Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images
By Ross Jackson
Hours after the New Orleans Saints and Jacksonville Jaguars tied up their preseason game, the two engaged in a trade that sent defensive tackle Khalen Saunders to Jacksonville in exchange for center Luke Fortner.
During his first media availability with the Jaguars, Saunders detailed the phone call that he received from head coach Kellen Moore alerting him of the trade. Saunders was at home after the game playing a video game when his former coach called him.
“I was actually playing some Fortnite and I got a call.”
DT Khalen Saunders on finding out he was headed to #DUUUVAL @Dream_Finders | @khalenNOTkaylen pic.twitter.com/1s7A4PNC2g
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) August 19, 2025
“I was actually playing some Fortnite and I got a call from coach Moore,” Saunders recounted. “And I told the guys in the party, ‘Hey, hold on real quick.’ I mute the mic and took the call and he’s like, ‘Just wanted to be the first one to tell you.’ You know, the business of the game and stuff like that. And he’s like, ‘So, you’ve been traded,’ and obviously my heart dropped and all that.”
Saunders says he then asked Moore where he was being traded to and was surprised to hear it was the team that he had just finished competing against. Moore said during his Tuesday press conference that the two teams had been engaged in talks leading up to the preseason matchup.
After the dust settled, it didn’t take Saunders long to embrace his new opportunity in Jacksonville. “It was a surprise,” he told Jacksonville media. “Obviously, I’m very happy to be here. It was almost instantaneous, the joy that came in. … It’s fast-moving but I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
As for the Saints, the trade gives them a chance to see if Fortner could provide some much needed depth on the offensive line following the season-long loss of offensive lineman Will Clapp. It also opens a path for second-year defensive tackle Khristian Boyd to take on a larger role.
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