Saints re-sign receiver Robert Meacham

Published Sep. 3, 2013 6:06 p.m. ET

foxsports

The Saints welcome back a member of their Super Bowl championship team: Robert Meacham, who had a career high 9 touchdown grabs on just 45 catches in 2009.

Meacham spent Tuesday in Metairie, visiting with the coaching staff, setting off a buzz of speculation.

The reunion became official when the team re-signed Meacham late Tuesday afternoon to a one-year deal for an undisclosed amount of money.

Meacham parted ways with the Black and Gold in 2012 to head to San Diego as a free agent.

He inked a 4-year, $14 million dollar deal with the Chargers, who expected him to fill Vincent Jackson's shoes.

Things did not go as planned though, and the Chargers cut Meacham this past Saturday, after just one season.

Meacham may not be the field stretcher he once was, but the Saints feels as though their first round draft pick from 2007 is good enough for a second go-round.

Technically, the Saints corresponding move for signing Meacham is placing linebacker Jonathan Vilma on short term injured reserve, which means he's eligible to return Week 8.

But this latest blow for the Saints defense is one that will likely need to be addressed with additional troops.

Vilma is the third starting linebacker lost to injury: Will Smith and Victor Butler are probably done for the season

The Saints will likely plug David Hawthorne into the starting lineup for Sunday's clash with the Atlanta Falcons, alongside Curtis Lofton.