Saints release place kicker Garrett Hartley; sign 36-year-old Shayne Graham

 Saints sign veteran place kicker Shayne Graham to replace Garrett Hartley, who was released yesterday.

Saints' place kicker Garrett Hartley

Garrett Hartley (5) reacts after missing a field goal try in Sunday's 27-16 loss to the St. Louis Rams. Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images.

The New Orleans Saints special teams took a different look yesterday as the club released six-year veteran place kicker Garrett Hartley, one of the heroes in the 2009 Super Bowl run after he showed inconsistency. Hartley, 27, connected on only 22-of-30 field goal attempts for a career-low 73.3 percent including missing both tries in last Sunday's disappointing 27-16 loss to the St. Louis Rams. Hartley finished his Saints' career, hitting on 82-of-101 (81.1 percent). The Black & Gold have signed 36-year-old veteran Shayne Graham, who made 31-of-38 attempts last season including 6-of-6 in the playoffs for the Houston Texans. Graham has only played one full-time season since 2009. He signed with the Cleveland Browns this year and was released after the preseason. He then briefly signed with Pittsburgh Steelers, but never appeared in any game action. Graham along with four other place kickers tried out for the Saints last month when Hartley was showing signs of inconsistency. Those kickers who auditioned along with Graham, included Neil Rackers, Derek Dimke, Brandon McManus and John Potter. The Saints made another roster move yesterday also releasing veteran corner back Chris Carr. The 10-4 Saints hit the road Sunday in a crucial NFC South match up against the 10-4 Carolina Panthers with big time playoff implications on the line as the Black & Gold attempt to rebound from last week's crushing loss to St. Louis, which was also on the road. The Saints just have two more regular season games as they will host the much improved Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Dec. 29.