New Orleans Saints Executive Vice President/General Manager Mickey Loomis announced today that the club has signed kicker Tanner Brown, wide receiver Jalen Cropper and quarterback Hunter Dekkers. In corresponding roster moves, the club has waived defensive tackle Coziah Izzard, defensive back DaShawn Jones, kicker Mason Shipley, and wide receiver Damien Alford (waived/injured).
Brown, 6-0, 177, originally signed as an undrafted free agent with the Los Angeles Rams following the 2023 NFL Draft out of the Oklahoma State, spending two weeks of the 2024 season on the Rams practice squad. He also spent part of the 2024 season on the Atlanta Falcons practice squad. The Santa Clarita, Calif. native played for the Louisville Kings of the United Football League this past spring, playing in ten regular games and drilling 25-of-28 field goals (89.3 pct.) to go with 23 PATs and a league-best 99 total points, earning UFL Special Teams Player of the Year honors. In the postseason, he made four-of-four field goal attempts, including a 60-yard field goal and 63-yard kick in the same game
Brown played his last two college seasons at Oklahoma State after beginning his career at the College of the Canyons and playing at UNLV in 2020. In two seasons with the Cowboys, he made 39-of-44 field goals (88.6 pct.). As a super senior in 2022, Brown had one of the most impressive seasons among all FBS kickers, when he was ranked No. 3 in the FBS with a 95.7 field goal percentage after hitting 22 of his 23 field goal attempts. Brown was one of just two FBS players to attempt at least 20 field goals with only one miss, earning second-team All-Big 12 honors (Associated Press and Coaches).
Cropper, 6-0, 172, originally signed with the Dallas Cowboys as a free agent following the 2023 NFL Draft out of Fresno State. After spending his entire rookie season on the Dallas practice squad, he played in four games in two seasons with the Cowboys (2024-25) and returned three punts for 27 yards and two kickoffs for 38 yards in three contests in 2025. In the spring of 2026, he played for the UFL's Houston Gamblers, where he played in seven games and caught 22 passes for 291 yards and returned five kickoffs for 213 yards (42.6 avg.) with a 93-yard touchdown.
Cropper played four collegiate seasons at Fresno State, where he played in 42 games and finished fifth in Bulldogs record books in career receptions (220). He also caught a pass in his last 37 collegiate games dating back to his freshman season, the second-longest streak in program history. The Clovis, Calif. native was named first-team All-Mountain West as a senior in 2022, leading the league with 83 catches and ranked second with 1,086 receiving yards. He became the first Bulldog to have 1,000 receiving yards in a season since 2018. Cropper appeared in all 13 games in 2021 and started 10, leading the Bulldogs in receiving in all categories after catching 85 passes for 899 yards and 11 touchdowns, tied for the second-most receiving touchdowns in the Mountain West Conference. He started five-of-six games in a COVID-19 pandemic shortened 2020 campaign and had three consecutive 100-yard games to close out the season, the first Bulldog with three consecutive 100-yard receiving games since 2017.
Dekkers, 6-1, 210, returns to New Orleans after spending most of the 2025 season on the team's practice squad. This past spring, he also played for the Gamblers in the UFL, where in five games he completed 69-of-112 passes (61.6 pct.) for 749 yards with three touchdowns and rushed 13 times for 74 yards and ran for two scores (5.7 avg.).
After playing at Iowa State for three seasons, the Hawarden, Iowa native finished his college career at Iowa Western in 2024, where he completed 288-of-449 passes (64.1 pct.) for a school-record 3,806 yards with 32 touchdowns, leading the Reivers to a #2 final national ranking in the National Junior College Athletic Association. In 2022, he completed 302-of-457 passes (Big 12-best 66.1 pct.) for 3,044 yards with 19 touchdowns for the Cyclones, earning honorable mention All-Big 12.
