Saints release Nesbit, Simoneau; to release Grant Friday
New Orleans Saints Executive Vice President/General Manager Mickey Loomis announced Thursday that the club has released offensive lineman Jamar Nesbit and linebacker Mark Simoneau, and that the club will release defensive end Charles Grant on Friday.
Grant, one of the team's two first-round draft choices in 2002, played in 118 regular season games for the Saints over eight seasons – starting 106 of them – and tallied 505 tackles with 47 sacks to rank eighth on the club's all-time sack list. He also had one interception, 14 forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries. He started all 16 regular season games for New Orleans in 2009 and made 53 tackles with 5½ sacks before being injured in the regular season finale, ending the year on injured reserve for the second consecutive season.
Nesbit signed with the Saints as a free agent prior to the 2004 season after previous stints with the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars. The 11-year veteran lineman played in 84 regular season games for the Saints, including 43 starts – starting 35 consecutive games at left guard from 2006-08, plus two postseason contests. He played in 13 games for the Saints in 2009, seeing action primarily on special teams.
Simoneau spent four seasons with the Saints after being acquired from the Philadelphia Eagles during the 2006 preseason and started 30 of 32 games he played for New Orleans, making 170 tackles with three sacks and an interception. The veteran middle linebacker missed each of the last two seasons due to injury, losing 2008 to a back injury and 2009 to a torn triceps.
