Saints are in negotiations with Dez Bryant, which seems like a perfect fit

Update: A day after his workout, Bryant signed a one-year deal with the Saints.

The New Orleans Saints brought in three wide receivers for a workout on Tuesday, and one of them happened to be the highest-profile unemployed receiver on the market: former Cowboys pass catcher Dez Bryant. The other two receivers were veteran Brandon Marshall, who was recently released by the Seattle Seahawks, and Kamar Aiken, who last played for the Philadelphia Eagles.

Bryant and the Saints didn’t immediately agree to a deal, but it could still happen:

Other than a brief flirtation with the New England Patriots that went nowhere, this is the first solid news that Bryant visited another team since he spent time at the Cleveland Browns’ facility, as shown briefly on this past season of HBO’s Hard Knocks.

Bryant is a talented receiver who turned down a multi-year deal with the Baltimore Ravens in the offseason but has struggled to draw interest since. Many thought, after the tease of his appearance on Hard Knocks, that the Browns would extend to him an offer. That happened, according to Bryant, but he didn’t sign with the team.

He has publicly stated that he’s looking for a one-year deal. There was also a post on his Instagram from September that alluded to medical issues he had been going through:

In that same post he implies that he is beyond those issues and ready to play football again.

Bryant, 29, is a three-time Pro Bowler and a 2014 All-Pro, but was released by the Cowboys after eight seasons and just under 7,500 receiving yards with the team. He had 69 receptions for 838 yards and six touchdowns last season. At the time of the Browns visit, Bryant appeared to be in excellent shape, and there’s is no reason to think that’s changed.

We’ll likely hear plenty about this visit, given Bryant’s passion for being open about things on Twitter. He’s spent much of the season talking about football and the week-to-week action, and has become one of our favorite analysts to that end. All the while, he’s said he’ll return to the football field “soon.”

If Bryant joins the Saints, he’ll join a 7-1 team currently in first place in the NFC South, and one that features Drew Brees at quarterback. Brees currently has 18 touchdowns against one interception, and though Michael Thomas is an excellent receiver for them, the team’s second- and third-leading receivers are running back Alvin Kamara (427 yards) and tight end Benjamin Watson (292 yards).

Thomas is coming off a game in which he caught 12 passes for 211 yards, and at 25 figures to be the long-term No. 1 receiver for the Saints for years to come. But behind him, there’s an awful lot of room for improvement, even with Brees’ history of being able to work well with virtually any group of receivers.

Kamara seems intrigued by the possibility of add Bryant:

Having Thomas opposite him would also take a lot of pressure off of Bryant, and undrafted rookie Tre’Quan Smith, the team’s No. 2 receiver with Ted Ginn Jr. on injured reserve. The Saints themselves are coming off a a win over the then-unbeaten Los Angeles Rams, and have to be thinking this year is a Super Bowl year.