New Orleans Saints

Cool candid moment between Kirk Cousins and Teddy Bridgewater on Sunday -- when the new Vikings QB told the old Vikings QB how they REALLY feel about him in Minnesota these days.

Teddy and the Saints were in Minnesota to play Kirk and the Vikings -- but after the game, Cousins tracked down Bridgewater and told him what the Vikings execs have been saying behind his back.

"Everyone here speaks really highly of you," Kirk said to Teddy ... "You left a good mark on the organization."

Yeah, they love him!

Of course, Bridgewater -- the Vikings' 2014 1st-round pick -- WAS the future of Minnesota ... before a gnarly knee injury nearly ended his football career in 2016.

Teddy fought to get back onto the field ... but wasn't able to start a game for Minnesota after the 2015 season and moved on to the Jets this offseason.

Bridgewater is now Drew Brees' backup after the Saints traded for him in the preseason ... and if you're listening to Cousins -- everyone in purple and gold couldn't be happier for him.

Drew Brees -- the greatest-ever New Orleans ... Pelican????

Pierre Thomas says that definitely coulda been a thing if Drew never picked up a football ... 'cause the ex-Saints running back says his former QB could BALL!!!!

"He can play some basketball -- he's got some skills," Thomas tells TMZ Sports ... "I used to call him White Chocolate."

Thomas spent 8 seasons with Brees in New Orleans -- the two won a Super Bowl together -- and Pierre swears the 6-foot QB coulda made a serious run at the NBA.

In fact ... Pierre says the dude might've had a real shot at the MLB too!!!!!

"Football is not the only gift that man has," Thomas says ... "They got that movie 'White Man Can't Jump,' but no, he can jump!"

We've unearthed some footage of Brees with a basketball hoop ... and it begs the question -- do we believe Pierre????

Michael Irvin tells TMZ Sports he's straight-up perplexed by Dez Bryant's plan to wait until the season has begun to sign with a team ... saying the receiver NEEDS a squad ASAP!!

Remember ... Dez was hot and heavy with the Browns earlier this month -- but he turned down their offer and then said he's going to wait until "a lil bit later in the year" to find a roster.

Count Michael in the camp that thinks that's a silly decision ... 'cause he tells us his no. 1 piece of advice to Dez would be to get on a team NOW.

"I do know who's representing him, and I'm just a little bit confused with the direction that they are trying to go here," Michael says.

"I would tell him to find a team and get on a team. Find a team. Get on a team. Get back to belonging somewhere. Right now, you're like a vagabond where you don't have a team and you're wondering."

FYI ... Irvin says he has NO DOUBT Dez can return to All-Pro form -- he just needs to go somewhere as soon as possible so he can show that Week 1.

By the way ... Michael also tells us he loves the fit Teddy Bridgewater found when he was traded from the Jets to the Saints on Wednesday, saying T.B. can be the future after Drew Brees.

Reggie Bush says Drew Brees will call it a career after this season only if the Saints do one thing ... WIN THE SUPER BOWL!!

There's been a lot of talk about Brees' potential retirement lately -- the dude does turn 40 in January -- so, we went to one of his ex-New Orleans teammates to get a read on the situation.

Bush was blunt ... telling TMZ Sports there's no way the QB calls it quits after this season -- UNLESS the Saints get a ring.

Alvin Kamara is pretty sure Le'Veon Bell is about to make his wallet a whole lot fatter ... 'cause the Saints star says Bell's big contract demands are going to revolutionize how RBs are paid.

We got the NFL's reigning Rookie of the Year outside The Highlight Room when he praised Le'Veon for balking at the Steelers' long-term offer for the second straight year.

"All I know is Le'Veon is about to change something up for us," he says.

The money talk didn't stop there ... Kamara gave us his thoughts on why NFL contracts aren't fully guaranteed, saying it's all the owners' faults.

And, while we were on the subject ... Kamara told us the WNBA needs to pay its players some more cheddar too -- especially the Chicago Sky, where his girlfriend plays.

"They doing all the same things males are doing," he tells us.

FYI ... Kamara's rookie deal with the Saints expires after the 2020 season -- and here's a sneak peak into how those negotiations will look ... probably.

NFL defenders will at least have something nice to look at as Alvin Kamara runs by them next season ... 'cause the Saints star just finished up his second leg sleeve -- and it's sick.

AK had his whole right leg tatted a while ago, decked out with faces, a saber-tooth cat and tribal elements.

But the running back went under the needle again this week to get his left leg done ... and it's even more dope, with a warrior inside of a saber-tooth cat's mouth on his knee cap.

It doesn't seem to be an accident the new ink's face has a big-ass bull ring in its nose either ... 'cause Kamara's known around the NFL for the piercing.

Only question now is -- will all that ink on his legs slow him down in Year 2?!

Marcus Davenport was the 14th pic in the NFL Draft and is now slated to make MILLIONS! So, what's his first big purchase??!?

Mickey D's, baby!!!

The New Orleans Saints newest defensive end was craving some burgers after the draft -- and told our guy specifically what a 6'6", 265-pound man eats to celebrate the biggest night of his life!

Davenport told us he's super excited to get to work in the Big Easy -- and told us the one QB he's most excited about taking down!

Billionaire businessman Tom Benson -- who owned the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans -- has died, his family has confirmed.

The 90-year-old passed away peacefully Thursday at Ochsner Medical Center in Louisiana with his wife, Gayle Marie Benson, at his side after falling ill with the flu.

Benson started out as a bookkeeper at a Chevy dealership in New Orleans -- but went on to become a dealership owner and expanded the business into a billion-dollar empire.

Benson bought the Saints in 1985 -- when they weren't exactly winners (remember the Aints?). The team posted their first winning record in 1987 and made the playoffs that year. Of course, they got better and won the Super Bowl in 2010.

In 2012, Benson bought the New Orleans Hornets and changed the name to the Pelicans.

Turns out Tom Brady still balling at 40 is NOTHIN' ... that's according to Mark Ingram who says his 39-year-old QB Drew Brees can play for 5 or 6 more years.

Do the math, that's until Brees is 44 ... at least.

We got Ingram at the EA party in Minneapolis and asked him how long he thinks his signal caller can slang the rock ... being that he still looks as sharp as ever.

"At least 5 or 6 more years."

Ingram told our guy Brees' preparation and recovery efforts put him in a class by himself, and he totally thinks DB can be like TB, that is being elite well into his mid-life crisis years.

BTW ... we also got Drew out and he seems to agree.

Forget the water bottle flip challenge ... Todd Gurley just crushed the GATORADE COOLER FLIP CHALLENGE!!!

The Rams superstar was hanging' out at the NFL Pro Bowl practice in Orlando on Wednesday when he saw the cooler on a table and decided he needed to flip that bitch!!!

New Orleans Saints running back Mark Ingram caught the whole thing on video (not sure Gurley even knew he was being recorded) ... and when he hit the flip, everyone went nuts!!!!

Gotta love Pro Bowl week.

Bonus: Remember when LeBron James pulled the water bottle flip off during a game? Good times.

Think Stefon Diggs' game-winning touchdown grab was nice?? Ya ain't seen nothin' yet ... so says his old college coach.

TMZ Sports spoke with Randy Edsall -- who coached Diggs during his 3 seasons at Maryland -- and he wasn't one bit surprised by Stefon's late-game heroics ... noting he's been making insane plays for years.

"He was a tremendous, tremendous competitor. The bigger the moment or the bigger the opportunity, the more you knew he was gonna make something happen."

Edsall praises Diggs' "swag" and "bravado" ... and says that confidence rubbed off on his teammates. But, coach makes it clear this is just the beginning for Stefon.

"I don't think he's reached his full potential ... I think he can be a great one, and I think as long as he continues to stay humble and stays hungry, the sky is still the limit for him."

Welcome to "Solid Profanity-Laced Advice for Marcus Williams" .... starring Asante Samuel.

Remember, Samuel dropped a possible Super Bowl winning interception in '08 -- only to bounce back STRONGER the following seasons, leading the NFC in picks in '09 and '10.

So, what pearls of wisdom is he dishing out to New Orleans Saints DB Marcus Williams -- who missed that key tackle on Stefon Diggs on Sunday???

There's a lot of good stuff in this video ... but the best line is this:

"If I was him, my mindset is ... 'That sh*t is over with. F*ck everybody that don't believe in me.'"

The social media harassment has gotten so bad for Saints rookie safety Marcus Williams ... he disabled his Instagram comments.

Everyone's seen the play by now ... Williams missed a tackle on Stefon Diggs in the waning seconds of Sunday's NFC divisional playoff game, allowing Diggs to bolt to the end zone for a 61-yard game-sealing TD.

All he freakin' had to do was touch the guy.

The reaction from fans on the net has been brutal ... including racial slurs.

Some haters got personal -- "i hope you become sterile and your wife leaves you for a male stripper."

Another person wrote, "Don't come back to NOLA, we don't want yo ass."

Williams -- who had a great season and a solid game before the mistake (he had an interception earlier) -- obviously doesn't wanna hear it on IG, and after the game he officially nuked his comments section.

Gonna be a long off-season.

The wild ending to the Vikings/Saints playoff game cost a lot of people a lot of money ... and it all came down to that extra point play.

The spread before kickoff was 5.5 in favor of the Vikings -- meaning if you bet the Vikings, they had to win by at least 6 points for you to collect on your bet.

So when Stefon Diggs caught that insane last-second pass with time expiring to put Minnesota up by 5, Vikings betters thought the extra point was a gimme ... and would be money in the bank.

Now the twist -- the players clearly thought the game was over, as both teams started to leave the field. But when officials explained the extra point play was mandatory, both teams returned ... but the Vikings apparently didn't wanna put salt in the wound ... so they took a knee instead of kicking the field goal for the extra point.

Final spread -- 5 points. Hope you bet on the Saints.

BetOnline.ag -- one of the biggest betting websites -- tells us that the kneel on the extra point favored a majority of gamblers ... 'cause 63% of people on their site bet on the Saints getting 5.5 points.

Here's Saints coach Sean Payton dancing like his life depended on it ... after his team's huge playoff win over the Panthers!

Saints star RB Alvin Kamara shot video of the team's locker room celebration ... where the coach decided to join the party -- and let loose to Yo Gotti's hit track, "Juice."

As for the dance itself -- it was pretty damn goofy -- but Kamara and the rest of the guys approved.

Ain’t the first time we’ve seen Payton bust a move -- remember that video we got of him bumpin' and gridin' with a hot blonde in the Bahamas??

#SWAG

The co-founder of the Boston University CTE Center believes Cam Newton suffered a concussion during Sunday's NFL playoff game ... and says Cam's excuse for going back in the game is a joke.

The Panthers QB was rocked in the 4th quarter of the Wild Card game against the Saints -- collapsing while jogging toward the sideline.

He was examined by medical personnel and was cleared to reenter the game. Newton later said he did NOT feel like he had a concussion, but suffered an eye injury from his helmet slipping down.

Sure.

Enter Chris Nowinski, Ph.D. -- one of the most famous and esteemed CTE experts in the world ... who also played college football and wrestled for the WWE.

"This 'Cam Newton's visor poked him in the eye' is the greatest storyline in the history of sports," Nowinski said.

"And I'm saying that as a former WWE wrestler. Watch the video, you don't collapse after that him because you need ice on your face. It's a #concussion."