2012 NFL Free Agents: Curtis Lofton Signs 5-Year Deal with New Orleans Saints

As the New Orleans Saints attempt to dig out from under the fallout from the "player bounty" scandal that has enveloped the team the Saints have apparently taken steps to insulate themselves against the potential suspension of starting middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma, agreeing to terms on a five -year contract with Curtis Lofton, according to a report by WLW Radio in New Orleans.

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The New Orleans Saints announced Saturday night that the club has agreed to terms on a five-year contract with unrestricted free agent LB Curtis Lofton. 

Lofton, 6-0, 241 pounds, was originally picked by the Atlanta Falcons in the second round (37th overall) of the 2008 NFL draft, starting 63 of the 64 games he has appeared in.

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The 25-year-old Lofton led the Falcons with 147 tackles in 2011 and is a stout run defender, but new Atlanta defensive coordinator Mike Nolan's intention to remove Lofton from passing subpackages and the fifth-year pro's contract demands paved the way for Lofton's exit from Atlanta.

The Saints met with Lofton and his representatives earlier this month, and with the team already reeling from the year-long suspension handed down to head coach Sean Payton and the very real possibility that Vilma could be facing a lengthy suspension of his own, bringing Lofton on board was imperative, according to WLW's Kristian Garcic.

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He's a four-year veteran out of Oklahoma, and for those Who Dats wearing a #51 jersey, I think the writing is on the wall.

Vilma is five years older than Lofton, both are middle linebackers, and I don't see a scenario where you'd move either one of them to the outside. I think common sense says they don't have Vilma in their plans, but you never know.

Also, this is a good sign of things still clicking on Airline Drive.  Even with the "bounty gate" black eye, this front office is still making New Orleans an attractive landing spot for free agents. You can clearly see that Mickey Loomis is intent on improving the football team, despite all the distractions of the scandal.

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Terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but for the New Orleans Saints the details aren't as important as the deal itself, as not only has the team softened the impact of the loss of Vilma on the Saints defense, but for the first time in quite a while there's football news coming out of the Big Easy that is positive.

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