New Orleans Saints

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."

Saints legend Jonathan Vilma just threw Drew Brees' name into the hat for next mayor of New Orleans ... and he's making a pretty damn good case.

We talked to Jonathan about Brees opening a special needs playground in NOLA ... and Jonathan went full campaign manager describing his longtime teammate's mayoral credentials.

"He definitely has a future as mayor of New Orleans," Vilma told TMZ Sports.

"Drew Brees was the best teammate I had. Words can't describe how competitive he is, was, still is, to what a great person he is."

"So every time I see something come out on him doing something off the field that's positive ... it's par for the course."

The question -- is Drew actually gonna do it??

We asked him earlier this year ... and he definitely didn't rule it out.

Mike Mitchell's scathing video takedown of the NFL -- and Commissioner Roger Goodell -- is resonating with other players ... especially two guys on the New Orleans Saints.

TMZ Sports spoke with Saints CB Sterling Moore and LB Craig Robertson before they played the Falcons in Atlanta on Thursday ... and they both made it clear they stand by Mitchell.

FYI, Mitchell -- safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers -- went off on the NFL and Goodell over recent suspensions and fines levied against defensive players. The video went viral.

But if you don't care about the league drama ... watch the video anyway -- these guys are hilarious!

TMZ Sports might've unearthed 1 of the biggest shockers in NFL friendship history ... 'cause Ricky Williams told us he and Mike Ditka will always be bros!!!

You remember the trade ... Ditka gave up 8 PICKS to draft Ricky to the Saints back in '99 -- but NOLA bombed and Da Coach got canned.

But Williams says he and Ditka -- differences aside -- are "homies for life" ... 'cause Mike's one of the few guys he can always turn to.

"I remember when I played for him ... he said, 'If you can count on 1 hand how many people you have as close friends, then you’re doing OK.' And that's been advice I've held close to my heart all these years."

If you're not into the warm and fuzzy stuff, Ricky also weighed in on the insane Aqib Talib vs. Michael Crabtree brawl ... and his reaction was kinda surprising.

The horrific leg injury Chicago Bears TE Zach Miller suffered on Sunday was so bad, surgeons were scrambling to "save his leg" ... according to ESPN's Chris Mortensen.

Miller badly dislocated his left knee while trying to catch a TD pass in the 3rd quarter against the New Orleans Saints. He came down on the leg wrong and Miller knew right away the injury was bad.

Now, Mortensen says Miller suffered damage to an artery in his leg -- and vascular surgeons have been called in to repair it.

New Orleans Saints long snapper and star magician Jon Dorenbos is "resting comfortably" after open-heart surgery on Tuesday -- this according to Dorenbos' former NFL coach.

Dorenbos -- who crushed it on "America's Got Talent" -- was diagnosed with an aortic aneurysm during his physical for the Saints last week ... which prompted the emergency surgery.

Eagles head coach Doug Pederson gave an update on his ex-player's condition, saying, "Everything went well yesterday with surgery and he's resting comfortably."

"Just wish him and his family well, our prayers are with him and hope for a speedy recovery."

The NFL vet shared a video of his friends and family before going under the knife, saying, "Thank you to my beautiful amazing wife, my family, my friends and videos like this. This brought out some tears. I feel the love and support."

Get well soon, Jon!