Jacksonville is sending centre Luke Fortner (27) to the Saints as part of the trade deal. Saunders started for the Saints in their preseason game against the Jaguars on Sunday and now he'll be joining them for the regular season.
The two-time Super Bowl champion as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs, turned starter for the New Orleans Saints, put up 43 tackles, five quarterback hits, three tackles for loss, and two sacks.
Saunders missed several weeks in the 2024 season due to a calf injury, finishing the season playing in 13 of 17 games.
However, he recorded his first career interception last season against his former team.
As for Fortner, the three-year vet was a starter for Jacksonville his first two seasons but was moved to a backup role last season, playing in only 13 offensive snaps.
In 2023, Fortner played the most offensive snaps (1163) and pass block snaps (749) of any centre in the NFL. However, he gave up 28 pressures and four sacks while also committing five penalties. He finished that season with a brutal 40.0 blocking grade (55th) and 54.9 pass blocking grade (36th).