over the last four seasons and earned a Pro Bowl berth in 2019. He has converted 23 of 28 field goal attempts and 57 of 58 extra points this season, but has been mired in a recent slump. ...

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By Curtis Crabtree | PFT

The New Orleans Saints are bringing guard Patrick Omameh back to the team after claiming him off waivers from the Las Vegas Raiders on Tuesday.

The Saints initially released Omameh in September prior to the start of the regular season. He would sign with the Raiders practice squad two weeks later before quickly being called up to the active roster. He’s spent the first three months of the season with the Raiders before they waived him on Monday.

The Saints will have a roster exemption for Omameh until he is able to clear COVID-19 intake protocols with the team.

Omameh appeared in 14 games for the Saints last season. Despite mainly being a guard, he did make a start at tackle in place of an injured Terron Armstead. He played in six games this season for the Raiders. ...

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By John Sigler | Saints Wire

Which free agents should the New Orleans Saints re-sign in 2021? There are a number of hurdles ahead of them before it’s time to make those decisions, like finishing out the 2020 season and navigating the lowered 2021 salary cap. It could result in some cap casualties, which muddies the situation for players whose contracts are expiring.

Still, here’s our take on who should stay or go at this point in the season:

DE Trey Hendrickson: Stay

Hendrickson must be the highest priority for the Saints to re-sign after the season. He’s among the NFL’s sack leaders (7.5) and is tied with Cameron Jordan for the team lead in quarterback pressures (31), consistently winning his one-on-one matchups out on the edge. He and third-year pro Marcus Davenport have become a terrific rotation on their side of the line.

The franchise tag could be in play, but the Saints likely want to avoid that because it would really limit their financial flexibility (especially in light of the depressed salary cap). Hendrickson should be seeking a multi-year extension, and he’s earned it. After reaching deals with players like David Onyemata and Andrus Peat, fans should have some optimism the team gets this done.

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