Ted Ginn Jr. stays in the NFC South after signing with Saints

After two years in Carolina, Ted Ginn Jr. has signed a deal with the New Orleans Saints, according to Dianna Russini of ESPN.

The Saints may be moving on from Brandin Cooks, as the Patriots are reportedly seeking to acquire the wide receiver via trade in exchange for cornerback Malcolm Butler. Ginn would help fill the void on the depth chart left by Cooks’ departure.

Ginn was big part of the late-season push by the Panthers into the playoffs, and finished 2016 with 752 receiving yards, four touchdowns, and a career-high 88 yard reception. It was a solid end to the two-year, $4.2 million contract he signed with the team back in 2015 — his second time with the team after a short and unsuccessful year in Arizona.

It wasn’t until his first bout with the Panthers that the former Buckeye started having success on the offensive side of the ball, ultimately extending his career. He spent most of his early years in the league alternating between wide receiver and kick returner before focusing solely on special teams during his time with the San Francisco 49ers.

He quickly became a special teams sensation after being drafted No. 9 overall by the Miami Dolphins, and got pigeon-holed into one type of role. In his first year in the NFL, he had a punt return for a touchdown along with 1,433 kick-off return yards.

Throughout his career, the wideout evened out his production between offense and special teams, but has amassed an impressive 2,497 yards and four touchdowns on punt return and an additional 6,842 yards and three touchdowns on kickoff return.

At 31 years old, there’s still gas in Ginn’s tank on both sides of the ball. He’s only missed nine games throughout his entire 10-year career.