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NFL Free Agency: Saints sign Nick Fairley to one year deal

By Jason Parker

Nov 8, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; St. Louis Rams defensive tackle Nick Fairley (98) looks on prior to the game against the Minnesota Vikings at TCF Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 8, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; St. Louis Rams defensive tackle Nick Fairley (98) looks on prior to the game against the Minnesota Vikings at TCF Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports /
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The New Orleans Saints have reached a deal with defensive tackle Nick Fairley, who spent last season playing for the Rams.

For the past three weeks, free agents across the NFL have found new homes (and much larger paychecks in many cases) in signing with their new teams. You can now add an often injured defensive tackle to the list of players in a new location for 2016.

Nick Fairley, who spent last season as a member of the then-St. Louis Rams, is heading back south closer to his Alabama home and signing a one year deal with the New Orleans Saints:

After a standout junior college career, Fairley finished his college years at Auburn, where he was an All-American and Lombardi Award winner on the Tigers’ 2010 national championship team. Fairley would be drafted in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions.

In four seasons with Detroit, Fairley had 13.5 sacks as his final season with the team (2014) was cut short by injury. He signed a one year deal with the Rams during the 2015 offseason, where his numbers plummeted over the course of the year.

Fairley has also had several brushes with the law, including separate arrests for marijuana possession and driving under the influence. With the Saints, Fairley will be expected to be more of a role player as the team prepares to rebound from back-to-back losing records for the first time in over a decade.

For more NFL Free Agency news, check out our NFL Free Agency hub page.

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