Saints claim former All-Pro return man Kene Nwangwu off waivers

The New Orleans Saints utilized their waivers position at No. 14 to make a claim Wednesday, bringing in 2022 All-Pro returner Kene Nwangwu per NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill. This move was also officially confirmed via the NFL waiver system transaction report, shared by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

First off, this move will require a respective move to be made, whether that be another player to injured reserve or someone being released or waived.

As for Nwangwu, he has been an exceptional kick return man throughout his career, leading the league in 2022 with 35 kick returns, and in 2021 with two kick return touchdowns (three of them in his career). His most notable of the three was a 99-yard return touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers in 2021, which conveniently came when Klint Kubiak was with the Vikings as well. Nwangwu only ran the ball sparingly for Kubiak that season but he averaged 4.7 yards per carry.

With the new kickoff format coming to the NFL this season, the Saints will now have two All-Pro returners on the team in Nwangwu and Rashid Shaheed, which should help their chances at being one of the first teams to really get accustomed to it quickly.