Last week, the Carolina Panthers made the decision to part ways with veteran safety Kurt Coleman solely with the purpose of garner more salary cap space for this offseason. Coleman has been one of the better players at his position over the last few years during his brief tenure in Carolina.

This had put him on the open market just a few weeks prior to the start of the free agency period, which has given him to time to find his next home in the NFL before the frenzy hits later this month. According to Josh Katzenstein of The Times-Picayune, the New Orleans Saints have jumped at the opportunity by inking Coleman to a three-year deal.

The decision to ink Coleman to a deal effectively ends any possibility that safety Kenny Vaccaro could return to the Saints next season. There was already a growing notion that the team had decided to move on from Vaccaro after he spent the first five years with the organization.

Coleman is coming off a productive 2017 season where he recorded 76 total tackles, three pass deflections, and a fumble recovery in 12 games played. He is just two seasons removed from a career-high seven interceptions, which was tied for second-most in the league. The 29-year-old had previously inked a three-year extension worth $17 million with $7 million guaranteed back in 2016 before being cut by the Panthers last month.

The addition of Coleman provides the Saints with a more veteran presence in the secondary alongside their promising safety duo of Vonn Bell and Marcus Williams. New Orleans had experienced significant improvement in that aspect of their defense that was seventh in the league with a 79.0 opposing quarterback rating, third with 20 interceptions, and ninth with 59.4 percent completion rate against them.

It will be interesting to see how much the team had shelled out to acquire Coleman given that they have a projected $33.6 million in salary cap space for this offseason. Nonetheless, it move has helped further solidify their defense ahead of next season.