The Saints are going to be without their #1 WR Marques Colston for at least the new four weeks due to a broken collarbone.  Colston caught 6 passes for 81 yards (13.5 avg) in the season opener against the Packers last Thursday Night.  He is Drew Brees’ go-to man, so the Saints are going to need someone to really step up while he is out of action.  With Lance Moore also banged up, it will be up to Robert Meachem, Devery Henderson and TE Jimmy Graham to step up.

The Saints have signed 31-year old TE John Gilmore.  Gilmore played in 16 games (11 starts) for the Buccaneers last year and he caught 13 passes for 160 yards (12.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He has now played in 131 games (33 starts) in his first 9 years in the NFL and he has caught 52 passes for 524 yards (10.1 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  Gilmore will be the Saints’ blocking TE in 2011.

The NFL has suspended 30-year old DE Will Smith for the first two games of the 2011 season due to him testing positive for a banned substance.  He will miss the season opener at Green Bay and the home opener against the Bears.  Someone will need to step up while he is out of action.  Smith played in 15 games for the Saints last year and he had 39 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 4 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble, 5 passes defensed and 1 interception.  He has now played in 109 games in his first 7 years with the Saints and he has 366 tackles, 24 tackles for a loss, 55 sacks, 18 forced fumbles, 6 fumble recoveries, 21 passes defensed and 2 interceptions.  The Saints are going to miss Smith while he is out of action.

The Saints will be without 25-year old kicker Garrett Hartley for the next 6-8 weeks due to a hip flexor injury.  Hartley has played in 27 games in his first three years with the Saints.  He has connected on 42 of 49 field goals (85.7%) and 78 of 79 extra points as he has scored 204 points so far in his NFL career.  This is the reason that they recently signed kicker John Kasay.

The Saints have placed 27-year old RB Chris Taylor on the Injured Reserve list ending his 2011 season.  He has not played in the NFL since the 2008 season with the Texans.  Taylor has played in 7 games (0 starts) in parts of two years and he has carried the ball 42 times for 160 yards (3.8 avg) with 1 TD run.  He has also caught 3 passes for 40 yards (13.3 avg) so far in his NFL career.  This is not a big loss for the Saints as they are loaded at RB.

The Saints have released 32-year old DE Alex Brown.  Brown played in all 16 games for the Saints last year and he had 39 tackles, 2 sacks, 4 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery and 3 passes defensed.  The Saints might try to bring back Brown for 2011, but he reportedly has generated a lot of interest in his services already.

The Saints have signed 41-year old kicker John Kasay.  Kasay played in all 16 games for the Panthers last year and he connected on 25 of 29 field goals (86.2%).  He also made all 17 of his extra points last year as he scored 92 points last year.  Kasay has played in 285 games in his first 19 years in the NFL and he has made 433 of 529 field goals (81.9%).  He has also nailed 524 of 535 extra points as he now has 1,723 points in his career.  Kasay might get a shot with the Saints if Garrett Hartley misses some time due to his current injury.  It never hurts to bring in a guy like Kasay as an insurance policy.

The Saints have signed 27-year old CB Quincy Butler.  Butler played in 6 games for the Rams last year and he had 12 tackles and 4 passes defensed.  He has now played in 20 games in his first 2 years in the NFL and he has 40 tackles and 9 passes defensed.  This was a good signing for the Saints as they keep adding nice depth to the defense.

The New Orleans Saints release 31-year old OT John Stinchcomb.  Stinchcomb played in 16 games (all starts) for the Saints last year.  He played in 90 games (80 starts) in his 8 years with the Saints.  The Saints have added a lot of quality depth in the off-season to the offensive line which led to Stinchcomb’s release.

The New Orleans Saints sign 31-year old OT Jordan Black.  Black played in 15 games (9 starts) for the Jaguars last year.  He has now played in 80 games (40 starts) in his first 8 years in the NFL.  Black will give the Saints’ quality veteran depth at tackle, so I really like this move for the Saints.