METAIRIE, La. -- Wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling was at a career crossroads two months ago.
Just days after turning 30, he became a midseason free agent for the first time. He hadn't caught a pass in three weeks and hadn't scored since February, when his 16-yard touchdown reception on a pass by Patrick Mahomes helped the Kansas City Chiefs win Super Bowl LVIII over the San Francisco 49ers.
Valdes-Scantling signed a three-year, $18 million deal with the Chiefs in 2022, but was cut for cap purposes in the final year of the contract. His one-year deal with the Bills, signed in May, was worth up to $4.5 million if he maxed out his incentives -- $750,000 each for 55 catches, 750 receiving yards and seven touchdowns -- but left with only two catches for 26 yards. He wasn't targeted once in his final game, a 23-20 win over the New York Jets on Oct. 14. By the next day, he and Bills general manager Brandon Beane agreed to part ways and he was released.
But there were no hard feelings involved. Valdes-Scantling said he had only praise for Beane and the Bills organization for being upfront and honest.
"It was a conversation that the GM and I had already had prior because I wasn't happy," Valdes-Scantling said. "So it wasn't just like, 'Hey, we're letting you go.' ... We had conversations for a couple of weeks prior to that and I was frustrated so it was more mutual than just like, 'Hey, we don't want you anymore.' It was more so like, 'Hey man, I'm not being utilized directly here. You guys aren't getting the best out of me. I'm not getting the best out of y'all. So if we can't make this thing work, we gotta find a different route.'"
That route led him to New Orleans, where the Saints jumped at the chance to sign a deep threat receiver after wideout Rashid Shaheed had a season-ending knee injury. Valdes-Scantling signed a one-year deal for the league minimum on Oct. 21.
Valdes-Scantling had to prove himself again. And he has thrived in his short stint with New Orleans, catching 10 passes for 263 yards and four touchdowns in just four games with the Saints.
He has a chance to set personal bests with five games left in the season. He is currently averaging 29.6 yards per catch, well above his average of 20.9 that led the league in 2020. He could potentially approach his numbers from that season if he stays on pace. That season, his third with the Packers and quarterback Aaron Rodgers, was among his best, with 690 receiving yards and six touchdowns.
Valdes-Scantling has been one of the few bright spots of an injury-plagued offense that lost Shaheed after six games, in addition to wide receiver Chris Olave, who is on injured reserve, and tight end Taysom Hill, who tore his ACL on Sunday.
Those three players combined for 11 of the team's 31 offensive touchdowns this season. In addition to Valdes-Scantling, the Saints are now relying on journeyman Dante Pettis and former UFL player Kevin Austin Jr.
It's gone beyond the numbers -- he came through with a 28-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to tie up the game in an eventual loss to the Los Angeles Rams last week.
"If you told me we've been playing with Pettis, Kevin and MVS in camp ... I don't know if I'd have believed you, but I said, 'OK,'" said Saints quarterback Derek Carr. "And I'm just so proud of those guys because they've stepped up so big for our team and for our city, making big plays for us when we need 'em. And those guys are really good football players. That's another crazy job by our front office doing a great job of, 'OK, we have a problem, there's injuries. ... How do we fix it to help our team win?' And they've done a fantastic job of that."
How did Valdes-Scantling end up with the Saints, who had lost five straight games at the time of his signing? Rodgers, his offseason workout partner and good friend, tried to recruit him to join the New York Jets in free agency, but Valdes-Scantling and his agent saw Buffalo as a better fit at the time.
"Even after the release from Buffalo, it was still a possibility that I could end up in New York still, but I think this was the better situation for me at the time and it's working out," Valdes-Scantling said. "So I'm going to be able to help win as many games as possible and also individually to do some things to show that I can still play."
Things happened fast after his departure from Buffalo five months into his contract. Former teammate Davante Adams, who included the Saints on a wish list of potential destinations, was traded from the Raiders to the Jets on the same day as Valdes-Scantling's release from Buffalo.
That left New Orleans open as a potential destination and Adams, a close friend of both Carr and Valdes-Scantling, vouched for the quarterback.
"I think this was a good fit for me for what I do, what I bring to a team as a wideout, as a veteran," Valdes-Scantling said. "I think DC as quarterback, I've played against him for my whole career ... and I'd heard such good things about him. One of my closest friends is Davante, which is his best friend. He always spoke so highly of him and I said it was an opportunity here. I think that was the biggest thing. I was just excited about that."
Saints interim coach Darren Rizzi said he can't speak to why things didn't work out with Valdes-Scantling and the Bills, but he said good veterans often end up as free agents when teams are trying to decide what direction they want to go in as the season plays out.
"There's some good veteran guys that are out there at this time and teams have to decide whether they want to go young or veteran guys. So I think circumstances sometimes kind of dictate that based on what team's got. All I know is I'm glad we got him. I'm glad he was available," Rizzi said. " ... He's been nothing but a pleasure to work with. He's working hard, and so it's been nothing but a positive experience so far with us."
It's been a whirlwind few months for Valdes-Scantling, who joined a team that fired coach Dennis Allen the day after his first game on Nov. 3. The Florida native joked that one of the best things about returning to the South, other than living close to family members in New Orleans, was being able to enjoy the weather again in the winter.
"Just seeing the sun. Seeing the sun," he said with a smile. "I've been in the Midwest for six years and it gets gray and it's dark at 3:30 p.m. and you don't see the sun until the springtime. ... People don't really understand the value of seeing being able to walk outside and it's not freezing and being able to feel the sun."
But above all, he's grateful to still be able to play football this season.
"A lot of gratitude for being able to walk into a building still and still be able to contribute," he said.