The New Orleans Saints announced today that they have agreed to terms with unrestricted free agent defensive end Jeff Charleston. The announcement was made by Saints' Executive Vice President/General Manager Mickey Loomis.

Charleston, a 6-4, 265-pound fifth-year player out of Idaho State, has been a key part of the New Orleans defensive line rotation for the past three seasons. After originally joining the Saints in the middle of the 2008 campaign, Charleston has recorded 61 tackles, six sacks, two pass defenses, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and 22 special teams stops. In 2010 he appeared in all 16 games and made his first start as a Saint, totaling 35 tackles, while matching his career-high with three sacks and adding two pass defense, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and seven special teams tackles.

The Independence, Oregon native originally entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent signed by the Houston Texans in 2006 with whom he spent the preseason, before playing for the Indianapolis Colts in 2007. Overall in his NFL career, Charleston has appeared in 55 games with four starts and has recorded 103 tackles, seven sacks, four pass defenses, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and 31 special teams tackles. He's appeared in five postseason contests and recorded 12 tackles.