The New Orleans Saints wasted little time turning a Raiders roster crunch into a hometown reunion.
On Tuesday, the club claimed cornerback Decamerion Richardson off waivers after Las Vegas cut him to create space for another corner, sending the 25-year-old straight onto the Saints’ 53-man roster rather than forcing him to climb from the practice squad.
For a player born in Cullen and raised in Bossier City, the move carries the extra weight of coming home.
Richardson arrived in the NFL as a fourth-round pick in 2024, selected 112th overall by the Raiders out of Mississippi State. At 6-foot-2 and 192 pounds with a 4.34-second 40-yard dash, he looked the part of a long, fast boundary defender.
He started seven games as a rookie and finished that season with 46 tackles and three passes defensed. The following year, his defensive snaps nearly vanished—just 13—while he logged 204 special-teams plays.
The production on defense never fully matched the physical tools, and a new Raiders regime ultimately chose veteran Darrell Luter Jr. over the former draft pick.
That decision handed the Saints a developmental piece who already knows the league and still possesses the traits that first drew scouts. New Orleans’ secondary is built around Kool-Aid McKinstry and Quincy Riley, with Martin Emerson Jr. providing experienced depth.
Several other corners sit on injured reserve, leaving room for a big, athletic body who can contribute immediately on coverage units and compete for defensive snaps as the season unfolds. Richardson’s length and straight-line speed give coordinator Brandon Staley another option when the Saints want to mix coverages or protect against deep shots.
The question that has followed him since college remains the same: can he consistently stay in phase with receivers and finish plays? Scouts have long praised his size and recovery speed while noting that his change of direction and ball skills lag behind his raw athleticism.
Two seasons in Las Vegas offered flashes but not the kind of week-to-week reliability that locks down a starting job. In New Orleans he will get a fresh start with coaches who can emphasize those finer points while using his special-teams value as a safety net.
For Saints fans the story is simpler. A Louisiana kid who starred at Bossier High and led SEC cornerbacks in tackles during his last two college seasons is now wearing black and gold. He does not have to prove he belongs in the NFL; he already does.
He only has to show that the tools that made him a mid-round pick can finally translate into consistent coverage. If they do, the Saints will have turned another team’s roster casualty into a useful homegrown contributor. If they do not, they still added a willing special-teams player without surrendering a draft pick.
Either way, Richardson gets to chase the next chapter in front of family and friends instead of on the other side of the country.
