The Saints have signed veteran running back Ladell Betts to a one-year contract. Betts is still recovering from knee surgery and won't play against the Texans this weekend. "He is coming off an injury, so we need to monitor and be smart about how we practice him, especially in the first couple of weeks back with his ACL," New Orleans coach Sean Payton said. "His experience was something that we valued and his workout was good."

The Saints are in need of healthy running backs and veteran Ladell Betts could be an option. Betts worked out for New Orleans two weeks ago, but wasn't signed.

New USC athletic director Pat Haden says Reggie Bush apologized to him and expressed regret in a phone call last week. "He's really contrite," Haden said, according to USA Today. "He knows he made a series of mistakes. It wasn't just one mistake. It was a series of mistakes." Bush, a running back for the Saints, has not been stripped of the Heisman Trophy he won in 2005, though USC has returned Bush's Heisman given to the school. Two trophies are awarded for each recipient.

On Wednesday, Reggie Bush was asked if his play in last season's playoffs increased his confidence. "I think it is a little bit of confidence," said Bush. "Coming off of a microfracture surgery that takes a huge blow to an athlete?s confidence and I think the biggest thing we have as athletes is your self-confidence. I think when you chip away at that; it?s tough for us to be who we are. I think once I became healthy as the games progressed throughout the season, I think we started to see a healthy me and more explosive me and then I was back to myself. I was confident and felt great. I think it definitely has a lot to do with the confidence factor."

Saints quarterback Drew Brees is keeping an eye on the contract negotiations between Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and their respective teams. Indianapolis owner Jim Irsay has said that he plans to eventually make Manning the NFL's highest-paid player. New England's talks with Brady haven't gone quite as well, but things appear to have turned positive as of late. "Sure. Any guy who plays your position and is in a position where they're negotiating a new contract, that affects you," Brees said. "In a way, I'm paying attention and in a way, I'm not because it's all about playing football right now. It's not the offseason anymore. I know there was talks of that but for now it's just about winning football games and that stuff will take care of itself."

The Saints have signed veteran wide receiver Mark Bradley. New Orleans general manager Mickey Loomis, who announced the move Friday, says the club has a one-year deal with the five-year veteran. Bradley has played for Chicago, Kansas City and Tampa Bay.

Free-agent running back Ladell Betts has scheduled visits with the Broncos and Saints this week, according to a league source. Betts has spent his entire eight-year career with the Redskins. Denver has suffered a number of injuries to their running backs.

Saints running back Reggie Bush admits that his recent rift with USC has been hard to accept. With that said, he's trying to put it all behind him as New Orleans prepares to defend their Super Bowl crown. "I like to think that I'm pretty mentally tough and I never allow any outside distraction to affect me on the football field," Bush said Saturday. "Once I step on the field, it's all football. I try to remember that every time I step on this field. "This is kind of like our sanctuary. This is where we get a chance to kind of forget about everything and play football, do what we love to do and not worry about anything else." Bush had previously addressed the situation in June after the NCAA announced it found violations involving Bush and hit USC with sanctions. "I think I'd be lying if I said it didn't," Bush said when asked if it bothered him. "Obviously, it does, but at the end of the day it is what it is. All I can really do now is focus on the New Orleans Saints and just try to move on. It bothers me and it sucks. The whole situation is terrible and nobody feels worse about it than I do."