The New Orleans Saints have signed edge rusher Chris Rumph II on Monday afternoon, according to NFL news wires.
Specific terms of the Saints contract were not immediately available. It is expected to be a one-year deal.
Rumph, 26, has played his entire four-year NFL career with the Chargers. He missed all of last season with a foot injury after missing the last 11 games of the 2023-24 campaign with a foot injury.
Rumph played collegiately at Duke. In three years with the Blue Devils, Rumph had 17.5 sacks and 35 tackles for loss. He was a 3rd Team All-ACC selection in 2019 and 2nd Team All-ACC choice in 2020.
The Chargers selected Rumph with a fourth-round choice in the 2021 NFL Draft. He was the 118th overall pick.
Brandon Staley was the head coach of the Chargers when they drafted Rumph and held that position until the 2023 season. Staley is the new defensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints.
In three years playing for Staley, Rumph had 3 sacks, 9 QB hits, and 15 pressures. He appeared in 37 games as a rotational defender and had 39 tackles, including 4 for loss.
The Saints got only 17 combined sacks from their edge spot last year. Brandon Staley was brought in to bolster the pass rush and elevate a defense that ranked 30th overall in the 2024-25 season.
New Orleans did not draft an edge rusher until the seventh round of the draft when they selected Fadil Diggs out of Syracuse. In adding Chris Rumph, they also bring in a defender familiar with the 3-4 scheme that Staley will employ.
