New Orleans Saints

Sean Payton will be portrayed on the silver screen by actor Kevin James in a new Netflix movie titled Home Team, about the Saints' Bountygate scandal.

NBC Sports' Peter King shared the news Monday, noting that Payton has recently made corrections to the script and given the green light to the film.

In the wake of the announcement, the Atlanta Falcons poked fun at the casting, only to have the Saints respond in kind:

The Saints were accused of paying out bonuses to players who injured their opponents from 2009 to 2011. As a result, Payton was suspended for the 2012 season, and other personnel within the organization, including general manager Mickey Loomis and assistant head coach Joe Vitt, were suspended for part of that year.

While he was sidelined, Payton coached his sixth-grade son's youth football team.

The film will be produced by Happy Madison Productions—Adam Sandler's company. Filming will begin this year, per King.

As the New Orleans Saints seek a long-term replacement for Drew Brees, one quarterback in the 2021 NFL draft class has reportedly caught their eye. 

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported Saturday on SportsCenter that the Saints "like" Florida's Kyle Trask. 

The Saints currently have the 28th pick in the first round. It seems unlikely they would be able to move up far enough to select one of the top five quarterbacks in this class, especially if three of them are off the board after the first three picks are made. 

ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. has Trask ranked as the sixth-best quarterback this year, behind Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, Zach Wilson, Mac Jones and Trey Lance. 

In Todd McShay's most recent mock draft released Thursday on ESPN.com, the Chicago Bears selected Trask in the second round with the 52nd pick. 

McShay notes that Trask has "great touch and anticipation on his passes despite some shortcomings with arm strength."

That scouting report would seem to fit the system that head coach Sean Payton ran in recent years, when Brees' arm strength prevented him from pushing the ball deep down the field. 

New Orleans currently has Taysom Hill and Jameis Winston as its in-house options to replace Brees. 

Payton said last month on The Dan Patrick Show he's expecting Hill and Winston to compete for the starting job, but he added "there's a few things that may still be out there."

Hill started four games last season when Brees was injured. He threw for 928 yards, ran for 457 yards and accounted for 13 touchdowns in 16 appearances in 2020. 

Trask led the nation with 43 touchdown passes and finished second with 4,283 passing yards in his final season at Florida. 

In 2019, Jameis Winston became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for 30 touchdowns and 30 interceptions in the same season.

After a year learning under Drew Brees in New Orleans, Winston's ready to try out a new role: game manager.

"I never wanted to be deemed a game manager," Winston told NFL Network's Steve Wyche and Jim Trotter on the Huddle and Flow podcast Tuesday. "… But really, that game management is not a bad piece. That's something that I think just comes with being a professional quarterback. Being able to not just only do the things that you can do but being able to do the things that you should not do—like what not to do versus what can I do."

Winston is set to compete with Taysom Hill for the Saints' starting quarterback job in 2021 after Brees' retirement. His one-year contract will pay him a maximum of $12 million if he winds up winning the job.

The last four years of Brees' career saw him become perhaps the greatest "game manager" in NFL history. He posted an interception rate of no higher than 1.5 percent in his last four seasons, throwing just 23 interceptions on 1,793 pass attempts.

For contrast: Winston threw 30 interceptions on 626 pass attempts in 2019.

While Brees' decline in arm strength did create some limitations to the Saints offense, his ability to protect the ball and Sean Payton's ability to scheme around those limitations kept New Orleans among the NFL's most dynamic passing attacks. Hill, while an elite athlete at the quarterback position, would be among the NFL's most limited starting quarterback in terms of arm strength—likely giving Winston a leg up in the competition. 

The Saints and Winston hope they can find a best-of-both-worlds balance, where they can use his elite arm strength when needed and still avoid turnovers at an above-average rate. 

"All I'm trying to do is focus on eliminating that," Winston said on his propensity for turnovers. "And what I came up with is—in the course of being an NFL quarterback, there are a lot of plays where when you have talent, you say I can do this, I can do that—but really learning how to manage the game."

Alvin Kamara is not happy about the NFL's proposed 17-game schedule.

The New Orleans Saints running back took to Twitter on Sunday and expressed his frustration with the possibility of an expanded regular season.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the league is expected to approve an additional regular-season game next week, a change that had been in the works since the NFL and NFLPA reached a new 10-year collective bargaining agreement last year.

The new CBA gives ownership license to add a 17th game to the schedule, a move the league anticipates will add significant revenue to the bottom line. A new television deal signed earlier this month is expected to net the league more than $100 billion over 11 years.

The expanded regular season was by far the most polarizing topic among players, who voted to ratify the CBA by just 60 votes. Stars were overwhelmingly against signing the CBA, with Aaron Rodgers, Richard Sherman, Russell Wilson and several others voicing their concerns ahead of the player vote.

"Health and Wellness of our men is always the most important aspect. There is no price you can put on that and that is why I Voted No. I respect the Men that have been part of this discussion and stood up for their locker rooms," Sherman tweeted at the time. 

The CBA passed in large part because of the middle-class membership of the union—guys who do not have multimillion-dollar long-term deals who significantly outnumber the All-Pros. Provisions like increases in the minimum salary and a potential salary bump for all players due to additional revenue from the 17th game likely influenced the voting.

As soon as the CBA was ratified, it was only a matter of time before the regular season expanded. The NFL likely negotiated the new television deals with a 17th game baked into its proposal, and expansion was one of the few obvious paths toward increasing revenue.

Just don't expect many stars to be happy about it.

New Orleans Saints Pro Bowl cornerback Marshon Lattimore was arrested late Thursday night in Cleveland for allegedly possessing a stolen, loaded handgun. 

Citing court records, ESPN.com's Mike Triplett reported Lattimore was formally charged with receiving stolen property, which is classified as a fourth-degree felony. 

The 24-year-old is a Cleveland native who starred at Ohio State before getting selected by the Saints with the 11th overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft.

Since entering the league, Lattimore has been among the top corners in the game, garnering Pro Bowl nods in 2017, 2019 and 2020.

Lattimore has started all 57 regular-season games he has appeared in, recording 230 tackles, 10 interceptions, five forced fumbles and 55 passes defended during that time.

As a rookie, Lattimore set career highs with five picks and 18 pass breakups. This past season, he finished with 62 tackles, two interceptions and 11 passes defensed in 14 games.

Lattimore has played a big role in the Saints winning the NFC South and reaching the playoffs in each of his four NFL seasons.

He is once again expected to be a key piece of the secondary in 2021, leading the way for the likes of Marcus Williams, Malcolm Jenkins, Patrick Robinson and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson.

Taysom Hill may have gotten the starts last season when Drew Brees was out of the lineup, but it appears Jameis Winston "has the leg up" in their quarterback competition to replace Brees in 2021.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported Winston "really impressed" last season in practice and should open as the favorite to beat Hill, who got the nod in 2020 in part because head coach Sean Payton had promised him the chance if Brees got hurt.

Hill threw for 928 yards and four touchdowns against two interceptions while adding 457 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground in the most extensive playing time of his NFL career. While he completed a surprising 72.7 percent of his passes, his limitations as a passer were clear. The Saints rarely asked Hill to throw down the field, and the results were rarely pretty when he did take shots.

Hill's versatility as a runner makes him a tantalizing option in the backfield, but Winston is a superior passer in every aspect. Winston attempted only 11 passes in 2020, but he threw for 5,109 yards and 33 touchdowns against 30 interceptions a year prior in Tampa.

The turnovers are a significant issue that may have been remedied by Winston undergoing Lasik eye surgery, spending a year learning under Payton and Brees and simply being in a system that will require fewer risks.

"You just learn from his methods and you be the best version of yourself. That's what Drew Brees would tell me," Winston told reporters. "'You be Jameis Winston; you don't have to be Drew Brees.' And I would love to carry that torch from him. I would love to be able to provide the excitement and joy and resilience that he provided for this city."

Winston will ultimately win the job if he's able to curtail his turnovers. Hill's inconsistencies as a passer and his versatility make him a better option as more of a gadget player than someone who takes snaps for an entire regular season.    

Jameis Winston might have spent most of last season on the bench for the New Orleans Saints, but he believes there was massive value to playing alongside Drew Brees. 

The quarterback got emotional discussing his former teammate on Tuesday:

"Being able to have an entire season with Drew Brees was a dream of mine," Winston said.

Brees announced his retirement this month after 20 years in the NFL and will certainly be inducted into the Hall of Fame when eligible. Winston will now get a chance to replace him under center for the Saints after re-signing with the team on a one-year deal.

Winston will compete with Taysom Hill for the starting job entering 2021.

The 2015 No. 1 overall draft pick surprisingly took a backup job last season in New Orleans and then didn't even get the nod when Brees went down with a rib injury. Winston finished the year with just 11 pass attempts in four games.

He seemingly believes the year was still a positive and it's clear Brees was a big part of that.

The two quarterbacks notably shared a lengthy conversation on the sidelines during a playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which ended up being the final game of Brees' career.

Winston later said to Fox Sports that he told his teammate "how much I admired him" and that Brees was "still the best quarterback to ever play this game."

The 27-year-old now has the opportunity to carry on the quarterback's legacy in 2021 and beyond.

Free safety Marcus Williams has reportedly accepted the $10.6 million franchise tag the New Orleans Saints placed on him in March, meaning he will play out the 2021 season with the team he's been on since his NFL career began in 2017.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported the news Saturday and added that Williams and the Saints are working toward a long-term deal. The Saints and Williams have until July 15 to come to an agreement on a long-term extension, or else Williams will play out the 2021 season on the one-year pact.

The 24-year-old was given the tag on March 9, per Rapoport.

Pro Football Focus ranked the Utah product 15th on its list of eligible 2021 free agents and noted:

"Since entering the league in 2017, Williams has ranked near the top of the league in every significant category for safeties. He has a coverage grade that ranks in the 90th percentile to go with the highest rate of forced incompletions. Williams is also a solid run defender and with the skills to fit as a free safety in any scheme."

Williams has started all 60 of his games with New Orleans over four seasons. He's amassed 246 tackles, 13 interceptions and 30 passes defended.

New Orleans has made the playoffs in all four of its seasons, with Williams helping the team finish with a top-10 scoring defense in three of the last four years. Football Outsiders ranked the Saints eighth or better in DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average) each of the past four years.

Bringing him back into the mix for at least one more year is a huge boost for a Saints team looking to emerge as the NFC's Super Bowl representative after four straight seasons of falling short in the conference playoffs.