Saints roster moves: Veteran DL Christian Ringo signed to the practice squad

The New Orleans Saints signed free agent Christian Ringo to their practice squad, a former member of the Packers and CFL’s Blue Bombers.

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It didn’t take long for the New Orleans Saints to fill the vacancy on their practice squad created by releasing rookie draft pick Tommy Stevens: NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill reports that the Saints have signed free agent defensive tackle Christian Ringo to get the practice squad back to its 16-man capacity, which was confirmed by Katherine Terrell of The Athletic.

Ringo, listed at 6-foot-1 and 300 pounds, may be a familiar name to some Saints fans — he played at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in college before being picked by the Green Bay Packers in the sixth round of the 2016 draft. He appeared in 8 games for Green Bay before bouncing around the league, spending 2017 with the Detroit Lions and splitting time in 2018 between the Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys.

Earlier this year, Ringo signed a free agent contract with the CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers, where he would have played with former Saints linebacker Adam Bighill. But the CFL canceled its 2020 season amid the COVID-19 pandemic, so he opted out of his contract to pursue NFL opportunities.

In total, he’s played in 20 NFL games while racking up 15 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and 5 quarterback hits. Remember, the NFL changed its practice squad rules this year so that several players with four or more years’ experience can sign with teams in case of COVID-19-related absences, so Ringo makes six (joining wide receivers Austin Carr and Tommylee Lewis, center Cameron Tom, and defensive ends Anthony Zettel and Will Clarke). Expect Ringo to pad out the practice rotation at defensive tackle while Sheldon Rankins is on injured reserve.


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