METAIRIE (Press Release) The New Orleans Saints have agreed to terms with unrestricted free agent DE Mario Edwards Jr. on a two-year contract, it was announced by Executive Vice President/General Manager Mickey Loomis.
Edwards, 6-3, 280, comes to New Orleans after spending the 2018 season with the New York Giants. Originally selected by the Oakland Raiders in the second round (35th overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft out of Florida State, Edwards has posted career totals of 72 tackles (60 solo), 7.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and three passes defensed in 45 regular season games played with 24 starts. In one postseason contest which he started for Oakland in 2016, Edwards added five tackles (four solo).
In 2018, Edwards appeared in 15 games for the Giants, posting 14 tackles, two sacks, three stops for loss, five quarterback hits and one forced fumble. In his final season in Oakland in 2017, he opened all 14 games he played in and made 23 stops (15 solo) and a career-high 3.5 quarterback takedowns.
A three-year letterman at Florida State from 2012-14, Edwards started 26-of-36 games over his three-year career, primarily at defensive end, and finished with 89 tackles (52 solo), eight sacks, 23 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and seven passes defensed. In 2014, he started all 13 games and was named All-Ac First Team by the coaches and media and Sports Illustrated second-team All-American honors, as he established career-high marks in tackles (44), passes defensed (five) and forced fumbles (two), adding 11 tackles for loss. As a sophomore in 2013 for the BCS National Champions, he played in 12 games with 11 starts for the nation’s third-ranked defense and number one scoring defense, totaling 28 stops, 9.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, one interception, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries, one returned for a touchdown. In the BCS National Championship game vs. Auburn, he posted three tackles, including one stop for loss.
Edwards was born in Gautier, Miss and prepped at both Prosper High School (freshman and sophomore) and Billy Ryan High School (junior and senior) in Denton, Texas. His father, Mario Edwards, also played at FSU and played five seasons in the NFL as a cornerback.
