New Orleans Saints sign UFL wide receiver Kevin Austin Jr.

It’s a little late to make earth-shaking moves, but the New Orleans Saints are adding a new wide receiver. Kevin Austin Jr. signed with the team before the start of training camp, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Austin lands with the Saints on a one-year deal. He played college football at Notre Dame and had his best season in 2021. In 13 games, he caught 48 passes for 888 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.

Austin went undrafted in 2022 but signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars that summer. After he was waived by the Jaguars, he landed with the UFL’s Birmingham Stallions, where he caught 15 passes for 253 receiving yards (that’s 16.9 yards per catch), scoring two touchdowns. Austin has NFL-quality size and speed at 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds with a timed 4.43 in the 40-yard dash.

After Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed, there’s a lot of competition for reps at wide receiver. The team brought in veterans Cedrick Wilson Jr., Stanley Morgan, and Equanimous St. Brown while adding young guys like Bub Means, Jermaine Jackson, and Mason Tipton. A.T. Perry also returned from last year’s team.

It’ll be an uphill battle, but if Austin can impress at training camp, he might be able to earn a spot on the depth chart. The good news for Austin is that there is an opening for playing time with Michael Thomas not returning to the team.