Veteran kicker John Carney is returning to the New Orleans Saints, his third stint with the reigning Super Bowl champions.
Carney's agent, Jack Mills, confirmed in an e-mail Tuesday to The Associated Press that his client would be signing with the Saints. Terms of the contract weren't released, but *The Times-Picayune* reported that it was a one-year deal believed to be for the veteran's minimum.
Carney, who is 46, worked out for the Saints on Tuesday after Garrett Hartley missed a 29-yard field goal in overtime in Sunday's 27-24 win over the Atlanta Falcons.
NFL Network's Jason La Canfora, citing a league source, reported that Hartley also will remain with the club. La Canfora said another player will be cut to make room on the roster for Carney.
Hartley is 4 for 7 this season on field-goal attempts but has a strong leg and was a playoff hero during the Saints' run to their first Super Bowl title last season.
He hit the overtime field goal in the NFC title game victory over Minnesota that sent the team to the Super Bowl, then set a Super Bowl record in the win over the Colts by kicking three field goals of at least 40 yards.
This season he made a partially blocked 37-yard, game-winning field goal at the end of regulation of New Orleans' Week 2 triumph at San Francisco.
Carney, the third-leading scorer in NFL history, was the Saints' kicking consultant when they won the title, a job the 22-year NFL veteran moved into after spending most of the 2009 regular season on the active roster.
The Saints brought in Carney last season after Hartley was suspended four games after testing positive for the banned stimulant Adderall. Carney remained an active player for 11 games, making 13 of 17 field goals, with a long of 46 yards.
He also was with the team from 2001 to '06, making 150 of 180 field-goal attempts (5 of 9 from 50-plus yards).
He made his first NFL field goal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1988.
Carney kicked in college for Notre Dame from 1984 to '86 and failed to make the Cincinnati Bengals' regular-season roster in 1987, finally appearing in a game the following season.
He became San Diego's regular kicker in 1990 and spent 11 seasons with the Chargers, followed by six with the Saints, parts of one season with Jacksonville and Kansas City, one season with the New York Giants, and then last season again with New Orleans.
Carney has made 473 field goals in his career. He still has a ways to go to match Morten Andersen, who kicked until he was 47, making 565 field goals during 25 seasons. Andersen's last season was 2007.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
