The New Orleans Saints have made the following roster moves, it was announced by the club Wednesday, Nov. 9. The Saints waived CB Brian Dixon, LB Chris McCain and DT John Jenkins. The team signed LB Sam Barrington and S Shiloh Keoand were awarded TE John Phillipsoff of waivers from the Denver Broncos. The roster moves were announced by Executive Vice President/General Manager Mickey Loomis.
Barrington, 6 feet 1, 240 pounds, is in his fourth NFL season. He spent his first three campaigns with the Green Bay Packers, who selected him in the seventh round of the 2013 NFL Draft (232nd overall) out of South Florida and played in two games for the Kansas City Chiefs this season where he recorded no statistics. The Jacksonville, Fla., native has appeared in 24 regular season NFL contests with eight starts and has posted career statistics of 69 tackles (43 solo), one sack, two passes defensed and six special teams tackles. Prior to appearing in only one contest in 2015 due to a season-ending ankle injury, Barrington enjoyed his most productive campaign in 2014 when he played in 14 games with seven starts and posted 68 stops (42 solo), one sack, two passes defensed and three special teams tackles. Then in two postseason contests, both of which he started, he made 15 more stops (12 solo) and one pass defensed. In four years at South Florida, he played in 49 games with 36 starts and registered 258 tackles, 21.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, one interception, nine passes defensed, five forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.
Keo, 5-11, 205, was originally selected by the Houston Texans in the fifth round (144th overall) of the 2011 NFL Draft out of Idaho, spending his first three seasons with the Texans and part of the last two campaigns with the Denver Broncos. The Everett, Wash., native has played in 49 career regular season games with 11 starts and has posted 68 tackles, three interceptions, eight passes defensed and has also excelled on special teams, recording 21 special teams stops and two fumble recoveries. In 2016, he appeared in three games for the Broncos and made one defensive stop, one special teams tackle and two coverage fumble recoveries. Keo started 50-of-55 games played at the University of Idaho, recording 358 tackles (237 solo), 11 interceptions (168 yards), 31 passes defensed, three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and one sack.
Phillips, 6-5, 251, originally selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the sixth round (208th overall) in the 2009 NFL Draft out of Virginia, has appeared in 103 career games with 35 starts for Cowboys (2009-12), San Diego Chargers (2013-15) and Broncos (2016) and has recorded 50 receptions for 538 yards with five scoring grabs, 35 special teams tackles, one coverage forced fumble and one coverage fumble recovery. In 2016, the Hot Springs, Va. native appeared in eight games with three starts for the Broncos and recorded five receptions for 40 yards with one touchdown. Phillips was a four-year letterman for the Cavaliers, where he played in 49 career games with 32 starts and recorded 71 catches for 680 yards with five touchdowns.
