The Saints have re-signed 34-year old linebacker Danny Clark.  Clark played in 14 games for the Saints last year and he had 59 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble and 1 pass defensed.  He has now played in 30 games in two years with the Saints and he has 88 tackles, 8 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble and 1 pass defensed.  This was a smart move for the Saints as Clark was a solid player for them last year.

UPDATE:  (8/11/2011) – The Saints have released Danny Clark as he got caught in a numbers game at linebacker.

The Saints have released 24-year old linebacker Stanley Arnoux and 39-year old long snapper Jason Kyle.  Arnoux played in 9 games for the Saints last year in his first year with the team and he had 5 tackles and 2 forced fumbles.  Jason Kyle played in 9 games for the Saints last year and he played in 25 of them in his two years with New Orleans.  Neither of these players will be much of a loss for the Saints.

The Saints have signed 28-year old RB Darren Sproles to a 4-year, $14 million dollar deal.  Sproles played in 16 games (3 starts) for the Chargers last year in which he carried the ball 50 times for 267 yards (5.3 ypc) and he also caught 59 passes for 520 yards (8.8 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Sproles also returned 24 punts for 166 yards (6.9 avg) and 51 kickoffs for 1,257 yards (24.6 avg) last year.  Sproles has played in 78 games (5 starts) in his first 5 years in the NFL in which he has carried the ball 249 times for 1,154 yards (4.6 ypc) with 6 TD runs and he has also caught 146 passes for 1,400 yards (9.6 avg) with 11 TD grabs.  Sproles also has returned 114 punts for 935 yards (8.2 avg) with 2 TD returns and he also returned 258 kickoffs for 6,469 yards (25.1 avg) with 2 TD returns.  This was a great signing for the Saints as Sproles is an even more dynamic player than Reggie Bush.

The Saints have re-signed 31-year old linebacker Scott Shanle.  Shanle played in 14 games for the Saints last year and he had 76 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery and he defensed 2 passes.  Shanle has played in 74 games in his first five years with the Saints and he has 398 tackles, 13 tackles for a loss, 6 sacks, 5 forced fumbles, 4 fumble recoveries, 12 passes defensed and 2 interceptions.  This was a good move for the Saints as Shanle is still a solid player.

The Saints have released 29-year old CB Randall Gay.  Gay played in 4 games for the Saints last year and he had 5 tackles.  Gay played in 31 games in his 3 years with the Saints and he had 94 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks, 1 interception and he defensed 20 passes.  I don’t think this is much of a loss for the Saints as Gay is starting to lose it as a player.

The Saints have signed 26-year old OT Jermon Bushrod to a 2-year deal.  Bushrod played in 16 games (all starts) for the Saints last year.  He has now played in 34 games (30 starts) in his first four years for the Saints.  This signing will make Saints’ QB Drew Brees sleep better at nights knowing that Bushrod will be blocking on his blind side.  This was an outstanding move for the Saints.

The Saints have dealt 25-year old RB Reggie Bush to the Miami Dolphins for 22-year old safety Jonathon Amaya and a undisclosed late round draft pick.  Bush played in 8 games (6 starts) for the Saints last year and he carried the ball 36 times for 150 yards (4.2 ypc).  He also caught 34 passes for 208 yards (6.1 avg) with 1 TD grab last year.  Bush played in 60 games (41 starts) in his five years with the Saints and he carried the ball 524 times for 2,090 yards (4.0 ypc) with 17 TD runs.  He also caught 294 passes for 2,412 yards (7.3 avg) with 12 TD grabs for the Saints.  Bush also returned 92 punts for 720 yards (7.8 avg) with 4 TD returns and he also returned 1 kickoff for 32 yards.  Bush is #10 in franchise history in both rushing yards (2,090) and rushing TDs (10).  He is also #5 in receptions (294), #17 in receiving yards (2,142) and he’s tied for 21st in TD receptions (12).  Jonathon Amaya played in 10 games as a rookie for the Dolphins last year and he had 15 tackles.  At least the Saints got something for Bush because they were considering just cutting him loose for nothing.

The Saints have signed 27-year old OLB Will Herring to a 3-year deal.  Herring played in 15 games for the Seahawks last year and he had 36 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 1 interception and he defensed 2 passes.  Herring has played in 54 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has 109 tackles, 7 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, forced 2 fumbles, recovered 1 fumble, has 1 interception and he has defensed 3 passes.  Herring is a solid backup linebacker who helps out on special teams.  This was a good signing for the Saints.

Saints’ head coach Mike Ditka loved what he saw of RB Ricky Williams when he was with the Texas Longhorns.  He liked him so much that he convinced the front office to trade ALL of their draft picks in 1999 plus and 1st and 3rd rounder in 2000 for just Williams.  That put too much pressure on Ricky Williams and it showed in his play.  Williams played in 38 games (all starts) in three years with the Saints and he carried the ball 814 times for 3,129 yards (3.8 ypc) with 16 TD runs.  Williams best season with the Saints was his last one in 2001.  He played in 16 games (all starts) for the Saints in 2001 and he carried the ball 313 times for 1,245 yards (4.0 ypc) with 6 TD runs and he also caught 60 passes for 511 yards (8.5 avg) with 1 TD catch.  Williams finished his short career with the Saints as the #6 rusher (3,129 yards) and he’s tied for 11th in rushing TDs (16) with Wayne Wilson.  The trade for Williams set the Saints’ franchise back years as they gave up way too much to get him.