Redzone site: Saints sign A-Train

[Cowboy from New York]

Saints sign Anthony Thomas
On Sirius NFL radio’s Opening Drive show, New Orleans Saints coach Jim Haslett announced the Saints have signed running back Anthony Thomas. Haslett said the Saints had interest in Thomas prior to signing Antowain Smith in the offseason to backup Deuce McAllister.
Thomas was release by the Cowboys recently. He was signed in the offseason to provide depth behind starter Julius Jones. Thomas had two 1,000 yard seasons in f our years with the Chicago Bears.

[TheHustler]

Wonder if he will start.

[Hiero]

I dunno i think he will split time with antowain. should be able to steal the job.

[Vertigo_17]

Does this make any difference to us regarding his salary this year?

[Hostile]

I figured it would be Green Bay. He fills a definite need for them. I'd start him over Antowain Smith or Aaron Stecker once he learns some of the calls.

[Portland Fanatic]

Good luck to him....

[WoodysGirl]

Good luck to him....Ditto that.

Especially since he's going to such a nomadic team as the Saints. They need him, but I wouldn't wish their year on even the Redskins. That's got to be a horrible existence.

[BARRYRAY]

Well the NFL by definition is nomadic, hey the time in SA is not so bad, their team hotel is the Marriott Riverwalk which by conicedence is one of my favorite hotels, when I was there a couple weeks ago lots of New Orleans refugees hanging out on the Riverwalk, that place by the way is fabulous this time of year, they may be the San Antonio Saints by this time next year...

[WV Cowboy]

I wish him well too, he handled himself very well in Dallas in what was a pretty difficult situation for him I'm sure.

[WoodysGirl]

Well the NFL by definition is nomadic, hey the time in SA is not so bad, their team hotel is the Marriott Riverwalk which by conicedence is one of my favorite hotels, when I was there a couple weeks ago lots of New Orleans refugees hanging out on the Riverwalk, that place by the way is fabulous this time of year, they may be the San Antonio Saints by this time next year...I understand what you're saying. But what I meant by nomadic is that there is no stability in that organization. From top to bottom. Players want a place they can call home. They want regular practice facilities. They don't want to get booted to high school practice fields, because there's a ladies quilt convention (or something to that effect) going on. Sharing conference rooms that double as coaching offices. The list goes on and on.

I've read alot of stories about what the Saints have to deal with just to get ready for a game. And it seems pretty stressful. Even at 2-7, I'm surprised they've played as well as they have.

Disclaimer: This is not to discount any other person's situation who's had to deal with the hurricanes or that the Saints could be dealing with much worse as many other people are doing.

[AbeBeta]

Does this make any difference to us regarding his salary this year?

doubt it -- as I understand it, he can opt as a veteran - once in his career - to keep his full year's salary after being cut.

since we gave him a bigger deal than he'll get in the future this would be his shot to double dip on his salary.

[hipfake08]

Good luck to him....

Double ditto that.

[Zman5]

Double Double ditto that.

[trickblue]

I dunno i think he will split time with antowain. should be able to steal the job.

Oh I don't know... Smith is playing REALLY well right now... averaging just under 5 yards a carry...

[dbair1967]

signed today according to Len Fatsobelly

David

[Hiero]

wished we could haev at least got a 7th for him but oh well. they need the a-train a lot more than we do.

[jbsg02]

That's good for him. Wish him the best

[danzig]

better with the saints than with the Eagles, in my opinion anyway

[Rustinpeace21]

Packers are dumb for not getting him, They started ReShard lee last game, and they talk about Gadoo!!!! how had like 65 yards on 30 carries no to impressive i think packers missed out on the train

[kojak]

Yeah, wish him the best. Good luck down south A-train.

[SupermanXx]

good luck A-train, wasn't your fault over here man

[SteveOS]

Sorry if it's a repost, I didn't see it.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?id=2217543

The "A-Train" is back on the NFL tracks, but with a New Orleans Saints team whose season has already been derailed.

Still attempting to compensate for the season-ending knee injury to Deuce McAllister from a month ago, the Saints have added veteran free-agent tailback Anthony Thomas, a former league rookie of the year. Thomas was released by the Dallas Cowboys last week after the team opted to go with younger backs.

Contract details were not yet available.

A five-year veteran, Thomas will try to provide some power to the New Orleans ground game, which has been sporadic in McAllister's absence. Thomas joins fellow veterans Antowain Smith and Aaron Stecker on the New Orleans depth chart.

"He's a good fit for what we do," coach Jim Haslett said. "We've been interested in him in the past, as a possible backup [to McAllister], and it just didn't work out. But when the Cowboys released him, we definitely knew he could help us."

It is the second move at tailback the Saints have made since losing McAllister for the year. Last month, New Orleans acquired Jesse Chatman in a trade with Miami for a low-round conditional draft pick, but then waived him because he was out of shape.

Thomas, 28, was a second-round choice of the Chicago Bears in 2001 and earned league offensive rookie of the year honors that season, rushing 278 times for 1,183 yards and seven touchdowns. All of those numbers remain career bests for Thomas, although he did post a second 1,000-yard season with the Bears in 2003.

The former University of Michigan star signed a one-year contract with the Cowboys this spring as an unrestricted free agent. He started one game when Julius Jones was sidelined by a knee injury, then was eclipsed on the depth chart by a pair of rookies, Marion Barber and Tyson Thompson. The pending return of Jones, who has begun practicing again, made Thomas expendable.

Last week, Thomas was one of several veteran free agent backs who auditioned in New England, but the Patriots decided to sign Michael Cloud instead. There was interest from several other teams, beyond the Saints, in the veteran back.

New Orleans has used both Smith and Stecker as starters since McAllister was lost for the year after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in an Oct. 9 game at Green Bay. Smith has started three contests and Stecker one game. Smith rushed for 110 yards in last Sunday's loss to the Bears and is likely to remain the starter for now.

[Crown Royal]

Good for him - that will be a good fit for the rest of the year.

I don't think he got a bum deal here, but I don't think it was the best situation for him to come to. I think he is a talented guy, just not the guy Tuna was looking for or was going to use. Good luck to him.