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Saints lose first free agent, as A.J. Klein signs with Bills

The Bills get A.J. Klein, reuniting him with Sean McDermott.
John Hendrix|
Saints lose first free agent, as A.J. Klein signs with Bills
Saints lose first free agent, as A.J. Klein signs with Bills

The first New Orleans Saints unrestricted free agent is on to new beginnings, according to NFL Insider Adam Caplan. Linebacker A.J. Klein is headed to the Buffalo Bills, per his Monday night report, signing a three-year, $18 million deal to reunite with his former defensive coordinator Sean McDermott. Klein gets $9.7 million in guaranteed money.

Klein originally came over the Carolina Panthers on a three-year deal with the Saints in 2016, appearing in 43 regular season games during his stint in New Orleans. Klein had a pretty good run for the team, and paired well alongside Kiko Alonso and Demario Davis. One of the more memorable moments of his Saints career came at the end of the season against his former team, the Panthers, when he picked off Will Grier for a touchdown in the regular season finale in Carolina.

The Saints were reportedly in the running for veteran Jamie Collins, but he was signed by the Detroit Lions on a lucrative three-year, $30 million deal that had $18 million in guarantees. There are still options available out there for New Orleans, which include the likes of Cory Littleton, Blake Martinez, Joe Schobert, Nick Vigil, and Tahir Whitehead, to name a few.

It's been an eventful day across the league already, but the Saints did come away with a good win by re-signing David Onyemata. They also brought back long snapper Zach Wood on a four-year deal. There's sure to be a ton of movement for the team, as they have some things to solidify before the start of the new league year. Keep track of all the rumblings and news with our free agency tracker.

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John Hendrix
JOHN HENDRIX

I officially started covering the New Orleans Saints & other NFL topics in 2011. My work has been featured on various outlets over the years. I worked closely with Skyhorse Publishing in Fall 2018 to update the book, Tales From the New Orleans Saints Sidelines, which filled in all Saints material from the 2013-2017 seasons. Prior to joining Saints News Network, I served as the Managing Editor of SB Nation's Canal Street Chronicles for 3.5 years, and before that with FanSided's Who Dat Dish as the Managing Editor for several years. I have also had experiences of being a freelance Saints reporter for The Sun Herald in Biloxi, MS and a contributing writer for WDSU, a local NBC TV station in New Orleans. I have appeared on a vast amount of TV and Radio shows, both nationally and locally. For tips, comments, or suggestions, please contact me at johnhendrix@saintsnews.net

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