New Orleans Saints confirmed on Wednesday that they have signed free-agent running back Shane Vereen. Vereen, who previously played for New England Patriots and New York Giants, is expected to serve as a backup option while Mark Ingram serves his four games suspension. In order to free up the roster spot, the Saints waived RB Daniel Lasco with a failed physical designation.
Roster Move: The #Saints have signed RB Shane Vereen and RB Daniel Lasco has been waived/failed physical pic.twitter.com/uABc3k6kGa
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) July 18, 2018
Saints already have the best possible replacement for Ingram in 2017 NFL Rookie of the Year Alvin Kamara, but the team decided they will not overload the 22-year-old with more touches. Instead, they brought in veteran running back Terrance West and now Vereen to compete with youngsters like Trey Edmunds, Jonathan Williams and Boston Scott for Ingram’s touches.
Shane Vereen was drafted by the New England Patriots as the 56th overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. He spent four years with the Patriots, during which he won a Super Bowl, before signing with the New York Giants in 2015. In the 16 games he played for the Giants last season, Vereen had underwhelming 164 rushing yards and 253 receiving yards, while failing to record a single touchdown for the first time in his career. His NFL career stats include 1,489 rushing yards and 1,865 receiving yards alongside 19 touchdowns in 79 games.
