Veteran free agent running back Shane Vereen signed a one-year deal with the New Orleans Saints today. The deal gives the Saints additional depth and insurance in the backfield. Vereen spent the last three seasons with the New York Giants.
New Orleans Saints sign free agent running back Shane Vereen
Vereen, who has seven years of professional experience, was drafted by the New England Patriots in the second round of the 2011 NFL draft with the 56th overall pick. His college career began with a redshirt year in 2007 with the California Golden Bears, before being promoted to primary running back in 2009. During his time at Cal, he also competed on the track team, and graduated a semester early, forgoing his senior season to enter the NFL draft.
Vereen scored his first touchdown with the Patriots during his rookie year in a victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. The following season, Vereen helped the Patriots to the AFC Championship. In the first game of the 2012 NFL Playoffs, he scored three touchdowns—two receiving and one rushing, becoming the third player in NFL history to do so. He continued his career with the Patriots over the following four seasons and helped the team to their 28-24 win over the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX. In the championship, Vereen caught a game-high 11 passes for 64 yards.
The New York Giants signed Vereen just over a month after he won his first championship ring, on March 10th, 2015. In his first season, he caught four touchdowns. His second season with Big Blue had a rough start, as he was placed on injured reserve with a triceps injury on September 27th, 2016. He was reactivated on December 10th, before being placed back on reserve on December 20th, having re-injured the muscle. In 2017, Vereen played in all 16 games with the Giants, but did not score a touchdown.
