The New Orleans Saints front office is acting rather quickly after Tyrann Mathieu’s retirement announcement.

According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, the team was to sign former Colts safety Julian Blackmon, a versatile player with a knack for taking away the football. Twenty minutes later, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported the Saints reached a deal and are signing Blackmon.

Blackmon, just 26 years old, is coming off two of his best seasons statistically with the Colts. Over the last two years, he’s amassed more than 170 tackles and picked off seven passes. A former college corner, Blackmon brings excellent pattern recognition when patrolling the deep portion of the field and has the athleticism to match up with tight ends and slot receivers in the box.

Now that the Saints have finalized this deal, Blackmon would step into a secondary filled with young talent alongside veteran Justin Reid. Players like Jordan Howden and Jonas Sanker are both competing for playing time, and Blackmon’s veteran presence could prove invaluable to a group that just lost a key leader in Mathieu. A quick, decisive move by the team’s front office could help keep this secondary competitive moving forward.

This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Saints target Colts safety Julian Blackmon to replace Tyrann Mathieu