Report: Saints host former starting CB Ken Crawley on free agent visit

This is something: the New Orleans Saints are hosting free agent cornerback Ken Crawley on a visit at the team facility, per ESPN’s Field Yates. Crawley spent the summer with the Arizona Cardinals after the Saints released him last year, with a four-game stint on the Miami Dolphins sandwiched in-between.

Now, it doesn’t mean the Saints are going to sign Crawley, or that he’ll be on the field any time soon. But he wouldn’t be in New Orleans if there wasn’t some level of interest.

The Saints have been churning the bottom of their depth chart at cornerback in recent weeks, waiving rookie reserve Tino Ellis and swapping out Kemon Hall for Grant Haley on the practice squad. Because of rules changes in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, someone with Crawley’s experience would be practice squad-eligible.

Crawley appeared in 42 games for the Saints from 2016 to 2019 (including the playoffs), logging 27 starts. While he initially played well in his breakout 2017 season while recording 17 passes defensed and his only career interception, his level of play was too high-variance and forced the Saints to trade for Eli Apple back in 2018.

When pressed into two games in 2019, Crawley was immediately picked on by opposing quarterbacks, and the Saints released him after failing to find a partner at the NFL trade deadline.

Still, maybe it’s worth bringing him in as the 16th member of the practice squad. There’s something to be said for stocking the team with players who have real NFL experience behind them, even if they’re unlikely to touch the field. Here’s how the depth chart shakes out:

1. Marshon Lattimore (starter)

2. Janoris Jenkins (starter)

3. P.J. Williams (dime)

4. Patrick Robinson (special teams, backup)

5. Justin Hardee (special teams)

6. Keith Washington Jr. (practice squad rookie)

7. Grant Haley (practice squad)