Reinforcements are on the way: the New Orleans Saints brought back a few familiar faces on Tuesday’s update to the daily NFL transactions wire, with linebacker Ryan Connelly activated from injured reserve and running back Jordan Mims re-signed after being waived last week; both players were added to the practice squad, which is now back at capacity. Tight end/fullback J.P. Holtz was released from the practice squad to facilitate these moves.
Connelly suffered a preseason knee injury and tried to play through it in the season opener with the Tennessee Titans, but that only aggravated the issue. He had to sit out the next six weeks while recovering. But he’s back now, and he should be in line for a role on special teams much like he was before. The Saints have relied on Zack Baun (162 snaps), D’Marco Jackson (161), Nephi Sewell (136), and Ty Summers (117) heavily in the kicking game, but Connelly was playing ahead of Sewell and Summers prior to his injury.
As for Mims: he only played a bit part while coming off the practice squad, but he did well on limited snaps. He got in on the opening tackle against the Houston Texans kick return in Week 6, his first play in the NFL, and the team clearly sees some things they can work with in him. For now he’ll be buried on the depth chart behind Alvin Kamara, Jamaal Williams, and Kendre Miller.
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