Konsolen Treiber » New Orleans Saints have released veteran wide receiver

METAIRIE Renell Wren Jersey , La. (AP) — Cameron Meredith, who has struggled to work his way back from a major knee injury in 2017.“The injury he had set him back, and then some of these younger guys now have just been doing a good enough job. And it’s hard with the numbers,” coach Sean Payton said when announcing the move on Monday. “It’s unfortunate because he’s someone that has worked hard. He’s worked his tail off. And yet it was going to be hard for him to catch this group of younger guys that are competing.”As recently as 2016, Meredith led the Chicago Bears in receiving, with 66 catches for 888 yards.He became a restricted free agent after his 2017 season was wiped out by torn ligaments in his left knee and signed a two-year, $9.5 million offer sheet from the Saints that Chicago declined to match.The Saints hoped the 6-foot-3, 207-pound Meredith would enjoy a resurgence and provide quarterback Drew Brees with a big, sure-handed target in much the same way franchise all-time leading receiver Marques Colston had done before his retirement after the 2015 season.But the 26-year-old Meredith played in only six games for New Orleans — catching nine passes for 114 yards and one touchdown — before spending the rest of 2018 on injured reserve because of a setback to his knee.Meredith participated in just three training camp practices this past week before the Saints decided to move on without him.“There was always that up and down. But he cleared (medical evaluations) and was back full-go,” Payton said. “It was still a matter of us really looking at the roster fit.”Payton said the Saints knew there was some risk in signing Meredith but won’t necessarily shy away from pursuing other players who are trying to come back from injuries and who’ve had a history of being productive before they were hurt.“It’s part of the deal,” Payton said. “You know, we don’t regret signing Drew.”Brees, the NFL’s all-time leader in yards passing (74,437), was coming off major throwing shoulder surgery and had been cut loose by the Chargers when the Saints first signed him as a free agent in 2006.The Saints have few veteran receivers on their roster http://www.bengalsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-michael-jordan-jersey , but a number of promising young ones.Top receiver Michael Thomas is entering his fourth season but has yet to practice since training camp opened as he holds out for an extension expected to be in the range of $18 million to $20 million per season. Ted Ginn Jr. is 34 and entering his 13th season. Tre’Quan Smith, a 2018 third-round pick, is the only returning member of the Saints’ receiving corps other than Thomas who had as many as 20 catches last season.None of the other returning receivers have more than two previous seasons of NFL experience, but the Saints added seven-year veteran Rishard Matthews in June. Meanwhile, rookies such as Emmanuel Butler and young, relatively inexperienced pros such as Simmie Cobbs Jr. have stood out with catches they’ve made in 11-on-11 drills. Payton has mentioned the 6-foot-4 Butler as a player who has impressed.After cutting Meredith, New Orleans added veteran offensive lineman Patrick Omameh.The 6-foot-4, 327-pound Omameh has played six seasons with four teams: Tampa Bay, Chicago, Jacksonville and the New York Giants. He has started 56 games and played primarily at guard. SEATTLE (AP) — Paxton Lynch insisted the opponent provided no extra incentive or motivation.After spending last year out of the NFL, Lynch had his own motivation.“I just wanted to show myself all the hard work I had put in had paid off,” Lynch said. “I had a long offseason basically. While everyone else was playing I was at home, I wasn’t playing, I was watching on TV. I was working hard. I was building myself up, believing in myself and trying to get back to where I was Greedy Williams Jersey , and trying to figure out how I could do that.”Article continues below ...Lynch threw for one score and ran for another against his former team as part of an impressive second-half performance, leading the Seattle Seahawks to a 22-14 win over the Denver Broncos on Thursday night.Competing with Geno Smith for the backup job behind Russell Wilson, Lynch made up for some shaky moments during the first two weeks of training camp by leading Seattle on a trio of second-half scoring drives using both his arm and legs to move Seattle’s offense.Lynch was 11 of 15 for 109 yards and added another 38 yard rushing. He hit 6-foot-5, undrafted free agent Jazz Ferguson on a 6-yard TD in the third quarter, and added a 9-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter by bulling through Denver defenders at the goal line.Lynch was a former first-round pick of the Broncos in 2016, only to be released before the start of last season and spent the year out of football.“He lit up the whole team. It was really good,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said.Joe Flacco made his Denver debut, although it was a brief appearance for the Broncos’ starting QB. Flacco played just one series and completed 3 of 4 passes for 19 yards, leading to a field goal before turning it over to backups Kevin Hogan and a lengthy look at rookie Drew Lock.“Obviously you want to put the ball in the end zone there, but we did some simple things very well and it was definitely good to get out there and get live-action,” Flacco said.Lock struggled in his first outing last week against Atlanta in the Hall of Fame game, but was better against Seattle. Lock was 17 of 28 for 180 yards. He threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Devontae Jackson late in the fourth quarter, but was intercepted after being hit with 2:01 left.“Obviously, it can be better, but I thought he’d made progress this week both in practice and in the game and I think it showed at times out there http://www.brownsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-sione-takitaki-jersey ,” Denver coach Vic Fangio said. “But you know, it’s still a process for him and I don’t know how long it’s going to take, but I think this past week and this game were great for him.”Lynch and Smith split duties in the opener with Wilson spending the evening as a spectator. Smith was asked to face a good chunk of Denver’s starting defense initially, including Von Miller, but even against reserves the night was a struggle for the veteran as Seattle’s reserve offensive line couldn’t consistently give Smith time in the pocket.Smith was 3 of 9 for 58 yards and a passer rating of 56.7, although he nearly had a 34-yard touchdown connection with DK Metcalf late in the first half only to see the pass tip off Metcalf’s outstretched fingers.Lynch took over at halftime and led Seattle on a pair of third-quarter scoring drives, the first leading to a 43-yard field goal from Jason Myers and the second capped with his strike to Ferguson.Ferguson finished with four catches for 54 yards.SMITH SURGERYCarroll said Smith will undergo surgery on Friday to have a cyst removed from his knee. The surgery is minor and Carroll said there is a chance Smith could be back in time for Seattle’s next preseason game on Aug. 18.INJURIESDenver lost rookie tight end Austin Fort to an apparent left knee injury after making a 29-yard catch in the fourth quarter. Fort immediately grabbed at his knee after planting his foot and had to be carted off the field. Fangio said Fort would get an MRI back in Denver.Seattle picked up a pair of notable injuries to offensive tackle/tight end George Fant and running back Bo Scarbrough. Fant left in the first half with what Carroll called a “legit” right ankle sprain after getting rolled up from behind while blocking downfield. Scarbrough, who was expected to get the bulk of carries in the second half, injured his hand in the third quarter. X-rays on Scarbrough’s hand were negative.NATIONAL ANTHEMSeahawks Duane Brown, Quinton Jefferson and Branden Jackson remained in the locker room during the national anthem, before joining their teammates on the sideline. It was a continuation of what the trio did during the anthem last season.UP NEXTBroncos: Denver will host San Francisco on Monday, Aug. 19.Seahawks: Seattle travels to Minnesota on Sunday, Aug. 18.