Saints sign cornerback Aaron Glenn

4/7/2008 5:53 PM

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -The New Orleans Saints signed cornerback Aaron Glenn on Monday, hoping the 14-year veteran free agent can help shore up a shoddy pass defense.

Glenn, a former first-round pick who started four games for Jacksonville in 2007, has 41 career interceptions, six of them for touchdowns. He ranks fifth among active NFL players in interceptions.

Terms of the deal were not released.

The Saints were 30th in the NFL in passing yards allowed last season, giving up 245.2 per game.

Glenn, 5-feet-9, 183 pounds, was the top pick of the New York Jets in 1994. He spent his first eight seasons with the Jets and since has played for Houston, Dallas and Jacksonville.

He played in five games last season, making one interception, which he returned for a touchdown.

Glenn's first season with the Cowboys overlapped with current Saints coach Sean Payton's final season as an assistant in Dallas under Bill Parcells. Saints defensive coordinator Gary Gibbs also was an assistant in Dallas that season.

The Saints' starting cornerbacks in 2007, Mike McKenzie and Jason David, both will be back next season, but McKenzie is rehabilitating from reconstructive knee surgery and may not be ready to play when the regular season opens.

David had a difficult adjustment to New Orleans' defensive scheme last season, getting beaten for several long touchdowns.

The Saints also have signed former New England Patriots and LSU cornerback Randall Gay during the offseason. Glenn has not been a full time starter since 2004, his last season in Houston, when he started all 16 games.