Spicer will add insurance at DE

The New Orleans Saints will have brought their second former Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end to the roster within a year as Paul Spicer agreed to a one-year contract Tuesday.

Spicer, 33, started 10 games in Jacksonville last year and played under current Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams with the Jags in 2008.

“Paul has been a hard working, productive player throughout his career in Jacksonville. His addition will provide us some veteran depth in the defensive line,” Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis said in a statement.

The 10-year veteran defender had two of his better seasons in Jacksonville in 2006 and 2008 where he combined for 15 sacks. But last year was a bit of a down year only compiling 3 1/2 sacks with Williams.

Spicer’s addition could easily serve as an insurance policy in case Saints starters Will Smith and Charles Grant have to serve four-game suspensions at the beginning of the 2009 season for violating the league’s banned substance policy. A U.S. District Court will hear the case between the players and the league in June.

Spicer will also be re-united with former Jags end Bobby McCray as the two played together in Jacksonville from 2004 to 2007. Other ends on the Saints roster include Jeff Charleston, Rob Ninkovich and Josh Savage.

It’s the third free agent the Saints have added to their roster since the open period began along with cornerback Jabari Greer and fullback Heath Evans.

Free safety is still obviously on the radar. Saints coach Sean Payton acknowledged as much Monday while attending LSU pro day and told reporters the team hopes to have a final decision on whether or not it signs veteran free agent safety Darren Sharper within the next two weeks.

Details behind Brian Young's restructured contract

Several current New Orleans Saints veterans are candidates for having their contracts restructured, and it appears it has already happened to defensive tackle Brian Young.

Young's base salary for the 2009 season dropped to $745,000 from $1.5 million. The nine-year veteran defender was to make $2 million in 2010, but his base salary will be $855,000.

Young, 31, has been hampered by numerous injuries the last two seasons including a torn foot ligament and an arthritic knee that landed him on injured reserve in 2008. The 6-foot-2, 298 pounder only played 17 games in the last two seasons after only missing two games the previous four seasons.

Bullocks, Karney off to other teams

Former New Orleans Saints safety Josh Bullocks and fullback Mike Karney have both landed elsewhere.

Bullocks agreed to a one-year contract with the Bears, while Karney signed a three-year deal with the St. Louis Rams.

Bullocks, a second-round pick by the Saints in 2005, was an unrestricted free agent and was never expected to re-sign with the Saints.

The 6-foot-1, 207-pound defender started at free safety for the Saints during his first three seasons. His struggles in pass defense have been well documented, though, leading to Bullocks, 26, losing his starting job to Kevin Kaesviharn going into the 2008 season.

Karney, 27, was without a team for less than a week after being released by the Saints last Thursday. The move came following the Saints' signing of for Patriots fullback Heath Evans.

Sensabaugh agrees to a deal in Dallas

One of the New Orleans Saints’ free-agent safety options is off the market as Gerald Sensabaugh agreed to a one-year contract with the Dallas Cowboys on Tuesday.

Sensabaugh, 25, made his first free-agent trip to New Orleans on Feb. 28 because of his good relationship with current Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. The two were together in Jacksonville in 2008 and Sensabaugh had his best season of his four-year career.

A deal was never struck, though, and the Saints then entertained veteran safety Darren Sharper on March 2.

The Saints have signed two free agents from other teams since the market opened — cornerback Jabari Greer and fullback Heath Evans — and re-signed unrestricted free agents linebacker Jonathan Vilma, tackle Jon Stinchcomb and wide receiver Devery Henderson.

But free safety, specifically, has been the Saints’ primary target and the team has yet to address the position. Kevin Kaesviharn was the starter last season, yet struggled mightily in pass coverage. Josh Bullocks was the starter during the 2006 and 2007 seasons and is an unrestricted free agent.

First Greer, now Heath Evans agrees to a deal with Saints

Fullback Heath Evans has agreed to a two-year contract with the New Orleans Saints on Thursday afternoon.

Evans, 30, is the second free agent not from last year’s Saints roster to agree to a deal in about 24 hours as the team added cornerback Jabari Greer on Wednesday.

“Heath is a versatile and fundamentally sound fullback who can help our offense in a variety of roles, whether it be as a lead blocker, as a runner or receiving option out of the backfield as well as on special teams,” Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis said in a statement. “He has played in a few different offensive systems and has adapted quickly and been a contributor to all of them.”

The eight-year veteran running back spent the last four seasons in New England and served as a versatile fullback with the Patriots.

“Heath is a tireless worker and someone we were very impressed with after spending time with him,” Saints coach Sean Payton said in a statement. “He’s very excited about the various things we do from an offensive perspective and is a well-rounded and versatile player. In addition he has played quite a bit on various special teams units throughout his career and been a reliable and dependable player in many different situations.”

Mike Karney has been the Saints’ primary fullback the past five seasons.

Henderson agrees to four-year deal

While the Saints have yet to sign a free agent from another team this offseason, they brought back another of their own as wide receiver Devery Henderson agreed to a four-year contract Wednesday afternoon.

“In 2008, Devery had his best season and we are pleased to get this deal done,” Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis said in a statement. “He brings a big-play component to our offense that is important and he is a hard worker who continues to improve.”

Deuce files for bankruptcy

"Rough" was the way Deuce McAllister described the car business during his press conference in February after being released from the Saints.

McAllister wasn't kidding.

The all-time Saints leading rusher and touchdown scorer filed for bankruptcy for a Nissan car dealership in Jackson. According to the Associated Press, Nissan says McAllister owes at least $6.6 million and nearly $300,000 in interest.

McAllister said Tuesday he filed for bankruptcy to protect his inventory and is searching for an investor.