The turk made an early and unexpected visit in the New Orleans Saints camp this week.
Reserve linebacker and special teams captain Troy Evans was cut late Tuesday night in a surprising move by the team.
New Orleans has struggled in its special teams coverage in the preseason, which comes on the heels of ranking 29th in kickoff coverage in 2009 and last in punt coverage.
Coach Sean Payton said that Evans’ departure wasn’t a statement about the poor play of the unit on the field.
“It really had nothing to do with how our special teams were playing,” Payton said during his Thursday press conference. “In fairness to Troy, we’re rolling a lot of guys through the kicking game to get evaluations. They’re really two separate entities. Certainly it’s a tough decision when you part way with a player like Troy who has had so much to do with what we’ve done here and accomplished.”
The team also signed linebacker K.C. Asiodu, who is expected to step right in to help fill the void left by Evans.
Asiodu played in 11 games for the St. Louis Rams last season after signing with the team as an undrafted free agent.