The New Orleans Saints announced Tuesday that they have signed nose tackle Tyrone Ezell and linebacker Marcus Thompson and waived nose tackle Moses McCray and waived/failed physical outside linebacker Cheta Ozougwu. The announcement was made by Saints' Executive Vice President/General Manager Mickey Loomis.
Ezell, 6-foot-4, 305 pounds, comes to New Orleans spending a portion of the 2014 offseason with the Houston Texans who signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Pittsburgh. In four seasons with the Panthers, he appeared in 38 games with 24 starts and posted career totals of 77 tackles, 10.5 tackles for a loss, six sacks and three passes defensed. As a senior in 2013, the Munhall, Pa. native served as a team captain and appeared in all 13 games with 12 starts at nose tackle and posted 34 tackles, three tackles for a loss, two sacks and two passes defensed.
Thompson, 6-foot-1, 250 pounds, comes to New Orleans spending a portion of the 2014 offseason with the Miami Dolphins who signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Rutgers. In four seasons with the Scarlet Knights, he appeared in 42 games with 26 starts and posted career totals of 91 tackles, 13.5 tackles for a loss, 6.5 sacks and one forced fumble. As a senior in 2013, the Oakland Park, Fla. native started all 13 games in 2013 for the Scarlet Knights and led the team with 5.5 sacks. Thompson was named the team's co-defensive MVP at Rutgers' year-end team awards banquet.
Photos of the setup for 2014 New Orleans Saints Training Camp presented by Verizon at The Greenbrier on Monday, July 21, 2014. Photos taken by Alex Restrepo. (New Orleans Saints photos)