Sources said the contract is for four years, $17.4 million and includes a $5 million signing bonus.

The 29-year-old Blake was signed on the same day the Saints let Danny Wuerffel and Billy Joe Hobert, two of their four quarterbacks last season, become free agents.

Blake is an eight-year veteran who started 12 games in 1999 for the Bengals. He completed 215 of 389 passes for 2,670 yards, with 16 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Although he doesn't fit the physical prototype of the classic dropback passer, Blake is good on the move and has a superb touch on the deep ball.

Blake holds Bengals records for most consecutive games with a touchdown pass (21), most passing attempts in a season (567) and most completions in a season (326).

He also had a streak of 52 consecutive starts, which ended following a 367-yard passing performance at Pittsburgh in 1997. Doctors later discovered Blake had played most of the game with a chipped bone in his right (passing hand) wrist.

The Saints, who used four quarterbacks in 1999 -- Hobert, Wuerffel, Billy Joe Tolliver and Jake Delhomme -- likely will sign at least two veterans in free agency.

New coach Jim Haslett, the former defensive coordinator in Pittsburgh, is familiar with Blake from game-planning against him in the AFC Central.

Haslett and general manager Randy Mueller have made their first step in trying to turn around a perennial loser.

"I think over the next week to 10 days we should be able to help the team," said Mueller, who joined the Saints from Seattle.

New Orleans finished 3-13 last season, its seventh consecutive year without a winning record. Coach Mike Ditka and general manager Bill Kuharich were fired Jan. 5, leaving Mueller and Haslett a team short on talent and draft picks.

New Orleans' first-round pick this spring is the No. 2 pick overall, but the Saints won't be making it. That pick, as well as their No. 3 and all six of their 1999 choices, went to the Washington Redskins for running back Ricky Williams.

The shifty Jeff Blake brings a dimension unfamiliar to New Orleans -- a QB who can move.(AP)

That, plus the availability of $6 million to $7 million under the salary cap, possibly up to $4 million more if the team makes other roster moves, is expected to make the Saints one of the major players in the free agency market.

New Orleans needs help at wide receiver, defensive line, linebacker, safety and tight end. With so many needs, the Saints may pass up superstars in favor of solid performers that can develop.

"You don't want to spend a lot of money on one guy when you've got needs in several areas," Mueller said. "You may see us sign some players you've never heard of, but they're good quality NFL players, and we need quality and quantity."

The Saints did not place a franchise designation on free-agent cornerback Ashley Ambrose, which would have guaranteed Ambrose a salary equal to the average of the top five highest-paid cornerbacks.

Ambrose became a free agent after the team declined to pick up the option year of a two-year contract, which would have paid a $5 million base salary and bonuses.

But the Saints still hope to have him back.

"We've had some pretty good discussions with Ashley over the last couple of days," Mueller said. "I just think we're pretty far apart right now, as to what his market value is. And I don't know that we'll ever be able to close that until he goes out and actually finds his market value."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.