The New Orleans Saints have re-signed DE Noah Spence to a one-year contract, it was announced by Executive Vice President/General Manager Mickey Loomis.

Spence, 6-2, 251, returns to New Orleans after spending the final three regular season games and NFC Wild Card Playoff on the club's roster. He was originally selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second-round (39th overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft out of Eastern Kentucky. 

Over his four-year NFL career with Tampa Bay (2016-18) and Washington (2019), he has appeared in 41 games with six starts. The Harrisburg, Pa. native has totaled 37 tackles (24 solo), 7.5 sacks, two passes defensed and four forced fumbles. He played in seven games for Washington in 2019, picking up three stops and a takedown. Spence enjoyed his most productive season in 2016, when he finished ranked sixth among NFL rookies with 5.5 sacks and third with three forced fumbles and was selected as NFC Defensive Rookie of the Month for November when he posted 2.5 takedowns and two forced fumbles. 

Spence played at Eastern Kentucky as a redshirt junior in 2015 after transferring from Ohio State and totaled 63 tackles, 22.5 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries as he was a consensus FCS All-American and chosen as the FCS National Defensive Performer of the Year by the College Football Performance Awards. As a sophomore at Ohio State in 2013, he posted 52 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, eight sacks and one forced fumble as he was first-team All-Big Ten selected by league media after ranking second in the conference in sacks and sixth in tackles for loss.