The first time Paul Kruger made himself familiar with the New Orleans Saints came as a free agent in 2013, when he turned down what the Saints offered and chose to sign with the Cleveland Browns.
That familiarity lingered three years later and helped speed up the process when Kruger again came available after his unexpected release by the Browns. The Saints signed him last week to a three-year deal with a $2.9 million signing bonus.
"It's one of the teams that's been in the mix for me to come here for a long time and I have a lot of respect for the organization, coaching staff, so it just felt like the right place to be," he said Wednesday in his first public comments since he signed.