According to CBS Sports on Saturday, the New Orleans Saints have signed defensive end Anthony Chickillo of Tampa, FL. The financial terms and the length of the contract have not yet been disclosed.
Chickillo, who is currently 27 years of age, will be joining his second National Football League franchise. He spent the last five seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Last season in Pittsburgh, Chickillo played in 11 games and had half a sack, 19 combined tackles (10 assisted tackles and nine solo tackles), and one quarterback hit. Chickillo had his one quarterback hit and half a sack in a 24-17 Steelers win over the Los Angeles Chargers on October 13, 2019.
In Chickillo’s career, he has played in 65 games, and had three pass deflections, three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, 7.5 sacks, 97 combined tackles (59 solo tackles and 38 assisted tackles), 11 tackles for a loss and 15 quarterback hits.
Chickillo was initially the Steelers’s sixth-round draft pick, 212th overall, in the 2015 NFL Draft. He played his college career with the University of Miami Hurricanes.
In Chickillo’s rookie season with the Steelers, he had his first career fumble recovery and forced fumble. His first career fumble recovery came in a 38-35 Steelers win over the Oakland Raiders on November 8, 2015 and his first career forced fumble came in a 28-12 Steelers win over the Cleveland Browns on January 3, 2016.
In the 2016 season, Chickillo had two more forced fumbles. He had a forced fumble in a 31-13 Steelers win over the New York Jets on October 9, 2016, and another in a 35-30 Steelers loss to the Dallas Cowboys on November 13, 2016.
In the 2018 season, Chickillo had two fumble recoveries. The first came in a 42-37 Steelers loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on September 16, 2018 and the second came in a 52-21 Steelers win over the Carolina Panthers on November 8, 2018.
Chickillo also played four postseason games with the Steelers from 2016 to 2018. It will now be interesting to see where Chickillo fits into the Saints defense and if he will battle Cameron Jordan or Marcus Davenport for a starting spot at defensive end.
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