Nathan

Shepherd

Per ESPN’s Field Yates, the move clears up just over $3 million in cap space. Shepherd is one of many Saints players who saw their contract restructured this week. New Orleans began the offseason projected at $75 million over the 2024 salary cap. They got some good news earlier this week when the NFL informed teams the cap would be $255 million this year. That is over $10 million higher than most analysts expected for the upcoming year. Between the cap boost and some contract reworks, the Saints are well on their way toward getting under the cap for 2024.

The Saints were, as the kids say, down bad at defensive tackle. They have multiple defensive linemen no longer under contract and two of their tackles have already inked deals with new teams. Shepherd, a former third-round pick, has primarily been a backup for the Jets. Pro Football Focus has graded him as a strong pass-rusher throughout his career and he has six sacks despite starting just 12 games through four years. He will likely be tasked with a starting role in New Orleans.

Shepherd, 28, appeared in all 17 games last season, getting in on a career-high 495 snaps (42%), but he registered zero sacks and zero TFLs. He’s merely a rotational piece.

Shepherd missed the last six games due to a PED suspension. Shepherd said he was desperate to recover from a pair of summer injuries and impress the Jets’ new coaching staff. The No. 72 overall pick of last year’s draft, Shepherd is elderly (26) for a second-year pro. The Jets placed RB/KR Trenton Cannon (foot, ankle) on the injured reserve in a corresponding roster move.

Unusually, Shepherd has publicly admitted to taking banned substances and failing a pair of tests. Shepherd said he was desperate to recover from a pair of summer injuries and impress the Jets’ new coaching staff. The No. 72 overall pick of last year’s draft, Shepherd is elderly (26) for a second-year pro, though he did play 343 decent snaps as a rookie.

Shepherd (6’4/315) was the 2017 MIAA Defensive Player of the Year and a second-team FCS All-American, dominating the D-IAA ranks with 27 career tackles for loss and 10 sacks. Shepherd proved his athletic mettle with 65th-percentile SPARQ results in Indy, although he will be a 25-year-old rookie after bouncing around schools. Still an enticing prospect, Shepherd was particularly impressive at January’s Senior Bowl, more than holding his own against top-shelf Division-I offensive linemen.

The Jets have now signed each of their draft picks except for first-round QB Sam Darnold and fourth-round TE Chris Herndon. A plus run defender, the 315-pound Shepherd gives New York some much-needed depth on its D line following the offseason departures of Muhammad Wilkerson and Kony Ealy.