Saints Sign Darren Sharper
March 18, 2009 by David Kindervater
Filed under New Orleans Saints
National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast
The New Orleans Saints signed former Minnesota Vikings safety Darren Sharper today. Terms of the deal weren’t known at the time of this post. At 33-years-old, Darren has no doubt seen his best years, but he will probably give the Saints some much needed leadership in their defensive secondary. After all, he’s been to four Pro Bowls and has 54 career interceptions, which is more than any other active player. He seemed pretty excited to be leaving Minnesota to play for new Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams:
“He’s excellent. I talked to guys around the league, and they loved playing for him. He doesn’t get caught up in, ‘This is my system.’ He utilizes his players to the best of their ability, and that’s something that I’ve been looking for the last couple of years. It’s a chance to go the Super Bowl. We have the best offense in the league. We needed to add some things, and I think we did.”
The Saints were, as Darren said, first in total offense last season but 23rd in total defense. Hence the additions of coach Williams and free agents Paul Spicer (defensive end), Jabari Greer (cornerback) and Darren. How much this defense will be improved is yet to be seen, but they’ve certainly made some positive steps to catch up with their high-powered offense.
Sources: NFL.com, TwinCities.com, Photo: Newscom
