The Saints made their roster moves and got the team down to 53 players. The roster over time will change as guys clear waivers and certain players end up on the practice squad. Here is what the initial 53 man roster looks like:
QB (2)
Jameis Winston
Andy Dalton
RB (5)
Alvin Kamara
Mark Ingram
Tony Jones Jr.
Dwayne Washington
Adam Prentice
WR (6)
Mike Thomas
Jarvis Landry
Chris Olave
Marquez Callaway
Deonte Harty
Tre’Quan Smith
TE (4)
Adam Trautman
Nick Vannett
Taysom Hill
Juwan Johnson
OL (9)
Ryan Ramczyk
Cesar Ruiz
Erik McCoy
Andrus Peat
James Hurst
Trevor Penning
Lewis Kidd
Landon Young
Calvin Throckmorton
DL (9)
Marcus Davenport
Cam Jordan
David Onyemata
Malcolm Roach
Shy Tuttle
Payton Turner
Tanoh Kpassagnon
Kentavius Street
Carl Granderson
LBs (5)
Demario Davis
Pete Werner
Kaden Elliss
Andrew Dowell
Zack Baun
DBs (10)
Marshon Lattimore
Paulson Adebo
Tyrann Mathieu
Marcus Maye
Bradley Roby
PJ Williams
Justin Evans
Alontae Taylor
Daniel Sorensen
J.T. Gray
STs (3)
Wil Lutz
Blake Gillikin
Zach Wood
– What stands out the most to me about this initial roster is Zack Baun making the roster. There wasn’t a lot of buzz around him throughout camp and preseason. In his first two seasons Baun hasn’t proved much other than special teams. Keeping him around shows that the Saints still have faith in Baun’s upside and that there is skill there.
– Having four tight ends on the roster is outside of the norm for the Saints. Keeping Nick Vannett around I believe is just for his blocking capabilities. The other three guys are solely just weapons. The Saints typically role with three tight ends. I could see them keeping the extra tight end in Vannett so that Taysom Hill can play a flex role.
– Having Daniel Sorensen on the roster is a surprise to me even though it’s just for special teams. I thought that the Saints would release him and move Justin Evans to where Sorensen played on special teams.
– The release of Kirk Merritt was a bit of a shock, but Tre’Quan Smith could possibly end up on the injured reserve opening up a spot for Merritt. As long as he clears waivers.
Clearing Waivers
For those who don’t know there is a difference between being waived and released. A player who has accrued less than four years worth of seasons in the NFL is waived. On the other hand a player with four or more accrued seasons is released.
When a player is waived, their contract is not yet terminated. In actuality they go on the waiver wire, making them available to be claimed by other teams. If another team does in fact claim the player then he joins said team with the conditions of his current contract. If no team claims him in a designated period typically by midday the next day his contract is terminated and he becomes an unrestricted free agent
The Saints released OL Josh Andrews, LB Jon Bostic, DL Taco Charlton, TE J.P. Holtz, C Nick Martin and LB Eric Wilson. They can sign with any team at any time or re-sign with the Saints. Some of them could end up on the practice squad as well. Teams can have up to six players with more than two accrued season.
QB Ian Book, WR Dai’Jean Dixon, CB DaMarcus Fields, DB Vincent Gray, LB Chase Hansen, DT Jordan Jackson, TE Lucas Krull, DE Niko Lalos, WR Kirk Merritt, OL Derek Schweiger, LB Nephi Sewell and WR Rashid Shaheed need to clear waivers before the Saints can put any of them on the practice squad.
How the Saints got to 53
The Saints had to waive/release the following players to get down to the 53 man roster.
RB Abram Smith
DT Joshua Black
OL Khalique Washington
CB Quenton Meeks
CB Brian Allen
OT Derrick Kelly
OL Josh Andrew’s
DB Chauncey Gardner Johnson (traded)
QB Ian Book
WR Rashid Shaheed
DE Niko Lalos
DE Taco Charlton
WR Dai’Jean Dixon
OL Derek Schweiger
DT Jordan Jackson
WR Kirk Merritt
CB DaMarcus Fields
LB Nephi Sewell
LB Eric Wilson
TE JP Holtz
TE Lucas Krull
DB Vincent Gray
LB Jon Bostic
LB Chase Hansen
C Nick Martin
DT Albert Huggins to IR LB D’Marco Jackson to IR S Smoke Monday to IR OL Ethan Greenidge to IR OL Forrest Lamp to IR LB Isaiah Pryor to IR We can suspect that Trevor Penning goes to IR as well opening up another spot on the team.
Written by Kadin Janisch
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