Saints Sign LB David Hawthorne: Added LB Depth or Suspension Protection?

The New Orleans Saints agreed to terms with former Seattle linebacker David Hawthorne on Tuesday. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the length of the contract is five years.

The Saints have now signed three linebackers since March 23; Hawthorne, Curtis Lofton (from Atlanta), and Chris Chamberlain (from St. Louis).

Hawthorne has played at middle linebacker and weakside linebacker over the past three seasons, and led the Seahawks with 115 tackles last season. Lofton led the Atlanta Falcons in tackles last season with 147 and Chamberlain was fourth on the St. Louis Rams with 80 tackles.

As you can see, New Orleans is bringing in linebackers that are around the ball on defense a lot. This new direction screams new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, whose defenses are always tough against the run.

The addition also raises some questions about Jonathan Vilma. Will Vilma miss time this season because of his role in the Saints bounty program? Are the Saints bringing in multiple linebackers to guard against this?

The NFL Players Association is still reviewing the investigation files, meaning it will be a while before they hand over their report to the league so the league can hand out player suspensions, if it chooses to do so.

Until then, the Hawthorne signing likely means he moves near the top of the depth chart as a weakside linebacker and will push Scott Shane for the job in training camp.