Sports

New Orleans is moving on from a young running back.

Per Mike Garafolo of NFL Media, the Saints are waiving Xazavian Valladay.

Valladay, 26, had been with New Orleans since midway through last season, signing with the club’s practice squad. He did not appear in a game, but remained with the club on a futures deal in January.

Valladay initially entered the league in 2023 as an undrafted free agent out of Arizona State. He’s spent time with the Texans, Steelers, and Jets, appearing in one game for New York in his first season.

New Orleans has Alvin Kamara, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Cam Akers, Venus Jones Jr., Kendre Miller, Devin Neal, and Marcus Yarns on its roster at running back.

When YouTube became a major NFL TV partner with its acquisition of the Sunday Ticket rights, it did more than just make Sunday Ticket more convenient for viewers who couldn't get DirecTV. It also opened the NFL up to younger viewers.

That's the word from YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, who said the company “aged down” the NFL’s audience, according to Sports Business Journal.

Mohan told TheAnkler.com that the NFL's partnership with YouTube allows NFL games to “live alongside all of this other amazing creator-first sports content,” which a younger audience goes to YouTube to see.

Sunday Ticket is an expensive subscription, so few people would buy it without already being big NFL fans. But Mohan said that when YouTube shows the Week One Chiefs-Chargers game in Brazil on September 5 for free to the whole world, it will be a major step toward helping the league attract a significant new audience — and a significantly younger audience.

The Texans have made the signing of cornerback Damon Arnette official, announcing the deal on Friday.

As a corresponding move, Houston has waived long snapper Tucker Addington, making undrafted rookie Austin Brinkman the winner of the team’s long snapper competition.

Addington had signed a futures deal with the Texans in February. Houston added Brinkman after this year’s draft in May.

Addington has appeared in 1 career games for New England, Washington, and Miami since entering the league in 2022. He’s also spent time with the Cowboys and Jaguars.

Brinkman played his college ball at West Virginia.