GAUTIER, MS (WLOX) - The son of a former Pascagoula standout is coming back to the Gulf South to play professional football.
The New Orleans Saints announced Friday (March 15) they have agreed to terms with unrestricted free agent DE Mario Edwards Jr. on a two-year contract. Per club policy, terms of the deal were not released, but ProFootballTalk places the deal at two years, $5 million with up to $1.5 million in performance bonuses for sacks.
If the name sounds familiar to Coast football fans, it should. Edwards was born in Gautier, and is the namesake of former Pascagoula standout Mario Edwards Sr. After a stellar career with the Panthers, the elder Edwards played collegiately at Florida State before spending five years in the NFL.
According to the New Orleans Advocate, Edwards Jr. moved from Gautier to Texas when he was eight to live closer to his dad, a member of the Dallas Cowboys at the time. Edwards followed in his father’s footsteps, also playing collegiately for the Seminoles before being selected in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders.
In his five seasons with the Raiders and New York Giants, Edwards Jr. has career totals of 85 tackles and 7.5 sacks in 45 games and 24 starts.