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The New Orleans Saints shuffled their 53-man roster and 10-man practice squad on Monday, hours before their prime-time kickoff with the Indianapolis Colts. Here’s the breakdown.
Veteran cornerback Johnson Bademosi was designated to the injured reserve list, after having suddenly appeared on the Saints injury report with a foot ailment. That held him out of practice on Saturday and apparently ended his season, which is a big blow to the Saints special teams units.
Additionally, New Orleans waived journeyman defensive tackle T.Y. McGill. McGill once played for Saints defensive line coach Ryan Nielsen at North Carolina State, and their brief reunion was a cool storyline. However, the Saints saw enough out of the players on their practice squad to give them the nod for Monday night’s game.
Second-year nose tackle Taylor Stallworth was called up from the Saints practice squad after outperforming McGill in practice over the last week; he logged 300-plus snaps a year ago before exceptional depth along the defensive line demoted him this season. He’s a big body with NFL experience, and should help fill the void left by Sheldon Rankins, who also landed on injured reserve last week after injuring his ankle early against the San Francisco 49ers.
Additionally, the Saints promoted practice squad defensive back T.J. Green. Green figures to contribute immediately on special teams in Bademosi’s place, though injuries to the secondary could force the Saints to get him onto the field sooner than planned. Starting strong safety Vonn Bell and backup cornerback Patrick Robinson were both preemptively ruled out for this game.
The Saints also added a new player, claiming ex-New York Giants cornerback Janoris Jenkins off of waivers. But because they play on Monday night, Jenkins will not join his new team until Tuesday, when they will be required to waive another player in a corresponding move. They attempted to claim former Arizona Cardinals and Baltimore Ravens pass rusher Terrell Suggs, but were denied by the Kansas City Chiefs, who had a higher waiver claim priority. It’s not ideal to be tweaking the roster so often this late in the season, but injuries and subpar positional play have forced New Orleans’ hand. At least they’re being proactive.
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