Nick Fairley, New Orleans Saints Reportedly Agree to 1-Year Contract

Former Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams tackle Nick Fairley has reportedly agreed to a one-year contract with the New Orleans Saints, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport on Monday morning.

Rapoport reported Fairley was in New Orleans for a visit with the Saints on March 17. Rapoport previously reported on March 25 that the New England Patriots were no longer in the running for Fairley.

Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reported on March 7 that the New York Jets were also interested in the 28-year-old as a "contingency plan" should they lose any defensive linemen to free agency:

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Free agent nose tackle Damon Harrison is expected to have multiple suitors in free agency this week and could be too pricey for the cap-strapped Jets, who only had $6-7 million in spending money as of Monday night. The Jets would love to trade Mo Wilkerson for a first-round pick in a tag-and-trade scenario.

The Jets will free up more cap space with predictable cuts and contract restructures in the coming days, but they'll still have to have to make judicious choices.

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The 6'4", 308-pound Fairley spent the 2015 season with the then-St. Louis Rams after four seasons in Detroit, registering 29 tackles and a half-sack in 15 games.

There were high expectations in Detroit after the Lions took him in the first round of the 2011 draft, but his time playing in Motown was up-and-down, and he recorded just 13.5 sacks.

While Fairley may not have ideal sack numbers, he is still considered a strong run-stopper and would fit in well with a Jets defense that ranked second in the NFL last season in rushing yards allowed and first in touchdowns allowed, per ESPN.com.