JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Two-time Super Bowl champion defensive tackle Khalen Saunders was traded from New Orleans to Jacksonville hours after the teams played a preseason game Sunday, two people familiar with the deal said.
The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity and said the teams agreed to swap Saunders for center Luke Fortner. The teams played to a 17-all tie in the Superdome earlier in the day. The trade was expected to become official once Saunders and Fortner pass physicals, the people said.
Saunders started 27 games for the Saints over the last two seasons after a four-year stint in Kansas City that included two championships. He became expendable in New Orleans after the Saints switched to a 3-4 defense under coordinator Brandon Staley and signed free agent Davon Godchaux from New England.
Fortner, a third-round draft pick from Kentucky in 2022, started 34 games for Jacksonville during his first two seasons. But he was benched in favor of veteran Mitch Morse last year and was considered a third-string center behind Robert Hainsey and rookie Jonah Monheim.
Saunders, a third-round draft pick in 2019, has 181 tackles and 6 1/2 sacks in 68 career games. He notably intercepted a pass from former teammate Patrick Mahomes in a loss at Kansas City last season.
The Jaguars have been looking for help at interior defensive line since training camp opened. Defensive tackles Arik Armstead (back) and Maason Smith (calf) have yet to play, and young backups like Jordan Jefferson and Tyler Lacy and have been far from stout up front.
Jacksonville recently signed veterans Dawuane Smoot and Austin Johnson in hopes of finding a solution.
AP Sports Writer Brett Martel in New Orleans contributed to this report.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
New Orleans Saints head coach Kellen Moore, left, greets Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen after an NFL preseason football game in New Orleans, Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
WENGEN, Switzerland (AP) — Host Italy has a new contender in Alpine skiing with the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics three weeks away.
Giovanni Franzoni claimed his first World Cup victory on the famed Lauberhorn course in a super-G Friday — four months after his close friend and former roommate, Matteo Franzoso, died in a crash during preseason training in Chile.
The 24-year-old Franzoni — a former world junior champion in super-G, downhill and Alpine combined — was the first racer on course and took advantage of the No. 1 bib to deliver a near-perfect run.
Reaching a top speed of 140.44 kph (87 mph), Franzoni finished 0.35 seconds ahead of Stefan Babinsky of Austria and 0.37 ahead of downhill world champion Franjo von Allmen of Switzerland.
Franzoni handled the tricky Canadian Corner and Kernen S sections on the upper portion of the course cleaner than anyone else.
“I made the difference on the turn where I crashed a few years ago,” he said, referring to his season-ending fall in a super-G in 2023 that resulted in thigh surgery.
Swiss overall World Cup leader Marco Odermatt, a four-time winner in Wengen, placed fourth, 0.53 behind.
The top American was Ryan Cochran-Siegle in sixth.
Franzoni also led both downhill training sessions and could be a contender in the classic downhill on Saturday. His previous best World Cup finish was third in a super-G on home snow in Val Gardena last month.
Now Franzoni will be among the leaders for Italy’s team in Bormio, where men’s Alpine skiing will be contested during the Olympics.
“If you had told me that I would be third in Val Gardena and then win here — on the two courses that I've had the most trouble on — I wouldn't have believed it,” Franzoni said.
The opening ceremony for the Games is scheduled for Feb. 6.
“I don't know about the future, but the present has changed," Franzoni said. "We always live day by day.”
Marco Schwarz, the Austrian who won the previous super-G in Livigno, Italy, last month, missed the race due to sickness.
Also sitting out this weekend is Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, the Norwegian standout who returned this season after a horrific crash in Wengen two years ago.
“This year," Kilde said on Instagram this week, "it’s just a little too early.”
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Giovanni Franzoni of Italy takes a jump during the alpine ski, men's World Cup super-G race, in Wengen, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)
Switzerland's Marco Odermatt reacts at finish line during an alpine ski, men's World Cup super-G, in Wengen, Switzerland, Friday Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Zenoni)
Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen reacts at finish line during an alpine ski, men's World Cup super-G, in Wengen, Switzerland, Friday Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Zenoni)
Austria's Stefan Babinsky speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup super-G, in Wengen, Switzerland, Friday Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Italy's Giovanni Franzoni reacts at finish line during an alpine ski, men's World Cup super-G, in Wengen, Switzerland, Friday Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Zenoni)
Italy's Giovanni Franzoni speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup super-G, in Wengen, Switzerland, Friday Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
