The New Orleans Saints are continuing to churn their depth chart, with the Times-Picayune | Advocate’s Luke Johnson reporting that the team signed free agent linebacker Sharif Finch to their practice squad. Before making the jump to the NFL, Finch tied a school record for the most games played in Temple Owls history (53). He initially signed with the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent in 2018, and has seen two stints there while also playing for the New York Jets, Cincinnati Bengals, and Las Vegas Raiders at different points in his pro career.
Finch has seen nearly as many snaps on special teams (337) as he has on defense (392) in his NFL career, and a role in the kicking game figures to be his path towards getting on the field in New Orleans. The Saints saw two linebackers go down with injuries in last week’s loss to the Buffalo Bills and it’s unclear when either of them will be ready to return. Kaden Elliss (239 snaps on special teams) and Andrew Dowell (205 special teams snaps) have been effective in that phase for the Saints.
Listed at 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds, Finch has great size for the position and profiles best as a strong side linebacker in the Saints’ defensive scheme (a role Elliss and Andrew have both filled in sparingly behind rookie draft pick Pete Werner). And for the advanced metrics sickos out there, Finch nails the Saints’ size-speed preferences with a Relative Athletic Score of 8.52, timing the 40-yard dash in 4.65 seconds — impressive for someone at his stature. Hopefully he and Chase Hansen can help the Saints off the practice squad.
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