Barry Word, former University of Virginia halfback...

Barry Word, former University of Virginia halfback who served 18 weeks in jail for his part in a cocaine conspiracy, signed with the New Orleans Saints.

“I do not look at it as a second chance. I look at it as a final chance,” Word, a No. 3 draft pick in 1986, said at a press conference.

A year ago, Saint President Jim Finks said that Word, involved in an investigation into cocaine dealing, would never be signed. Word said he carried about two ounces of the drug from one friend to another.

He had previously tested positively for marijuana in a urinalysis at a mass scouting workout in February 1986.