The Jacksonville Jaguars and the New Orleans Saints made a deal involving the trenches Sunday night, with Jacksonville sending offensive lineman Luke Fortner to the Big Easy for defensive lineman Khalen Saunders, per NFL Network. The swap came hours after the teams tied their preseason game 17-17.
Saunders, 29, won two Super Bowls with the Kansas City Chiefs, who selected him out of Western Illinois in the third round of the 2019 draft. After four years in Kansas City, he spent two seasons in New Orleans, where he produced one of the best highlights of 2024: a 37-yard interception return against his former team.
Saunders, who weighs 324 pounds, pulled off the longest interception return by a player 300 pounds or more since Shaun Rogers’ 66-yard return in 2007.
Saunders started all 17 games for the Saints in 2023 and then appeared in 13 games (with 10 starts) last year. He recorded 37 tackles and a pair of sacks in addition to the interception in 2024.
Fortner, 27, was a third-round pick of Jacksonville in 2022. The Kentucky product started all 17 games each of his first two seasons but did not start a single game last year after the team brought in veteran Mitch Morse. This offseason, the Jaguars brought in center Robert Hainsey, who was with new coach Liam Coen with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Saints were in need of some offensive line depth after losing Will Clapp to a season-ending injury. Clapp was expected to be a key reserve on the interior of the line, particularly as the backup to Pro Bowl center Erik McCoy.